From: Randall Randall (randall@randallsquared.com)
Date: Sun Aug 19 2007 - 16:23:53 MDT
On Aug 19, 2007, at 2:11 PM, Matt Mahoney wrote:
> Consciousness is very hard to
> define rigorously, but everyone knows what it is. It is what
> distinguishes
> this universe from a hypothetical atom-for-atom identical universe
> that exists
> beyond the awareness of any person, including your copy that lives
> your life,
> following its neurally programmed instructions, deterministically
> making the
> exact same sequence of decisions that you make.
Ah, like a substance which is chemically water, with the
same atoms in the same positions as water, but which is
not wet at 30C?
-- Randall Randall <randall@randallsquared.com> "This is a fascinating question, right up there with whether rocks fall because of gravity or being dropped, and whether 3+5=5+3 because addition is commutative or because they both equal 8." - Scott Aaronson
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