[ExI] YES! Hard-core transhumanist splinter

Sabrina Ballard sabrina.ballard at allromanceebooks.com
Tue Jun 22 00:53:48 UTC 2010


> what is "true" and what models people use to get through the day/their
> lives aren't necessarily 1:1.

I would even venture to say _usually_ aren't 1:1. A simple, flawed
model will gain wider acceptance, than a sufficently complicated, but
more accurate one simply because it is easier to use. Many people are
happy living with rough estimates. If they should or not is a
different matter.


> hill (bee in a hive, whatever)  There are moments where these
> insignificant units have unique value; such as being closest to a new

Perhaps there needs to be a fundimental shift in the way people think?
Perhaps if we viewed each "insignificant unit" as something unique,
even though it is fairly standard, then the idea would be more
swallowable. That is, embrace the differences that make each person
unique. Studying and propigating uniqueness may be more important that
we realize.

> Who would embrace that?  I imagine most people would rather believe
> they provide unique or special value.

Why can't one believe that they are special and unique, even if they
are more or less the same as others? A paradigm shift is ultimately
required for a socially and racially survivable singularity.


> Perhaps the machinery you copy during upload specifically contains a
> highly-evolved self-delusion mechanism?  If you leave it out and all
> the uploads suddenly become completely rational and realistic, have
> you "successfully" uploaded the original 'person' or have you created
> something else?

I think that you could very easily say that you have created something
new because self-delusion in an important ans healthy part of many
people's lives. This person would be funtimentially very different
from the human we know today as to be 'alien' and 'cold'. I don't feel
that people would relate very will to the idea.

> bonus: would the now-hyper-rational even want to
> continue living in their new state of raw truth?   What do you think
> the yes/no percentage might be?

I think the question is, what would they want? What would be the
motive? Without self-delusion, would goal oriented behavior cease? For
a human, without the removed self-delusion, I think that a certian
type of person, the kind that enjoys sensory overstimulation and
information overload would very much enjoy the experience of being in
an environment of raw truth, even if it would be a bit scarring. For
the person who is not self-deluded, I think it would be more
traumatic.

(although I think I may be interpreting your statement differently
than you intended. Please clarify me if I am.)

Sabrina Ballard



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