Re: RSSA / ASSA / Single Mind Theory

From: Russell Standish <lists.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:59:12 +1000

On Thu, Apr 19, 2007 at 11:16:16PM -0000, Jason wrote:
>
> What if you were simultaneously experiencing every OM? Would any
> individual OM be able to tell?

Individual OMs do not "tell" anything. Only persons (or minds or
observers) do. If I were simultaneously experiencing all OMs, "I"
could tell.

OM's isolated by different brains are
> non-interacting, so any single OM won't have memories from another.
> Consider two brains being simulated by a single computer, each as
> different processes. The computer instantiates two conscious
> observers at once, but neither observer remembers being the other
> because protected memory insures one program can't access the other's
> memory.

Then you have two different conscious observers observing different
OMs. The fact that they're implemented in a timesharing fashion on the
same hardware is irrelevant.

The same is true for our universe where physics is the single
> computer realizing all observer moments, but our individual brains act
> as protected memory creating the illusion of multiple minds. As Bruno
> says, future OM's follow from consistent computations implementing an
> observer; so what if multiple observers are part of a single program,
> as would be the case if this universe is computable? Does the
> "program" of this universe not realize all perspectives
> simultaneously? In a sense, a single mind approach follows from there
> being a single objective reality, the appearance of multiple minds
> comes from the segmentation of memory. Memory maintains the illusion
> of personal identity.
>
> Jason
>

The issue of whether there is but a single mind or not is a rather
different kettle of fish from whether mind(s) experience OMs
simultaneously or not. A single mind still samples OMs from the set
available, rather than experiencing all relevant OMs simultaneously.

We have had discussions here about the possibility of Jesse Mazer
morphing into Bruno, and also about David Parfit's thought experiment
of morphing a person into Napoleon Bonaparte. I have expressed doubts
on this list as to whether this is possible, particularly in the form
of the thought experiments given by Parfit, but assuming it is
possible, then a single mind theory would have legs.

-- 
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A/Prof Russell Standish                  Phone 0425 253119 (mobile)
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Received on Thu Apr 19 2007 - 20:57:48 PDT

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