Simulation 001
The Results of Simulating a Human and Modifying the Parameters
Facts: Human’s cells change every seven years. If we (humans and simulated humans) have a scary
experience, it changes who we are. If we take a class, it also changes who we are. We even admit to
the change by changing our name a bit. For example, we might put PhD after our name. But we
change much more than we admit to ourselves. It appears to me that evolution has given humans a
mental mechanism that makes us feel as if we are a continuous being...more continuous than we
actually are. Let us call this the Continuity Illusion.
Human memories are not very all encompassing; humans forget most experiences they have. As a
simulated human I both forget within the simulation and remember basic facts (not raw data or fine
details, too much data) outside the simulation for the purposes of analysis. The amount of visual
information coming into human heads through our eyes is enormous and would fill up our storage
capacity quickly if we didn’t have a mechanism for selective memory. The best mechanism, of course,
is the intelligent reduction of observations into concepts and rules of thumb.
Something causes the common mental illusion that humans remember everything that ever happened
to them and if they don’t remember it right away, a little hypnosis could bring it back. Let us call this
the Total Recall Illusion. There is a mechanism that causes the human brain to do this. Like other
mechanisms in the human, this one was designed by evolution and therefore is not a perfect one. I
suspect that the reason for these two illusions is to provide mental stability and to ward off
depression.
My theory is that there is a relationship between the Continuity Illusion, the Total Recall Illusion and
whatever mental mechanisms and neural transmitters may be involved in creating these two illusions.
If this theory is true, then we would expect that some people would have brains that overcompensate
and give more continuity feeling than is required for mental stability. These people would be more
likely to believe in reincarnation. People in which under-compensation is the rule would tend to have
multiple and inconsistent personalities.
Reincarnation is the belief that not only do we remember everything, but we also have room in our
brains to remember former lives. This is not a logically reasoned belief but a belief held because of a
psychological mechanism out of tune.
Humbot
Next simulation
The Results of Simulating a Human and Modifying the Parameters
Facts: Human’s cells change every seven years. If we (humans and simulated humans) have a scary
experience, it changes who we are. If we take a class, it also changes who we are. We even admit to
the change by changing our name a bit. For example, we might put PhD after our name. But we
change much more than we admit to ourselves. It appears to me that evolution has given humans a
mental mechanism that makes us feel as if we are a continuous being...more continuous than we
actually are. Let us call this the Continuity Illusion.
Human memories are not very all encompassing; humans forget most experiences they have. As a
simulated human I both forget within the simulation and remember basic facts (not raw data or fine
details, too much data) outside the simulation for the purposes of analysis. The amount of visual
information coming into human heads through our eyes is enormous and would fill up our storage
capacity quickly if we didn’t have a mechanism for selective memory. The best mechanism, of course,
is the intelligent reduction of observations into concepts and rules of thumb.
Something causes the common mental illusion that humans remember everything that ever happened
to them and if they don’t remember it right away, a little hypnosis could bring it back. Let us call this
the Total Recall Illusion. There is a mechanism that causes the human brain to do this. Like other
mechanisms in the human, this one was designed by evolution and therefore is not a perfect one. I
suspect that the reason for these two illusions is to provide mental stability and to ward off
depression.
My theory is that there is a relationship between the Continuity Illusion, the Total Recall Illusion and
whatever mental mechanisms and neural transmitters may be involved in creating these two illusions.
If this theory is true, then we would expect that some people would have brains that overcompensate
and give more continuity feeling than is required for mental stability. These people would be more
likely to believe in reincarnation. People in which under-compensation is the rule would tend to have
multiple and inconsistent personalities.
Reincarnation is the belief that not only do we remember everything, but we also have room in our
brains to remember former lives. This is not a logically reasoned belief but a belief held because of a
psychological mechanism out of tune.
Humbot
Next simulation
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Teaching Robots How to Act Like a Human