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Repost from the old spiked, "inspired" by backdraft's recent post.
2016 Asimov Panelists:
David Chalmers Professor of philosophy, New York University
Zohreh Davoudi Theoretical physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
James Gates Theoretical physicist, University of Maryland
Lisa Randall Theoretical physicist, Harvard University
Max Tegmark Cosmologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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(Old Spike)
(Dixie Normous: Image specialist)
The simulations part is the "easy one". We can theorize how we are nothing but sims on huge computer, but explaining consciousness is the hard part. How do you make consciousness by spinning data around? Really it applies whether your talking about a simulation or not.
All computers simply react blindly to signals. Basically, it's a giant collection of blind on / off switches. No matter how you scale or complicate this on / off switch collection, it should always remain unconscious because that's what it is at the fundamental level, a blind reaction to some signal.
We are closer to understanding interstellar space travel, or time travel than we are at understanding what consciousness is. It's quite funny because it's at the very core of what we are (a being that can have experiences), but yet it's the least understood thing there is. If you think about it, it really is the biggest magic trick there is and YOU are it.
You can't explain yourself :)