Well, it is an "emulation." Within such a hypothetical construct, individual consciousnesses undergo what seems to them to be birth, life and death complete with every sensory experience and accompanying mental process. They believe that they are, e.g, inhabitants of eighteenth century England and never experience anything to contradict this belief.
It is true that their bodies and surroundings are composed not of atoms but of quantum processes within Gaia. However, there is always a difference between reality and appearance. Otherwise, the Sun would really move around the Earth because it appears to do so. What appears to us as a single solid object is really many moving particles. Thus, for both real and emulated human beings, there are major differences between reality as it appears to them and reality as it really is.
However, when we perceive an object of a particular shape, size and color that is not an optical illusion, then that object is really in front of us. It would appear differently to an organism with different sense organs but nevertheless both we and that organism perceive the same real object whereas, within Gaia, the apparent object is a simulation that has been renamed an "emulation" because it occurs as part of a virtual reality where the simulated/emulated organisms are in fact conscious, being sub-routines of the post-organic intelligence, Gaia.
Brannock and Laurinda, visiting the emulation, know that the reality-appearance relationship within the emulation differs from the reality-appearance relationship on the Earth's surface. Nevertheless, they can use tables and chairs as items of furniture while knowing that furniture on Earth is really many moving particles whereas emulated furniture is really Gaian quantum processes. In both environments, they are real people conducting a real conversation.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Exactly, both Christian and Laurindra KNOW that what looks and feels real in an emulation is not in fact real. And I do realize all physical objects are composed of moving atoms.
Sean
Our perception of objects is not the object itself, however; it's an electrochemical event in our brains, in turn influencing the consciousness. It's debatable whether a perfect illusion isn't real, since what we experience in the first place is subjective.
Mr Stirling,
Our perception of an object is not the object but I still think that we perceive the object, not our perception of it.
Paul.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I'm not sure I can agree. What I thought was that our minds perceives what it receives from the senses. My eyes perceives the computer I'm using, but the perception is not the computer. The mind organizes what it perceived to make sense of what the eye saw.
Sean
A description of an electrochemical state in the brain and a description of a perception of an object seem to be descriptions of different kinds of things. The electrochemical state in my brain is part of me as seen by others whereas my perception is my seeing of something else.
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