[ExI] Do we live in a universe that allows infinite computation?

[Stefano Vaj]

2011/8/18 Will Steinberg <steinberg.will at gmail.com>

> The trouble that I see is that it undermines the notion of your subjective
> immortality.  The soup becomes aleph-aleph and then it is every bit of
> possible mindedness.  More of a god than any one mind's forever.
>

Not really my own idea of a god (see under Venus, Hermes, Shiva or
Wotan/Odin).

But the real issue is: what is immortality about? It is about indefinite
(that is, "as long as possible") survival. Now, we know that the concern of
an organism for its own survival is just an evolutionary artifact
originating from the "desire" of its genes to reproduce, nothing less
nothing more.

Whenever such issue does not really come into play, and the related instinct
is therefore spinning freely, "survival" can be defined arbitrarily on the
basis of the metaphors that one personally finds emotionally satisfactory:
buying into the idea of a christian-like concept of "soul", prolonging one's
physical life by gradual replacement of biological body organs, leaving
disciples or biographers behind, being stuffed and embalmed in a pyramid,
achieving "undying glory", surviving in portraits and records, being
recreated or resurrected or emulated in one form or another, in increasingly
accurate fashions, by any technological means, possibly after a
"suspension".

Personally, I am as programmed as anybody to strive for immortality, and I
have a very different perception of the kinds thereof being offered by each
of those avenues, but I really do not believe that very profound
philosophical case can be presented for their differences. It is more a
psychological and cultural than a physical or metaphysical issue.

For instance, as discussed many times I would not hesitate a split second to
walk through a destructive teleport system allowing me to avoid check in,
security and embarkment procedures in airports (and I suspect 99,8% of
current air travellers would quickly come to agree with me should such a
system suddenly become available).

On the other hand, I cannot say that I care much for my recreation in the
mind of an omniscient Omega computer, or simply by the eternal return of the
universe configuration providing for my existence once all other
configurations have been exhausted.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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