Brent: 'But *your* infinity is just *really big*. There are only a
finite number of atoms in a person and they have only a finite number of
relations. So how can an exact copy require infinite resources? '
MP: Well yes, perhaps there are only a finite number of relationships,
but these relationships are not static, they must be calculated.
Ultimately it will be lawyers who decide if sufficient accuracy has been
attained in rendering all these dynamic relationships.
As I said before, I am not a 'mathematician' in the sense that Bruno is
and others who browse here are, but I read in an article in New
Scientist mag. some years ago that measuring and modelling certain
features - primarily non-linear features I believe - can require
arbitrarily large numbers of decimal places to correctly express the
digital value. These numbers then have to be calculated within systems
which will multiply the error margins and truncate values. Well of
course all measurement is estimation and assertion of the representative
value, but if you are talking about IDENTITY then there is going to be a
fair swag of technical fudging isn't there! Come on! Admit it! And
what lawyers really take scientific method seriously?
I rest my case - for the time being!
:-)
Regards
Mark Peaty CDES
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.arach.net.au/~mpeaty/
Brent Meeker wrote:
Mark Peaty wrote:
SP: 'Getting back to the original question about teleportation
experiments, are you saying that it would be impossible, or just
technically very difficult to preserve personal identity whilst
undergoing such a process? As Brent pointed out, technical difficulty
is not an issue in thought experiments. ,
MP: I have answered this, in responding to Brent. In summary I say:
if it is just A [any old] rendition of a human you want, then given
that thought experiments allow that all practical challenges can be
overcome, the answer is Yes! On the other hand if the strict
requirement of an exact copy of a particular person is required to be
output then it becomes a question of whether or not truly infinite
computing power is required to calculate the changes occurring within
the original at scan time. If it is then the answer is NO, because
infinity is infinity.
But *your* infinity is just *really big*. There are only a finite
number of atoms in a person and they have only a finite number of
relations. So how can an exact copy require infinite resources?
Brent Meeker
>
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