Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Keith Russell · 07-31-2002, 11:55 AM

Greetings:

The person who walked into the transporter on earth is killed.

The person who steps out of the transporter on the Enterprise is an exact copy.

Keith.

rainbow walking · 07-31-2002, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gerfinch:
<strong>I dont know if this is an original thought experiment but watching star trek after 3 days without sleep lead me to it.

Imagine a teleporter.How it works:
You have two boxes.One box scans every atom in your body.The other atom uses carbon calcium water etc the other side to make a perfect copy of you.When the second "you" is complete the first one is vapourised.

The problem: Is the second you,actually you.Or is it just a perfect copy of you with all your memories.More to the point what do you feel when you step through the teleporter ? Do you siimply end ,while a double of you continues your existence ?.

The other problem:What happens if the first teleporter breaks and does vapourise the original you ? Now their are two people both of whom are you.The question posed "which is the real you".The easy answer : both.Problem of the easy answer : what do you feel as you step through.Would "you" be one of them ,the one annoyed that his machine is broken as he went nowhere or the one that was teleported and didnt notice a thing.

Note : by "you" i do not mean a soul per se.What i mean is the feeling of continuity,that i am i from one minute to the next.If anyone can add to simplify point out errors or even solve this thought puzzle please reply.</strong>

rw: Is that the way the teleporter works in the Trek series? I thought it translated the body into some type of energetic wave and beamed it to a pre-set location and re-translated it back into its original physiological configuration?

tronvillain · 07-31-2002, 04:25 PM

Keith:

Quote:

The person who walked into the transporter on earth is killed.

The person who steps out of the transporter on the Enterprise is an exact copy.

Granted, but my argument is that an exact copy is as good as the orginal. You step into the transporter on Earth and you step out of the transporter on the Enterprise. Does it matter if you are not made of the same matter?

Demosthenes · 07-31-2002, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rainbow walking:
<strong>

rw: Is that the way the teleporter works in the Trek series? I thought it translated the body into some type of energetic wave and beamed it to a pre-set location and re-translated it back into its original physiological configuration?</strong>

when you think about it, yourealize that it's really not that different from the version described in the first post. The transporter a la' star trek still destroys the person by converting it into energy. All that matters is information.

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07-31-2002, 11:55 AM	#21
Keith Russell Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Overland Park, Kansas Posts: 1,336	Greetings: The person who walked into the transporter on earth is killed. The person who steps out of the transporter on the Enterprise is an exact copy. Keith.

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