Jonathan Colvin wrote:
>Stathis:
> > People certainly seem to take their consciousness seriously
> > on this list!
> > I've now managed to alienate both the "consciousness doesn't
> > really exist"
> > and the "it exists and we can explain it" factions. I did not
> > mean that there is no explanation possible for consciousness.
> > It is likely that in the course of time the neuronal
> > mechanisms behind the phenomenon will be worked out and it
> > will be possible to build intelligent, conscious machines.
> > Imagine that advanced aliens have already achieved this
> > through surreptitious study of humans over a number of
> > decades. Their models of human brain function are so good
> > that by running an emulation of one or more humans and their
> > environment they can predict their behaviour better than the
> > humans can themselves. Now, I think you will agree (although
> > Jonathan Colvin may not) that despite this excellent
> > understanding of the processes giving rise to human conscious
> > experience, the aliens may still have absolutely no idea what
> > the experience is actually like.
>
>No, I'd agree that they have no idea what the experience is like. But this
>is no more remarkable than the fact that allthough we may have an excellent
>understanding of photons, we can not travel at the speed of light, or that
>although we may have an excellent understanding of trees, yet we can not
>photosynthesize. Neither of these "problems" seem particularly hard.
>
>Jonathan Colvin
We are thus at an impasse, agreeing on all the facts but differing in our
appraisal of the facts.
--Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Sat May 21 2005 - 06:46:10 PDT