Thread: Digital Organisms

Originally Posted by Noogah

I wouldn't consider it alive per say. It doesn't have a soul, or a "brain"

Trees aren't alive?

no. you have to have a "brain" to be alive.

Wait, organisms? DAMNIT

I thought you said digital orgasms. I'm out of here...

Originally Posted by really

Do you think Alzheimer's-patients counts? By the way I'm pretty sure I can remember my forth birthday party, and maybe even my third!

I have never heard of Alzheimer's completely eliminating someone's memory before. Only parts of long-term and most short-term.

Originally Posted by Noogah

I wouldn't consider it alive per say. It doesn't have a soul, or a "brain"

However, by dedicating a part of your life to it, I would say that it gains a kind of fragment of life. This reminds me of a game called "pocket god" for the iphone. You become the ruler of a small tribe of people, and I've wondered the same thing.

Boy, that's not what I was getting at at all. Controlling a simulation of people that does not simulate every aspect their existence is hardly life.

What I mean is, the simulated people in your game don't actually possess any characteristics of living entities, and are mostly controlled by predetermined interactions instead of procedural code, they only appear to behave like living entities.

Originally Posted by Xei

Trees aren't alive?

Well, they are alive in the sense that they are growing organisms that take in water and food to grow, but I wouldn't say that they have a "life".

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

Boy, that's not what I was getting at at all. Controlling a simulation of people that does not simulate every aspect their existence is hardly life.

What I mean is, the simulated people in your game don't actually possess any characteristics of living entities, and are mostly controlled by predetermined interactions instead of procedural code, they only appear to behave like living entities.

Okay, NOW I think you hit the nail on the head there.

Originally Posted by Noogah

Well, they are alive in the sense that they are growing organisms that take in water and food to grow, but I wouldn't say that they have a "life".

I bet they never get invited to parties

I bet they get invited to Ents though.

(Sorry, that's an obscure joke...) :V

you're being a little hasty in calling that obscure. It's better to be unhasty.

It's obscure because Cambridge parties are called Ents. :B

See what I did there..?

I'm aware that LotR is a rather large phenomenon.

I walked right into it

Originally Posted by Noogah

Okay, NOW I think you hit the nail on the head there.

Really? Because my point is that Evolve 4.0 does do that.

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

I have never heard of Alzheimer's completely eliminating someone's memory before. Only parts of long-term and most short-term.

Well it doesn't take away the sense of self. It does confuse the personal self, but the personal self is no consciousness. Same thing with cutting off limbs, etc.

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

Really? Because my point is that Evolve 4.0 does do that.

Uh...I know. That was my point.

You said in your first post that...

I wouldn't consider it alive per say. It doesn't have a soul, or a "brain"

A soul is a non-term so I'd prefer you didn't use it, but brains are NOT a requisite of being alive.

However, by dedicating a part of your life to it, I would say that it gains a kind of fragment of life.

That is not what I was getting at. Evolve 4.0 simulates every aspect of the organism; simulations like The Sims, Sim City, e.t.c. Aren't actually simulations at all. They're more like interactive statistics consoles that do a lot of high-level work without any low-level functions behind them. My point was that Digital Organisms are essentially alive in the sens that they LIVE, not that they are 'thought of as being alive or personable'.

Originally Posted by really

Well it doesn't take away the sense of self. It does confuse the personal self, but the personal self is no consciousness. Same thing with cutting off limbs, etc.

Cutting off your limbs =/= Damaging your brain when it comes to consciousness. I have no clue how you can compare the two.

Well, no conciousness means no life to me. The characters, although following artificial interactivity are still only electric pulses running through an extremely complex maze of gates, and bridges. (a computer) The characters have no self awareness level, so I don't consider them alive.

Originally Posted by Noogah

Well, no conciousness means no life to me. The characters, although following artificial interactivity are still only electric pulses running through an extremely complex maze of gates, and bridges. (a computer) The characters have no self awareness level, so I don't consider them alive.

I don't really think that single-celled organisms like bacteria have a self awareness either, but they're still alive.

Originally Posted by Noogah

Well, no conciousness means no life to me. The characters, although following artificial interactivity are still only electric pulses running through an extremely complex maze of gates, and bridges. (a computer) The characters have no self awareness level, so I don't consider them alive.

Tell me: Did you read the first post of this thread?

Originally Posted by Noogah

Well, no conciousness means no life to me. The characters, although following artificial interactivity are still only electric pulses running through an extremely complex maze of gates, and bridges. (a computer) The characters have no self awareness level, so I don't consider them alive.

Signals in the brain are just chemical signals running through an extremely complex maze of neurons. The characters have no self awareness level, so I don't consider them alive.

I believe we are more than that. I believe that we also have a soul.

That's nice. I believe that the center of the earth is made of peanut butter. Those damn geologists-- Always making up stuff. Molten metal? That's just crazy talk. Why do you think we call the upper layer 'the crust'? Duuuhh.

Originally Posted by khh

I don't really think that single-celled organisms like bacteria have a self awareness either, but they're still alive.

Originally Posted by Noogah

Well, they are alive in the sense that they are growing organisms that take in water and food to grow, but I wouldn't say that they have a "life".

I think we can draw some kind of line here. Plankenton, algea, and stufflike that are alive in a sense. But I don't think they are alive like humans are.

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

That's nice. I believe that the center of the earth is made of peanut butter. Those geologists-- Always making up stuff. Molten metal? That's just crazy talk. Why do you think we call the upper layer 'the crust'? Duuuhh.

There is no reason to believe the earth is filled with peanut butter. There is reason to believe we have souls.

Originally Posted by René Descartes

I think, therefore I am

... and I also think that I'm more than a lump of matter and energy.