ChristianKl comments on Stupid Questions December 2014 - Less Wrong

16 Post author: Gondolinian 08 December 2014 03:39PM

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Comment author: Dahlen 08 December 2014 09:20:39PM *  4 points [-]

Is it possible even in principle to perform a "consciousness transfer" from one human body to another? On the same principle as mind uploading, only the mind ends up in another biological body rather than a computer. Can you transfer "software" from one brain to another in a purely informational way, while preserving the anatomical integrity of the second organism? If so, would the recipient organism come from a fully alive and functional human who would be basically killed for this purpose? Or bred for this purpose? Or would it require a complete brain transplant? (If so, how would neural structures found in the second body heal & connect with the transplanted brain so that a functional central nervous system results?) Wouldn't the person whose consciousness is being transferred experience some sort of personality change due to "inhabiting" a structurally different brain or body?

Is this whole hypothesis just an artifact of reminiscent introjected mind-body dualism, not compatible with modern science? Does the science world even know enough about consciousness and the brain to be able to answer this question?

I'm asking this because ever since I found out about ems and mind uploading, having minds moved to bodies rather than computers seemed to me a more appealing hypothetical solution to the problem of death/mortality. Unfortunately, I lack the necessary background knowledge to think coherently about this idea, so I figured there are many people on LW who don't, and could explain to me whether this whole idea makes sense.

Comment author: ChristianKl 08 December 2014 10:52:14PM 1 point [-]

There no such thing as "purely informational" when it comes to brains.

I'm asking this because ever since I found out about ems and mind uploading, having minds moved to bodies rather than computers seemed to me a more appealing hypothetical solution to the problem of death/mortality.

If you want to focus on that problem it's likely easier to simply fix up whatever is wrong in the body you are starting with than doing complex uploading.

Comment author: Dahlen 12 December 2014 01:24:22AM 0 points [-]

There no such thing as "purely informational" when it comes to brains.

It's good to know, but can you elaborate more on this in the context of the grandparent comment? Perhaps with an analogy to computers.

If you want to focus on that problem it's likely easier to simply fix up whatever is wrong in the body you are starting with than doing complex uploading.

It occurred to me too, but I'm not sure this is the definite conclusion. Fully healing an aging organism suffering from at least one severe disease, while more reasonably closer to current medical technology, wouldn't leave the patient in as good a state as simply moving to a 20-year-old body.

Comment author: ChristianKl 12 December 2014 12:08:55PM *  0 points [-]

It's good to know, but can you elaborate more on this in the context of the grandparent comment? Perhaps with an analogy to computers.

Brains are no computers.

Fully healing an aging organism suffering from at least one severe disease, while more reasonably closer to current medical technology, wouldn't leave the patient in as good a state as simply moving to a 20-year-old body.

Of course you wouldn't only heal one severage disease. You would also lengthen telomeres and do all sorts of other things that reduce aging effects.