> if you could replace your brain’s cells, one at a time, with nanomachines that mimic the function of the original cell, I enjoy thought experiments, and have

> if you could replace your brain’s cells, one at a time, with nanomachines that mimic the function of the original cell, I enjoy thought experiments, and have thought about this myself. And have probably read some good science fiction based around the premise. My current position is that a nanomachine which replaces a neuron or glial cell and behaves the same way that cell would is essentially magical thinking. It’s the everlasting gobstopper of consciousness. The gobstopper faces the issue of conservation of energy: how can it continue to have flavor and not get any smaller? The nanotech faces an analogous issue of “continuation of systemic process (as opposed to divergence)” that I don’t have enough clarity to describe yet. This makes my position weak, and I accept that. I think I am saying “if consciousness is a property of the body system, then introducing pre-built components that originated outside of the system will change it in unanticipated ways.” I’ll have to give it more thought if we start to create artificial replacements for simpler organs (heart, lungs, etc.) that work better than the originals. I’d like to live in that world and be faced with the question.