On Oct 31, 2008, at 1:58 PM, Brent Meeker wrote:
> I think this problem is misconceived as being about probability of > survival. In the case of simple teleportation, I agree. If I step into a teleporter, am obliterated at one end, and come out the other end "changed" - missing a bunch of memories, personality traits, etc., it doesn't seem quite correct to ask the question, "what's the probability that that person is me?" It seems more correct to ask something like "what percentage of 'me' is that person?" And in fact, this is the point I've been trying to make all along - that we have to accept some spectrum of cases between "the collection of molecules that came out is 100% me" and "the collection of molecules that came out is 0% me". The idea of probability enters the picture (or seems to) when we start talking about multiple copies. If I step into a teleporter, am obliterated, and out of teleporter A steps a copy that's 100% me and out of teleporter B steps a copy that's 10% me, what's the best way to view this situation? Subjectively, what should I believe that I'm about to experience as I step into that teleporter? It's hard for me not to think about this situation in terms of probability - to think that I'm more likely to find myself at A than B. It's especially hard for me not to think in these terms when I consider that, in the case when the thing that ends up in teleporter A is 100% me and the thing that ends up in teleporter B is 0% me, the answer is unambiguous: I should simply believe that I'm going to subjectively experience ending up in teleporter A. I'm sympathetic to the argument that it's still not correct to frame this problem in terms of probability. But I don't understand how else to frame it. How do you (Brent) frame the problem? Subjectively, what should I expect to experience (or feel that I'm most likely to experience) when I step into a teleporter, and I know that the thing that's going to come out Receiver A will be 100% me and the thing that's going to come out of Receiver B will be 10% me? -- Kory --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
