[ExI] Uploads are self

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 24/03/2026 12:08, Jason Resch  wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 9:47 AM Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>     On 23/03/2026 11:12, Jason Resch wrote:
>
>     > there's no limit to the range of experiences that you can have.
>
>
>     Actually, there's a proof that this is false that I just thought of.
>
>     If someone is colour-blind such that they can't distinguish red from green, they literally can't experience a red object on a green background.
>
>
> In 2009, scientists performed surgery on color blind monkeys. They injected their retinas with a retrovirus to make their cells produce new color sensing cone cells. In a few weeks their brains rewired themselves based on this new sensory input, and became capable of making color discriminations they previously were unable to make.
>
> Would you say the monkeys survived this procedure? I would say so.
>
> This demonstrates that new qualia can be produced from the brain rewiring itself gradually over time. So I see no reason why a formerly color blind person could not likewise survive a process that extended their brain or sensory capacity to give them the ability to experience a red object on a green background.
>
>
>
>
>
>     This generalises into a multitude of equivalent cases, and many more. If someone doesn't have the right wiring in their amygdala, they can't experience fear, etc., etc.
>
>     In general, the range of experiences you are capable of is limited by the structure of your mind and associated sensory apparatus.
>
>
> I agree with this. But if you allow derivations of a mind to count as survival, I see no fundamental limit to how far this can be taken.


Agreed.

When I'm saying that there is a limit to the range of experiences you can have, I'm talking about the current, unmodified 'you'. 

Naturally, if we allow for future changes, that's a different matter. There may be limits on what kinds of experiences a mind can have, based on what kind of mind it is. but that would be a subject for future exploration. The fact that, once uploaded, a host of modifications become practically possible, gives me great hope for our future.

As a friend of mine once said, "Let a thousand flowers bloom". This is the great promise of transhumanism, and especially of uploading.

-- 
Ben