6 ms·

I think it depends on implementation. I wake up every morning and I'm pretty sure I'm still me. I go in elevators and each time the doors open I'm still me. So,

by Cerium 10y ago

I think it depends on implementation. I wake up every morning and I'm pretty sure I'm still me. I go in elevators and each time the doors open I'm still me. So, what sort of transportation experience would change that? Admittedly, the closes to teleportation I've ever felt was my first trip on a cruise ship. I went to sleep in one city, and when I opened my eyes I was suddenly in a city hundred miles away. It was magic. I also still felt like myself.

raquo 10y ago
Well, sleep and cruise ships don't destroy and copy your body. Teleportation would be equivalent to being killed the way I see it, until we get a better understanding of conscience at least.
- adrianN 10y ago
  Your body slowly replaces itself. I'm reasonably sure that when you die you have replaced almost all of its atoms at least once.
  - simonh 10y ago
    I've been using the same broom for 20 years! Never needed a new one and I'd never think of getting a new one. Of course I've replaced the handle twice and the brush four or five times.
  - soylentcola 10y ago
    Theseus' Meatbag?
  - contra64 10y ago
    Eventually, the constituent atoms themselves perform a complete cycle (at the slowest rates) every ~7 years. Some substances (e.g. water) cycle much faster, obviously. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11893583 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1189358... Which tells us that sentient consciousness and identity is mostly about the continuity of a signal across only some cells (nerves), and mostly rides on top of standing waves supported by those special cellular processes, at frequencies of oscillation faster than the underlying polarized/ionic chemical processes.
- Cerium 10y ago
  How do I know? I don't know what happened while on was sleeping. I fell asleep, and perpetually a few minutes later woke up, but my clock told me it was 8 hours. What happened??
  - raquo 10y ago
    You know what happens when other people sleep. It's not an issue.
greggman 10y ago
Here's a great old animation on this topic https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxucpPq6Lc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxucpPq6Lc
- ZeroGravitas 10y ago
  Better quality (but with Flash requirement): https://www.nfb.ca/film/to_be/ https://www.nfb.ca/film/to_be/
MrQuincle 10y ago
I can think of an experience. The kind of teleportation in which you (or your copy) is teleported too close in time and space and the original is not destroyed. Then your copy claiming your job, your house, your wife and your children. Just as you would do. Also if the transport process takes 20 lightyears, when do you send the ACQ? Will your original walk around for 20 years and then have an automated kill switch?
- rebuilder 10y ago
  Why is it better if the original is destroyed? That's the whole issue here, the process in your example, when working as intended, just kills a person and makes an identical copy.
- Arizhel 10y ago
  >Then your copy claiming your job, your house, your wife and your children. Just as you would do. This sounds like a great scenario to me. I'm sure I would get along just fine with a duplicate of myself, and we could live together and get a lot more done. It sure would help a lot with avoiding burnout at work: we could take turns going to work, me one month and him the next month for instance. But two of us sharing one wife might be a bit much for her, so it'd be a lot better if we brought a second woman into the mix and lived as a polyamorous foursome (though this might be easier if we could create a teleportation clone of the wife too). It'd also be great having a double to help me on house projects, hobby projects, working on a side business, etc. And you mentioned kids: having an extra adult around the house to deal with them can only be a help, and since it's actually another me and not some other person, we're guaranteed to get along, have the same views on parenting, etc. Honestly, I don't see any downside to this situation at all.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    I would get a lot less [productive work] done if I had an exact duplicate of myself. My spouse would be jealous and disgusted at the same time. But I am 90% certain that if my spouse had a duplicate, they would be yelling at each other all the time. It would be interesting to correlate answers to the question "If you had an exact duplicate, with the same body as you, the same thoughts as you, and the same memories as you up until yesterday, how would you get along?" with various aspects of psychology.
simonh 10y ago
“I thought you said you could just read his brain electronically,” protested Ford. “Oh yes,” said Frankie, “but we’d have to get it out first. It’s got to be prepared.” “Treated,” said Benjy. “Diced.” “It could always be replaced,” said Benjy reasonably, “if you think it’s important.” “Yes, an electronic brain,” said Frankie, “a simple one would suffice.” “A simple one!” wailed Arthur. “Yeah,” said Zaphod with a sudden evil grin, “you’d just have to program it to say What? and I don’t understand and Where’s the tea? Who’d know the difference?” “I’d notice the difference,” said Arthur. “No, you wouldn’t,” said Frankie mouse, “you’d be programmed not to.” - Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not actually about teleportation, but still apropos IMHO.

by Cerium 10y ago

raquo 10y ago

Well, sleep and cruise ships don't destroy and copy your body. Teleportation would be equivalent to being killed the way I see it, until we get a better understanding of conscience at least.

adrianN 10y ago
Your body slowly replaces itself. I'm reasonably sure that when you die you have replaced almost all of its atoms at least once.
- simonh 10y ago
  I've been using the same broom for 20 years! Never needed a new one and I'd never think of getting a new one. Of course I've replaced the handle twice and the brush four or five times.
- soylentcola 10y ago
  Theseus' Meatbag?
- contra64 10y ago
  Eventually, the constituent atoms themselves perform a complete cycle (at the slowest rates) every ~7 years. Some substances (e.g. water) cycle much faster, obviously. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11893583 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1189358... Which tells us that sentient consciousness and identity is mostly about the continuity of a signal across only some cells (nerves), and mostly rides on top of standing waves supported by those special cellular processes, at frequencies of oscillation faster than the underlying polarized/ionic chemical processes.
Cerium 10y ago
How do I know? I don't know what happened while on was sleeping. I fell asleep, and perpetually a few minutes later woke up, but my clock told me it was 8 hours. What happened??
- raquo 10y ago
  You know what happens when other people sleep. It's not an issue.

greggman 10y ago

Here's a great old animation on this topic https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxucpPq6Lc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxucpPq6Lc

ZeroGravitas 10y ago
Better quality (but with Flash requirement): https://www.nfb.ca/film/to_be/ https://www.nfb.ca/film/to_be/

MrQuincle 10y ago

I can think of an experience. The kind of teleportation in which you (or your copy) is teleported too close in time and space and the original is not destroyed. Then your copy claiming your job, your house, your wife and your children. Just as you would do. Also if the transport process takes 20 lightyears, when do you send the ACQ? Will your original walk around for 20 years and then have an automated kill switch?

rebuilder 10y ago
Why is it better if the original is destroyed? That's the whole issue here, the process in your example, when working as intended, just kills a person and makes an identical copy.
Arizhel 10y ago
>Then your copy claiming your job, your house, your wife and your children. Just as you would do. This sounds like a great scenario to me. I'm sure I would get along just fine with a duplicate of myself, and we could live together and get a lot more done. It sure would help a lot with avoiding burnout at work: we could take turns going to work, me one month and him the next month for instance. But two of us sharing one wife might be a bit much for her, so it'd be a lot better if we brought a second woman into the mix and lived as a polyamorous foursome (though this might be easier if we could create a teleportation clone of the wife too). It'd also be great having a double to help me on house projects, hobby projects, working on a side business, etc. And you mentioned kids: having an extra adult around the house to deal with them can only be a help, and since it's actually another me and not some other person, we're guaranteed to get along, have the same views on parenting, etc. Honestly, I don't see any downside to this situation at all.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  I would get a lot less [productive work] done if I had an exact duplicate of myself. My spouse would be jealous and disgusted at the same time. But I am 90% certain that if my spouse had a duplicate, they would be yelling at each other all the time. It would be interesting to correlate answers to the question "If you had an exact duplicate, with the same body as you, the same thoughts as you, and the same memories as you up until yesterday, how would you get along?" with various aspects of psychology.

simonh 10y ago

“I thought you said you could just read his brain electronically,” protested Ford. “Oh yes,” said Frankie, “but we’d have to get it out first. It’s got to be prepared.” “Treated,” said Benjy. “Diced.” “It could always be replaced,” said Benjy reasonably, “if you think it’s important.” “Yes, an electronic brain,” said Frankie, “a simple one would suffice.” “A simple one!” wailed Arthur. “Yeah,” said Zaphod with a sudden evil grin, “you’d just have to program it to say What? and I don’t understand and Where’s the tea? Who’d know the difference?” “I’d notice the difference,” said Arthur. “No, you wouldn’t,” said Frankie mouse, “you’d be programmed not to.” - Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not actually about teleportation, but still apropos IMHO.