off-topic posts (was Re: [MURG] oh that joke was from)

[Eugen Leitl]

On Sat, Aug 28, 2004 at 07:50:01AM -0400, Ed Minchau wrote:

> From what I have read from neurohacker, even if we are
> successful in acheiving mind uploading, we couldn't
> help him.  He claims that (IIRC) nanoparticles have
> entered and disrupted his nervous system.

He genuinely believes that, and it is absolutely futile to tell him that this
is a delusion. Try reasoning with a schizophrenic that she's been skipping
her meds, and is now well in gaga country...
 
> Well, if mind uploading is successful, and his mind is
> uploaded, then any anomalies already present in his
> system would also be reflected in the upload.  After
> all, an uploaded mind is supposed to be a faithful,
> working reproduction of an existing nervous system.

Sure, but this doesn't mean you can fix trivially fixable defects. The
difficulty is finding what exactly is broken where, and how to fix it.
 
> If an uploaded mind differs from the original, then
> the upload isn't successful.  If one is afflicted with
> any sort of mental disorder, whether caused by
> pollutants, genetics, or trauma, then that disorder
> would remain in the uploaded mind.

Sure, but if it's a mutation with a known phenotype, what prevents you from
replaying the right developmental branch, and expressing it in machina?
 
> This raises the question: could an uploaded mind be
> "fixed"?  ie if I am an asshole before upload, can I
> be made into a pleasant personality afterwards?  I
> don't think I would still be the same person if that
> is the case.

Sure. Which doesn't mean it can't/shouldn't be done. In fact I'd be quite happy
to start fixing myself first...

-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a>
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