[extropy-chat] What should survive and why?

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 01/05/07, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>
> At 09:50 PM 4/30/2007 -0700, Lee wrote:
>
> >Namely, Lee is replaced each night by a copy whose memories have been
> >vastly changed from from the Lee's of the day before (though just enough
> >to evade being exposed as an imposter). ...
> >
> >This is what Heartland and Damien and all of them are afraid of when it
> >comes to teleportation
>
> No, like most organisms I'm afraid of being killed. It doesn't make
> any difference if someone recompiles an exact copy of me in a galaxy
> far, far away. Certain biases driven by my genes might be persuaded
> that such simulacra should become twice as precious to me as my genes
> estimate my kids and sibs should be, but so far they haven't even
> done such a great job in urging me to reproduce or keep in touch with
> my sister and brothers most of the time, let alone bequeath them my
> fortune.


And yet you leave your fortune to your tomorrow-self, rather than blowing it
all before you go to sleep tonight. How do you know that tomorrow-self isn't
just some guy who happens to have all your memories?  If someone claimed
that criterion X is a sure sign of death, and it so happens that criterion X
occurs every night to every person, wouldn't you answer that - even without
knowing the details of criterion X - it must be a load of crap because you
know you *don't* die every night?

-- 
Stathis Papaioannou
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