# Would you transfer your mind into a computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076 "2011-03-17T22:22:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/21 "2011-03-18T09:55:04Z")
Hrm… now that’s a thougie… Do I want to recall every shit I ever took, every time my back wanted to divorce the rest of me, every migraine, every cramp and cut and bruise? Definitely not, so I’d like to know that I won’t have to - i.e., that “perfect recall” better come with a “perfect shutdown” ability. That leaves the question of whether the world is ready for a very agressive computer, because I suspect I’d be one. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/22 "2011-03-18T12:24:24Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Would think it was me, would NOT be me. That’s what I was trying to get across as the big risk. I’d have to be terminally ill before I’d give it a go. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/23 "2011-03-18T13:01:16Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Would think it was me, would NOT be me. I don’t think there’s any difference between being me and being an entity that completely believes it is me. But I wouldn’t step into the machine. Intellectually, I accept its validity, but emotionally and viscerally, it feels like a death sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/24 "2011-03-18T13:08:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This is not correct, as we have a sense of continued consciousness (aka a soul) in the real life situations. The fact that the original person has to be destroyed means there is no transfer. Both would think they were the same person, and both would be correct from their own point of view, so we kill the one that actually wanted to make the transfer. We have no way of telling whether the sense of continuity we perceive really _means anything_ beyond recall of, and descendance from previous remembered states. Assuming perfect implementation in the OP’s scenario, the transferred mind would also experience a similar sense of continuity, and would argue with us that it really had worked - just as I might argue this morning that I’m essentially the same person that went to bed last night. As I said - I wouldn’t undertake the process, but not for any reason I can support with logic or science. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/25 "2011-03-18T14:09:07Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t think there’s any difference between being me and being an entity that completely believes it is me. Suppose that the process was identical to the premise in the OP, _except_ that it was non-destructive of the input brain. Now there are two copies of you. Err, two exemplars: the original and a copy. But there aren’t two yous. Can the original direct the will of the copy? Can the original motivate the copy’s motor functions? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/26 "2011-03-18T14:26:22Z")
…But if I did that, how would people [ever get rid of me](http://bit.ly/gDar75)? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/27 "2011-03-18T14:31:09Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Suppose that the process was identical to the premise in the OP, _except_ that it was non-destructive of the input brain. Now there are two copies of you. Err, two exemplars: the original and a copy. But there aren’t two yous. Can the original direct the will of the copy? Can the original motivate the copy’s motor functions? There are two people who have every justification for _saying they are me_ - or at least, pretty much the same justification I currently have for saying I’m the same ‘me’ as yesterday, it’s just that there are two processes descendant from the previous state, instead of one. No, they’re separate from each other - they’re individuals, but they’re both ‘me’, just not the same ‘me’ as each other. The reason we don’t have the philosophical and emotional and descriptive tools to make sense of this is that it doesn’t really happen in nature - split brain scenarios come close, but don’t make it any easier to reconcile with philosophies that regard ‘me’ as something more or different from just the latest in a sequence of cascading states that is singular merely by circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/28 "2011-03-18T14:34:07Z")
Or to put it another way: there is one of you not because you’re fundamentally singular, but just because the means to branch you aren’t readily available. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/29 "2011-03-18T17:04:34Z")
Benji and Frankie Mouse want to buy Arthur Dent’s brain… Benji Mouse: It could always be replaced, if you think it’s important. Frankie Mouse: Yes, an electronic brain, a simple one would suffice. Arthur Dent: A _simple_ one! Zaphod Beeblebrox: Yeah, you’d just have to program it to say “What?” and “I don’t understand” and “Where’s the tea?”. Who’d know the difference?" Arthur Dent: _What_? Zaphod Beeblebrox: See what I mean? Arthur Dent: _I’d_ notice the difference Frankie Mouse: No you wouldn’t, you’d be programmed not to. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/30 "2011-03-18T17:25:00Z")
Part of me says yes, the rest of me says no. “Me” is not just my mind, but my whole body. It is not just my mind, but the scars I have earned over my life - literally and figuratively. My persona and personality are based as much on my appearance and my physical self as on my mental self. So I would not download myself, but I would be interested in any cyborg upgrades you have. I already have a titanium pin in my elbow. And I always wanted Molly-style mirrorshades a la Neuromancer. I don’t care for any retractable claws, but an artificial heart and other organs guaranteed to last a few hundred years combined with neural regeneration therapies would be awesome . In other words,\* I\* want to be immortal, not some android replicant, but I have no problem with enhancing the original model. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/31 "2011-03-18T18:01:21Z")
Absolutely. One of my biggest fears is that I’ll die before this technology becomes available. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/32 "2011-03-18T18:04:23Z")
> [@Agnostic\_Pagan](#): > > In other words,\* I\* want to be immortal, not some android replicant, but I have no problem with enhancing the original model. This suggests an interesting Hijack: At Allembones, Inc our state-of-the-art nanobots can replace your bony scaffolding with wear-resistant teflon and titanium honeycomb. It’s not entirely painless, but all our past clients will assure you it is a week in hell well-spent. Lose some weight, no more joint pain, gain some strength and maybe gain a few inches in height for a few extra quatloos. You’d go for that, right? For a modest fee we can enhance your current muscle fiber to increase strength and durability, or replace selected components with biohydraulics for superior durability and utility. etc… We can even replace/upgrade PARTS of your brain. New hypothalymus? Amygdala? How about portions of your cerebral cortex for improved frontal lobe or auditory function? How much is too much? If the entire brain is replaced, little by little. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/33 "2011-03-18T18:11:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t think there’s any difference between being me and being an entity that completely believes it is me. There is. _I_ come to an end. Then this thing starts to think it is me. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/34 "2011-03-18T18:27:12Z")
I’m really surprised so many are answering no. For myself, light this firecracker!! Is the android body vacuum-capable? Crush-proof? Give me a light source and dump me in the Marianas or or aim me at Alpha Centauri. I know how to deal deal with Morlocks and Eloi. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/35 "2011-03-18T19:01:14Z")
I’m confident that any system which models my brain with sufficient precision to be indistinguishable to all other tests will meet the internal one as well, from “his” perspective. My computer copy would be self-aware, and would identify as me. But would the self _presently_ resident in my organic brain somehow find itself in the patterns of the computer? ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/36 "2011-03-18T19:10:38Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > This suggests an interesting Hijack: > At Allembones, Inc our state-of-the-art nanobots can replace your bony scaffolding with wear-resistant teflon and titanium honeycomb. It’s not entirely painless, but all our past clients will assure you it is a week in hell well-spent. Lose some weight, no more joint pain, gain some strength and maybe gain a few inches in height for a few extra quatloos. You’d go for that, right? > > For a modest fee we can enhance your current muscle fiber to increase strength and durability, or replace selected components with biohydraulics for superior durability and utility. > > etc… > > We can even replace/upgrade PARTS of your brain. New hypothalymus? Amygdala? How about portions of your cerebral cortex for improved frontal lobe or auditory function? > > How much is too much? If the entire brain is replaced, little by little. A week in hell for an eternity of traveling the world (so many books, so many restaurants! So many women!) and then the stars - I think we could work out a deal. What are your payment plans? All up front, you say? Hmmm, I think we could do business, but my android butler/bodyguard/chess player will be watching you during the entire procedure. Just have a couple of the joints make a cracking sound now and then for nostalgia’s sake. And no changes to the dermis. Like I said, I like me scars. And the brain is still off limits except for the regeneration nanobots. Well, I guess I would let you clean up my olfactory nerves. I have a terrible sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/37 "2011-03-18T19:31:33Z")
I haven’t posted in the favorite short stories thread, but this would be one, for its beautiful concision as well as the idea itself: [“Learning to Be Me”](http://books.google.com/books?id=SmCi9jMy1S4C&pg=PA102&hl=en&ei=p7CDTZ9exLLRAcPDleAI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=true) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/38 "2011-03-18T21:33:01Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > There is. _I_ come to an end. Then this thing starts to think it is me. Arguably, that could have happened when you fell asleep last night, and woke up this morning - and nobody - including you - would be the wiser. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/39 "2011-03-18T22:31:20Z")
No way - it would be death. In this scenario, the original person gets destroyed, plain and simple - no mechanical replica can change that. Besides, what if my replica inherits my bipolar and ADD with no way to medicate them? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076/40 "2011-03-18T22:34:29Z")
I wouldn’t, not so much because I’m afraid that it won’t be “me” in the machine (I think the Datas of the multiverse can be capable of consciousness), but that, despite the assurances and protestations of the scientists and engineers to the contrary, I suspect something vital won’t “translate” over. Going with the Trek thing again, said electronic mind would be akin to Roger Corby II, not Roger Corby I. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-transfer-your-mind-into-a-computer/575076.md?page=3)