4 ms·

I sure hope the haircut function mutates it's input, and doesn't return a clone whose hair is cut.

grey-area 6y ago
;)
mcny 6y ago
Reminds me of a YouTube video which said every time someone gets beamed in Star Trek they are killed and someone else is created with their body and mind somehow. If that were possible, why wouldn’t they just store backups and “restore” from backup when someone died?
- pbhjpbhj 6y ago
  A type of restoring from backup, well the short-term pattern buffer memory, has been a feature of several "transporter" episodes I think? Like "no, we lost them; maybe they're 'in' the pattern buffers".
- bmn__ 6y ago
  > a YouTube video CGP Grey: The Trouble with Transporters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI Steve Shives: Is Star Trek's Transporter Actually a Murder Machine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8zEkIaB0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8zEkIaB0c > why wouldn’t they just https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Story-Breaker_Power https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Story-Breaker_Power For purpose of storytelling, these powerful side effects of transporters need to be restricted. Hence, as an in-universe explanation, a pattern buffer ∙ is a physical phenomenon that cannot be (fully) expressed as information ∙ deteriorates over time, so needs to be rematerialised soon. For the exception, see https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Relics_(episode) https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Relics_(episode)
- danidiaz 6y ago
  There's a notable book by philosopher Derek Parfit called "Reasons and Persons" that—among other things—uses "transporter" thought experiments to explore the nature of personal identity. The quasi-buddhistic conclusion, with which I agree, is that personal identity is largely an illusion. It's an easy illusion to maintain however, given that in practice our "software" is very difficult to "copy" exactly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_and_Persons#Personal_identity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_and_Persons#Personal_i...
- overlordalex 6y ago
  This is something that is addressed in the show! Pulling all my knowledge from just TOS and TNG; There are 3 broad cases: 1. Something goes wrong during transport and the person cannot be rematerialised. Typically they end up "stuck" in the pattern buffer of the transporter. Some fiddling and plot tension allows them to complete transport by the end of the episode 2. A partial transport leaves some part of the person behind. This is where you can end up with weird things like piles of sludge on each end, or evil doppelgängers who are mostly the same, but only some features were transported 3. Unknown phenomenon that creates a duplicate. The original has general "failed to transport" experience, while the clone has a complete experience and is so none the wiser that "they" also got left behind. From this we know that the pattern buffers can absolutely be used to store "backups". This is even discussed at some points after a crew member unexpectedly dies. However what complicates matters is that typically the patterns rapidly lose coherence in the buffers. Whether this happens immediately or after many years is left up to the plot requirements. Generally it seems that unused transporters will hold the last pattern they transported as long as their power supply is stable and are not travelling through space. Anything involving warp, fluctuating power, or transporting other people immediately clears the buffers (and can even cause transporter failures)

;)

mcny 6y ago

Reminds me of a YouTube video which said every time someone gets beamed in Star Trek they are killed and someone else is created with their body and mind somehow. If that were possible, why wouldn’t they just store backups and “restore” from backup when someone died?

pbhjpbhj 6y ago
A type of restoring from backup, well the short-term pattern buffer memory, has been a feature of several "transporter" episodes I think? Like "no, we lost them; maybe they're 'in' the pattern buffers".
bmn__ 6y ago
> a YouTube video CGP Grey: The Trouble with Transporters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI Steve Shives: Is Star Trek's Transporter Actually a Murder Machine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8zEkIaB0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8zEkIaB0c > why wouldn’t they just https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Story-Breaker_Power https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Story-Breaker_Power For purpose of storytelling, these powerful side effects of transporters need to be restricted. Hence, as an in-universe explanation, a pattern buffer ∙ is a physical phenomenon that cannot be (fully) expressed as information ∙ deteriorates over time, so needs to be rematerialised soon. For the exception, see https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Relics_(episode) https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Relics_(episode)
danidiaz 6y ago
There's a notable book by philosopher Derek Parfit called "Reasons and Persons" that—among other things—uses "transporter" thought experiments to explore the nature of personal identity. The quasi-buddhistic conclusion, with which I agree, is that personal identity is largely an illusion. It's an easy illusion to maintain however, given that in practice our "software" is very difficult to "copy" exactly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_and_Persons#Personal_identity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasons_and_Persons#Personal_i...
overlordalex 6y ago
This is something that is addressed in the show! Pulling all my knowledge from just TOS and TNG; There are 3 broad cases: 1. Something goes wrong during transport and the person cannot be rematerialised. Typically they end up "stuck" in the pattern buffer of the transporter. Some fiddling and plot tension allows them to complete transport by the end of the episode 2. A partial transport leaves some part of the person behind. This is where you can end up with weird things like piles of sludge on each end, or evil doppelgängers who are mostly the same, but only some features were transported 3. Unknown phenomenon that creates a duplicate. The original has general "failed to transport" experience, while the clone has a complete experience and is so none the wiser that "they" also got left behind. From this we know that the pattern buffers can absolutely be used to store "backups". This is even discussed at some points after a crew member unexpectedly dies. However what complicates matters is that typically the patterns rapidly lose coherence in the buffers. Whether this happens immediately or after many years is left up to the plot requirements. Generally it seems that unused transporters will hold the last pattern they transported as long as their power supply is stable and are not travelling through space. Anything involving warp, fluctuating power, or transporting other people immediately clears the buffers (and can even cause transporter failures)