From: peter@stycx.hacktic.nl (Author)
Newsgroups: talk.origins,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: The Meaning of (A) Life
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 05:19:26 PST
Organization: River of Doom. Running through Central Holland

> This kind of argument is what has driven me to seriously consider the idea
> that some might call solipsist.  Suppose life were a simulation, when you

Well Ken I would like to get deeper into this, by expanding on Harry (The 
Easlon Test) by assuming a virtual reality (World) answering to the 
following set of specifications.

1) The simulation allows for n-participants who are introduced to the 
   simulation, without any memory of their previous existance, by means 
   of sudden appearance (in the perspective of those already 
   participating) and withdrawn from by sudden disintegration.

2) The world itself consists of the inner surface of a ball with in the
   center of the inner space a light bulb which turns itself on and off 
   in a regular fashion allowing for the notion of day and night cycles. 
   Gravity applies to the total inner surface.

3) The simulation involves a neural net which initially was trained 
   corresponding to a set of specifications determining the all aspects 
   of the virtual world. Alterations to this world can be made by means 
   of retraining by the simulation team, or by learning resulting from 
   input patterns originating from the activities of the participants, 
   such as the errection of structures on the surface.

4) The simulation allows for an evolutionary process applying to 
   morphological alteration of the the shape assumed by the participants
   Such alteration can be induced by the external simulation team, or as
   the result of activity patterns by the participants, for example if
   the participants were to engage in heavy physical work for a 
   sufficient length of time or with sufficient reccurence the shapes 
   would gradually increase the outward signs of strength.

5) Information can be transmitted among the participants by means of 
   verbal communication within a particular range, or at a certain stage
   by means of written records. Information can also be transmitted from 
   the simulation team to the participants in a one-directional fashion 
   to either one individual or a number of individuals by means of verbal
  messages or by the application of symbolics, for example message coded
  in irregularities of the light intensity of the central bulb.

The participants in this hypothetical simulation would have no notion of 
the fact that they are part in a simulation, so they would embark on a 
quest to obtain knowledge about their environment by means of good and 
proper scientific investigation, they would arrive at a model about their 
world which can be tested in the context of their world. They would 
develop theories relating to their evolution and their history. Religious 
structures would emmerge from the revelations obtained by individuals who 
were selected by the team.

What we have here is a world which is a reality in the minds of the 
participants, each individual participant would have his own model of 
this reality about which she reaches an agreement with the others. This 
agreement would constitute the current paradigm held by the participants.

Anybody out there who would like to comment on that paradigm and the 
reality as it was captured by the participants. In what is this than 
grounded?

Yes Ken I think you're on to something when you made that remark, 
something which has been occupying me for a long time and which got 
strongly reinforced when I became aware of the work of the Profs Bohm and 
Scheldrake. You pointed at the loop which is an unavoidable consequence 
of this line of thought. Somebody pointed at the resemblance of my 
earlier remarks in this thread, as conforming to Kalki. Well I feel that 
that line of reasoning could be very valid. But first let's see how 
things would look from the perspective of our participants.

If there is anybody out there who would wnat to take this idea apart, 
you're welcome to it. Maybe some of the VR people would like to take a 
crack at it. or what about those of you who are into neural networking?

Greetings and have fum with it.

-Peter

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Peter@stycx.hacktic.nl (Author)                      Stycx BBS +31 3404 59551
The responsibility for chance...lies within us. We must begin with ourselves, 
teaching ourselves not to close our minds prematurely to the novel, 
the suprising, the seemingly radical.                        -Alvin Toeffler   
     
  
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