Transporting machine(actually cloning machine)

In summary, the movie "The Prestige" has a plot related to a cloning machine that could create millions of identical people with identical memories and history. This could have serious legal implications.
  • #1
superweirdo
156
0
What I would do is create a cloning machine but sell it as a transporting machine. Do you get it? Not yet? Lemme explain it. You wake up, you go to school by transporting you, what is actually happening is it kills you and clone you to the school, you return form the school the same way. So billions of poeple day every day!1 WIcked isn't it?
 
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  • #2
superweirdo said:
What I would do is create a cloning machine but sell it as a transporting machine. Do you get it? Not yet? Lemme explain it. You wake up, you go to school by transporting you, what is actually happening is it kills you and clone you to the school, you return form the school the same way. So billions of poeple day every day!1 WIcked isn't it?
Legal nightmare.

What happens if there is a glitch, and it doesn't "kill" the original after it's made the clone. Then there are two of "you", with identical memories and history up to the point of cloning, each claiming to be you and each with a right to life. Killing either one would then be "murder" by anyone's standard. What do you do?

Would keep the lawyers busy for a long time.

Best Regards
 
  • #3
Would keep the lawyers busy for a long time.
LMAO. Clone the damn lawyers, and make a small mistake.

Hey Super: I believe it was Penrose that mentions something like this in his book "An Emporer's New Mind". It sticks in my mind as being a fairly interesting discussion. I might be able to dig it up and post it. Anyway, this seems to address the 'me' problem of consciousness <I think that phrase is already taken though> which is very difficult to define accurately. I'm not sure how to define it in fact. However, if we started by considering there is a sensation of being one self, a sensation of being me, then is this inconsistant with doing what you're suggesting - destroy one and rebuild the person?

One thing is that our bodies are actually doing this exact thing all the time. We are patterns that replace each molecule in our body in something like 7 years. The "me" that existed 7 years ago has been replaced, molecule for molecule, albeit with some additional defects which result in wrinkles and other deformities! lol
 
  • #4
Guess wasn't my unique idea after all. Seems to good to be true.
 
  • #5
Q_Goest said:
I believe it was Penrose that mentions something like this in his book "An Emporer's New Mind". It sticks in my mind as being a fairly interesting discussion.
Yes Penrose does discuss it, but from what I remember he dismisses it because he doesn't believe it is possible to duplicate a consciousness. The thought experiment does have alarming implications for anyone who believes in the "uniqueness" of conscious identity - hence the reason that Penrose dismisses it.

Best Regards
 
  • #6
why not think of transporting your 3d working image and you are still in your bed.
may be a working holographic transfer or so...hey its interesting
 
  • #7
Watch the movie "The Prestige".
 
  • #8
moving finger said:
Legal nightmare.

What happens if there is a glitch, and it doesn't "kill" the original after it's made the clone.
This is precisely the plot of a short story called "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly. I thought it raised some fascinating questions about what it means to be the disposable original.

Also, Robert J.Sawyer's "Mindscan".
 
  • #9
moving finger said:
Yes Penrose does discuss it, but from what I remember he dismisses it because he doesn't believe it is possible to duplicate a consciousness. The thought experiment does have alarming implications for anyone who believes in the "uniqueness" of conscious identity - hence the reason that Penrose dismisses it.

Best Regards

That's interesting. So Penrose has the point of view that consciousness can't be completely described in terms of matter.
Penrose was also once of the opinion that time began at the Big Bang, and there was no time before that.
But he changed opinion about that.

I would think that copying a person atom by atom the resulting new person would not know any better then he was the same person as the original.

Isn't there also a hypothetical technique called 'uploading' which aims at preserving one's mind in the exact configuration (I take it that it would scan every neuron in your brain) you once was onto some digital medium (where it could be stored indefinately, until there is a technique for 'downloading' ).
 
  • #10
robheus said:
I would think that copying a person atom by atom the resulting new person would not know any better then he was the same person as the original.
Yeeaaah. Even as an atheist, I confess have difficulty with this.

I imagine stepping off the transporter and trying not to think of myself as simply a very carfeully arranged bunch of atoms that were, until two seconds ago, floating around in a plasma bottle, and that my arrangement of atoms simply makes me think I've been around 44 years, when in fact those are simply memories implanted there in the "pasting" process. Every molecule in my body and every thought in my brain is really only two seconds old.
 
  • #11
DaveC426913 said:
This is precisely the plot of a short story called "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly. I thought it raised some fascinating questions about what it means to be the disposable original.

Also, Robert J.Sawyer's "Mindscan".

Greg Bear came up with an interesting variation on this. A character creates a duplicate of himself for multitasking. Later when its tasks are complete he merges their memories and disposes of the copy. This wasn't the point of the story though, just a thing that happens in the book as a matter of course for the advanced society he describes. Many of the people in the society are fully digital minds (all people being saved in city memory when their corpus expires) and some are allowed extra 'incarnations' in flesh as needed. The persons in city memory also make 'partials' to send on errands.
 
  • #12
TheStatutoryApe said:
... some are allowed extra 'incarnations' in flesh as needed. The persons in city memory also make 'partials' to send on errands.
Yeeah. Wasn't Greg Bear inspired to write this after watching some Michael Keaton movie? :rolleyes:
 
  • #13
DaveC426913 said:
Yeeah. Wasn't Greg Bear inspired to write this after watching some Michael Keaton movie? :rolleyes:
Greg Bear "Eon" series...
"Eon" (1985)
"Eternity" (1988)
"Legacy" (1995)


Micheal Keaton movie...
"Multiplicity" (1996)

:wink:
 
  • #14
TheStatutoryApe said:
Greg Bear "Eon" series...
"Eon" (1985)
"Eternity" (1988)
"Legacy" (1995)
I quite enjoyed Eon, but I have not read the sequels. I am more interested in First Contact type stories like 'Rama' etc. I'm sort of presuming the Eon sequels read more like Stargate: The TV Series.
 
  • #15
DaveC426913 said:
I quite enjoyed Eon, but I have not read the sequels. I am more interested in First Contact type stories like 'Rama' etc. I'm sort of presuming the Eon sequels read more like Stargate: The TV Series.

Its a rather off topic but **** it.
The second is quite a departure from the first. It takes place on a planet where Bear illustrates an idea of competing 'intelliegent' ecosystems (gaia hypothesis like) where human invaders/naderite expatriates (via 'The Way') have upset the balance. Olmy is the main character.
The Third returns to the issue of 'The Way' and the war with the Jarts (rather illusory in Eon). Which yes is somewhat StarGate like. Though his description of an alternate Earth where Alexander's empire survived is rather fun.

I've become a Greg Bear fan. I've not heard of 'Rama' but know Sagan's 'Contact' from the movie. For the most part Bear's sci fi is more 'soft boiled' than 'hard' but certainly rooted in actual science. He actually wrote two fantasy novels [together called] 'Songs of Earth and Power' which you might find interesting if you like fantasy at all.
 
  • #16
TheStatutoryApe said:
The second is quite a departure from the first. It takes place on a planet where Bear illustrates an idea of competing 'intelliegent' ecosystems (gaia hypothesis like) where human invaders/naderite expatriates (via 'The Way') have upset the balance.
Cool. Then I will read it.

TheStatutoryApe said:
I've not heard of 'Rama'
As in: Clarke's "Rendevous with ... " It is a top 50 must read.

TheStatutoryApe said:
For the most part Bear's sci fi is more 'soft boiled' than 'hard' but certainly rooted in actual science.
I like piquing peoples' interest in it by describing it as taking place in 'a fairly non-descript asteroid that's 100 miles in diameter, 200 miles long on the outside, and 500 million light years long on the inside.'
 

1. How does a transporting machine work?

A transporting machine, also known as a cloning machine, works by scanning the physical and genetic information of an object or living organism and reproducing it in a different location. This is achieved through advanced technology and complex algorithms that allow for the precise duplication of matter.

2. Can a transporting machine clone living beings?

Yes, a transporting machine has the ability to clone living beings. However, this process is still in the experimental stages and has not yet been perfected. There are also ethical considerations and potential consequences that must be carefully considered before attempting to clone a living being.

3. Is it possible to transport an object or living being to a different time period?

Currently, it is not possible to transport an object or living being to a different time period using a transporting machine. Time travel is a complex and theoretical concept that is not yet possible with our current technology and understanding of physics.

4. What are the potential benefits of using a transporting machine?

The potential benefits of using a transporting machine include the ability to easily and quickly transport objects and materials to different locations without the need for transportation vehicles or infrastructure. It could also have medical applications, such as creating exact replicas of organs for transplants.

5. Are there any risks associated with using a transporting machine?

As with any advanced technology, there are potential risks associated with using a transporting machine. These include the possibility of errors during the cloning process, ethical dilemmas, and the potential for misuse or abuse of the technology. It is important to carefully consider and regulate the use of transporting machines to ensure their safe and responsible use.

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