If the reasoning goes A->B->C->D->E but you stopped at B because it seemed potentially problematic, then everything from B to E looks like an indefensible leap. This is not a problem with the reasoning [...]
It is. An argument is only as strong as its weakest link.
Sorry if it came across that way, I did not stop at the first possible objection, I am specifically questioning the parts that seem the weakest to me. (For the argument regarding bringing back past people, indeed starship and self-driving are not too relevant. Reversing entropy and simulation absolutely are.)
I don’t have any issues with the idea of resurrecting people based on a sufficiently detailed scan. (You write that “There’s a lot of people today who speculate that some kind of weirdness happens in the brain that can never be reduced to physics.”, but I don’t think anyone (on LW at least) would seriously argue that human brains can’t be simulated for some weird reason.)
The idea that we could recover past states of the universe in sufficient detail is by far the most suspicious claim, and it is central to the idea of bringing back past people, that’s why I was addressing that specifically.
in the event you were referring to far future resurrection of all intelligent species carried out by machines not originating from Earth
Well you suggest in the article that our simulators would resurrect us, am I missing something?
>”It is. An argument is only as strong as its weakest link.”
If the conclusion hinges upon that link, sure.
>”Reversing entropy and simulation absolutely are.”
You do not need to reverse entropy to remake a person. Otherwise we are reversing entropy every time we manufacture copies of something which has broken. Even the “whole universe scan” method does not actually wind back the clock, except in sim.
>”Well you suggest in the article that our simulators would resurrect us, am I missing something?”
Yes. If every intelligent species takes the attitude that “it’s not my problem, someone else will take care of it” then nobody does. We cannot know for sure how many intelligent, technologically capable species exist. In the absence of confirmation, the only way we can be sure that a technological means of resurrection will be developed is if we do it. If we’re not alone, nothing is lost except that we have reinvented the wheel.
>”The idea that we could recover past states of the universe in sufficient detail is by far the most suspicious claim, and it is central to the idea of bringing back past people, that’s why I was addressing that specifically.”
I agree actually and this is why I furnished two methods, although there’s a third method which can also remake people based on scans of the still living, it’s just considerably more limited than the other two. My central point being that physics permits such a technology, there exists demand for it, so it is reasonable to expect it will exist in some form. That is by itself remarkable enough, for people outside of LessWrong anyway.
It is. An argument is only as strong as its weakest link.
Sorry if it came across that way, I did not stop at the first possible objection, I am specifically questioning the parts that seem the weakest to me. (For the argument regarding bringing back past people, indeed starship and self-driving are not too relevant. Reversing entropy and simulation absolutely are.)
I don’t have any issues with the idea of resurrecting people based on a sufficiently detailed scan. (You write that “There’s a lot of people today who speculate that some kind of weirdness happens in the brain that can never be reduced to physics.”, but I don’t think anyone (on LW at least) would seriously argue that human brains can’t be simulated for some weird reason.)
The idea that we could recover past states of the universe in sufficient detail is by far the most suspicious claim, and it is central to the idea of bringing back past people, that’s why I was addressing that specifically.
Well you suggest in the article that our simulators would resurrect us, am I missing something?
>”It is. An argument is only as strong as its weakest link.”
If the conclusion hinges upon that link, sure.
>”Reversing entropy and simulation absolutely are.”
You do not need to reverse entropy to remake a person. Otherwise we are reversing entropy every time we manufacture copies of something which has broken. Even the “whole universe scan” method does not actually wind back the clock, except in sim.
>”Well you suggest in the article that our simulators would resurrect us, am I missing something?”
Yes. If every intelligent species takes the attitude that “it’s not my problem, someone else will take care of it” then nobody does. We cannot know for sure how many intelligent, technologically capable species exist. In the absence of confirmation, the only way we can be sure that a technological means of resurrection will be developed is if we do it. If we’re not alone, nothing is lost except that we have reinvented the wheel.
>”The idea that we could recover past states of the universe in sufficient detail is by far the most suspicious claim, and it is central to the idea of bringing back past people, that’s why I was addressing that specifically.”
I agree actually and this is why I furnished two methods, although there’s a third method which can also remake people based on scans of the still living, it’s just considerably more limited than the other two. My central point being that physics permits such a technology, there exists demand for it, so it is reasonable to expect it will exist in some form. That is by itself remarkable enough, for people outside of LessWrong anyway.