[extropy-chat] How to be copied into the future?.

Lee Corbin lcorbin at rawbw.com
Sun Apr 29 02:43:35 UTC 2007


Randall writes

>> Let me see if I understand. The historical process by which
>> you in 2007 came to be is the traditional one:  birth, raised
>> by parents, school, etc.  But if we authoritatively told you
>> that this was all a lie, and that you had been raised as a part
>> of a government experiment, that you indeed did not exist
>> before 2005, that all your memories were implanted and
>> false, that your consciousness came into true focus only
>> last week---would you suppose that you are not the person
>> that you thought you were?
> 
> Of course.  I thought I was the person who had those
> pre-2005 experiences, but after substantiating that I
> wasn't, it seems tautological that I'm someone else!
> That doesn't mean that I would value myself any less
> than before; just that it would change my perception
> of who I am.

Sounds like we're using different words, but agree here:

>> (My own answer to that is this:  Oh, I'm still Lee Corbin all right.
>> My actual history doesn't too strongly affect what is important
>> to me, how I want the rest of my life to continue indefinitely,
>> my values, and my friendships (given that all the people who
>> I am close to had arisen via similar government experimentation
>> and that their memories were as false as mine).
> 
> I actually don't disagree with any of the above.

So you just decree---as does Heartland---that if we revealed to
you that ever since you were age 6, a copy has been made of
you every night as you were fast asleep, and that the originals
were then killed, you would not be the same person from day
to day, and you dread tonight?  Right?  That you were lucky
to get just one day of life?

Lee




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