[ExI] Theoretical Breakthrough? Was Re: Do digital computers feel?

[John Clark]

On Tue, Feb 21, 2017  William Flynn Wallace <foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:

​> ​
> Here I am again,  butting into a conversation I don't understand.  BUT -
> what is meant by 'thing' and does it matter what we call knowledge?  If it
> is more of a verb than a noun, how does that help us understand it?
>

It makes a difference. Atoms are nouns, the ways atoms behave are
adjectives. If you are a noun then you are quite literally not the man you
were last year because all your old atoms have been exchanged for new
atoms. But if you are an adjective and you are the way that atoms behave
when they are organized in a Williamflynnwallace
​
ian way then the idea of continuous personal identity makes some sense; and
incidentally as long as a record
​remains ​
of how those atoms are organized, through Cryonics or some other means,
then you will
​not​
 be irreversibly dead.

On another issue I'd be interested if anybody disagrees with what I said a
few posts ago:   ​


"if internal changes to a part produce no changes in the way that part
interacts with other parts then those internal changes make no change to
the overall behavior of the system."

 John K Clark
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