X-Message-Number: 26849 Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 10:01:00 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: More on anonymity and simulating brains More comments on anonymity and computers imitating brains: For what it's worth, I have never submitted messages to Cryonet or elsewhere under a pseudonym or anonymously. Still, some more points on messages: if someone sends a message anonymously, then no one can automatically trust them to know ANYTHING. This means that anonymous or pseudonymous messages must have more references and description to support what they claim. (I note that that extra referencing/description generally isn't provided). This remains particularly true when the message may conflict with what its readers believe. It's very rare for such messages to affect us unless they give reasons for their claim (references). Messages by known persons can stand up better on the basis of the knowledge of the person sending them. Put simply, if Joe Waynick sends a message about Alcor to Cryonet, it's going to be far more substantial because of its open origin, as opposed to some anonymous or pseudonymous person sending exactly the same message. This is, of course, the main problem with messages from anyone who posts anonymously or using a pseudonym on Cryonet. I also note that Yvan Bozzonetti in msg #26838 discusses computer simulation of synapses. Yes, synapses can be quite complex. However I'd also say that unlike neurons, a single synapse does not need lots of computers to simulate. It's not got any parallelism, so that we don't run into the problems caused by simulating parallel machines with fewer machines: the problem I pointed out in my last message on computer-simulated brains (for Yvan). Best wishes and long long life for all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26849