Re: [sl4] Re: Uploads coming first would be good, right?

From: John K Clark (johnkclark@fastmail.fm)
Date: Fri Feb 06 2009 - 10:17:33 MST


On Thu, 5 Feb "Filipe Sobreira"
<warlordbcm1@yahoo.com.br> said:

> You assume both would decide poke each other simultaneously,
> what by no means is a must be. But oh, fair enough, lets proceed.

No, let’s not proceed. If they’re identical then they act the same.

> you could easily distinguish yourself from the
> other copy simply by poking it

That is a brilliant idea, and the fellow standing before you who looks
just like you would have the exact same brilliant idea.

> i can prove their inequality simply by interfering in
> the experiment and poking one of them and observing
> if the other felt the poking.

You’ve proved nothing. If you poke one and not the other then they are
no longer identical and will have diverged into different people,
although both would have an equal right to call themselves Filipe
Sobreira.

> both actually CAN NOT be identical, since [blah blah] quantum uncertainties

If your theory of personal identity is so delicate that quantum
uncertainties will disrupt it then you should never drink a cup of
coffee because it will turn you into another person; it will certainly
change you far more than quantum uncertainties will.

It’s interesting that in all these discussions everybody insists there
is a huge difference between the sacred high holy ORIGINAL and a copy,
even though the scientific method can detect no difference and the
parties in question can’t even tell subjectively if they’ve switched
positions or not.

 John K Clark

-- 
  John K Clark
  johnkclark@fastmail.fm
-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - mmm... Fastmail...


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