<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Jul 2, 2006, at 2:34 AM, Robert Bradbury wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><BR><DIV><SPAN class="gmail_quote">On 7/2/06, <B class="gmail_sendername">BillK</B> <<A href="mailto:pharos@gmail.com">pharos@gmail.com</A>> wrote:</SPAN><BLOCKQUOTE class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <BR>Remember that once we get our own gram of civilization each, our<BR>motivations and knowledge are likely to greatly change. I doubt that<BR>doing a Star Trek, conquer the universe will seem very attractive. If<BR>you want to 'chat' to the other one gram civilizations (AIs) then you <BR>certainly won't be dashing off at some fraction of light speed. The<BR>loss of the network may well be much more painful than gaining a new<BR>solar system to sit your gram in.</BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR>Finally, somebody understands why Matrioshka Brains don't tend to colonize! <BR>The probability that any civilization that could colonize would reach this conclusion would tend to argue against the sending of seeds or very very small fractions of the MBrain to develop undeveloped solar systems. MBrains only replicate by fission as bacteria do where the complete set of resources is relatively equally divided between the two offspring. One can only do this with the information capacity of an MBrain when a developed star system comes into extremely close proximity to an undeveloped star system. The spread rate for advanced civilizations is not limited by some significant fraction of the speed of light or the energy costs that interstellar transport involves but the desire to avoid having to give up everything that huge information storage capacity and simulation capacity make available to them. Indeed one could view the idea of sending a sub-copy to a virginal, but unintelligent (empty) MBrain as being a form of cruel and unusal punishment that an ATC would choose to prohibit. As MBrain subsets (AIs, uploads, whatever) are used to time sharing they have very long time horizons and waiting a billion years until the ideal opportunity for splitting comes along isn't a big sacrifice. One could imagine that those strange entitites that want to engange in the development of a real infoscape (rather than a virtual one) may simply be put into suspend mode until the time comes along to drop off the Mayflower in a passing star system deemed unsuitable for 'normal' system replication activities. <BR></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>As long as there are individuals within even an MBrain there will be some individuals with wanderlust, desire to explore, desire to perhaps organize things a bit differently. If these and similar desires are strong enough then giving up some back home abilities to mount and expedition will seem attractive. Also the MBrain is likely to want to send probes out to better insure its relative safety. It is not unlikely that the MBrain would seek more energy and resources eventually and mount expeditions to secure them. It is doubtful it would patiently wait for another star to happen by. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>All of our speculation will someday no doubt be very amusing to actual posthumans. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>- samantha</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>