Re: The Sim's of Platonia ( was: Everything Physical is Based on Consciousness)

From: Stephen Paul King <stephenk1.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Sat, 7 May 2005 10:38:20 -0400

Dear Brian,

    Don't we first have to establish that strings of ones and zeros can
encode all of the basic structure that we would agree are necessary for
consciousness? I still do not understand how one bitstring can encode
necessity of the illusion of making a choice between eating Apples or
Oranges and I still have had no explanation of how one bitstring can
interact with no kind of change and permanence in change possible.

Stephen

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Scurfield" <brian.scurfield.domain.name.hidden>
To: <Fabric-of-Reality.domain.name.hidden>
Cc: <everything-list.domain.name.hidden>; "'Stephen Paul King'"
<stephenk1.domain.name.hidden>
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2005 6:25 AM
Subject: The Sim's of Platonia ( was: Everything Physical is Based on
Consciousness)


snip
>
> OK, let's suppose we are sim's of Platonia. In particular, let's suppose
> that us and the world around us are represented by the computational
> histories of Platonic Turing Machines.
>
> When a TM that supports a sim "executes" steps (quotes cause we're in
> Platonia), the contents of its tape change and the read-write head moves
> (I'll spare you the quotes on change and move). When we look at a snapshot
> of the tape, what is on that tape are zeroes and ones (of course, Platonia
> doesn't care whether its apples and oranges on the tape). We are
> represented
> by some of those zeroes and ones. As you have noted, those zeroes and ones
> will contain records of what happened in prior snapshots on the tape.
> There
> will also be records of our thoughts and beliefs. Some of those beliefs
> will
> be of time and some of consciousness. The snapshot, however, is totally
> static; it in itself does not support consciousness, it is just ones and
> zeroes. Similarly the next snapshot is static and the glue that holds the
> two snapshots together can be totally described by a static bit-string
> which
> encodes the TM.
>
> It does not seem like we can find our first person experience in this;
> it's
> all just zeroes and ones! Apples and oranges even. But that's just
> incredulity. I think the pertinent question to ask is: why do sequences of
> zeroes and ones on the tape develop the belief of consciousness?
>
> Brian Scurfield
>
Received on Sat May 07 2005 - 10:42:45 PDT