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RowanE comments on Crazy Ideas Thread - Less Wrong Discussion
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How conscious are our models of other people? For example; in dreams it seems like I am talking and interacting with other people. Their behavior is sometimes surprising and unpredictable. They use language, express emotion, appear to have goals, etc. It could just be that I, being less conscious, see dream-people as being more conscious than in reality.
I can somewhat predict what other people in the real world will do or say, including what they might say about experiencing consciousness.
Authors can create realistic characters, plan their actions and internal thoughts, and explore the logical (or illogical) results. My guess is that the more intelligent/introspective an author is, the closer the characters floating around in his or her mind are to being conscious.
Many religions encourage people to have a personal relationship with a supernatural entity which involves modeling the supernatural agency as an (anthropomorphic) being, which partially instantiates a maybe-conscious being in their minds...
Maybe imaginary friends are real.
Some authors say that their characters will resist plot elements they (the characters) don't like.
Some would say that this is their imagination.
I resist plot elements that my empathy doesn't like, to the point that I will imagine alternate endings to particularly unfortunate stories.
This does not weird me out. They use parts of their brain to simulate characters brains. They use another part of their brain to write a plot they themselves like. Why should the simulated character necessarily like it? If they have good simulation skills - and if not they will never write memorable characters - this is perfectly expected...