Just saw _The Sixth Day_ on TBS... interesting movie

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For those who haven't seen it, the premise is they can clone people who are identical replicas of the original in every way. They even have the same memories, to the extent they THINK they ARE the original.

The movie depicts people dying, and not really minding, because their memories are about to be transfered to a clone. Not one of them seems to be worried about it.

So, this got me thinking about a similar question I had about Star Trek; this question was also raised in Michael Crichton's Timeline:

If you are totally destroyed, but an identical replica, down to the very last memory is created in your place, is it you? Or is it just somebody who, to anybody else, is you, who thinks it's you, but it's not you?

By this, I mean, is it the same consciousness? Or is the original you dead and gone, and no longer sentient?

For that matter, do you ever wonder if the same thing happens if you lose consciousness, or go to sleep? That is, when you regain consiousness or wake up, the consciousness now in your body is not the one that was there before, that on some quantum level maybe it is different, and the old you is in fact destroyed?

Man, I am going to need some pot to contemplate this further. Too bad I don't do pot...

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1. kick

Come on, this is an interesting topic! No bites?

[Parrcrow]

2. okay then

Watching Arnold "act" with himself posed far mor disturbing questions regarding the nature of artificial life.

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3. Granted, but no threadjacking allowed here!

[Parrcrow]

5. sorry

you're absolutely right

[Old and In the Way]

4. Pretty heavy questions.....

I've often wondered, why do we sleep? Whats the point? It's obviously a function of the brain, but why? All animals do it, too. Seems pretty damn inefficient to shut the system down for 30% of one's lifetime.