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Comment by Michiel_Trimpe on Thou Art Physics · 2008-06-08T17:07:00.000Z · LW · GW

Elezier, have you ever read the paper: 'Consciousness: A Hyperspace View' by Saul-Paul Sirag? I don't have enough fundamental knowledge to determine whether the paper is theoretical crackpottery or serious physics, but for me it's description of consciousness being an extra dimension certainly sounded just right.

The theory basically proposed (supported by equations which were far beyond my current grasp) that if one keeps following the 'observers observing the observers' chain to it's inevitable conclusion an extra dimension of 'consciousness' could be added to string theory; which would mean that consciousness is an inherent property in the universe and that we as humans are merely slowly gaining more and more access to it.

Comment by Michiel_Trimpe on New Improved Lottery · 2008-06-05T14:46:13.000Z · LW · GW

Or we could just start a lottery where: a) You deposit money into a bank account b) You let it gather interest for 90 days. c) Use the interest to pay for handling fees d) Distribute 100% of the money back to the people who deposited it.

That is the service the public thinks we're selling: a uniform income distribution generator thingy.

Comment by Michiel_Trimpe on Effortless Technique · 2007-12-23T17:23:44.000Z · LW · GW

Here's my perspective on that utility function you hold so dear:

Imagine what would happen if a neural network in the wild developed a utility function through evolution. Does eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sound familiar?

Now imagine some neural networks gaining read/write access to their own utility function, once again evolving beyond good and evil, abandoning desire and living without effort, which is simply frustrated desire.