(Holy shit! He agreed to draw it again! Today's comic was artfully crafted by Jaime and his complete ignorance of layout.)
Vee: For a little background, we were reading this Cracked article, and were disappointed they didn't mention that the Tron computer created a human being in the end. This started us on several topics, including curing diseases by breaking a dying person down into code and removing the ailment, and a way to house prisoners cheaply and effectively.
It's only when we ventured into discussing tweaking and preserving ourselves that he started being illogical.
And my point is fully valid!
James has this weird idea that if you make a backup of yourself via the Tron method, it would die whenever the computer was shut down.
I tried to explain it to him over and over. The perfect replica of everything that is you would still be on the hard drive, just like your files, and would be there when you booted up again.
Your files don't fucking DISAPPEAR when you power down-- and if they DO, you have bigger things to worry about than metaphysical musings.
Frankly, I think it's a great idea. You wouldn't have to fear being maimed or killed because, if those things happened, you could just dump a living version of yourself from the archives and rebuild!
This thought somehow made him exit the argument, insisting that I am a monster and could not see logic.
But it's PERFECTLY logical!
If I just built a copy of myself (we're identical, standing there side-by-side) and I get shot: DON'T WORRY. Look, I'm still standing there, with all the same memories and personality and physical attributes and everything.
James seems to think this means I am now dead, forever.
I broke it down like this: if you have a JPG on your desktop, and you make a lil' copy right there, then delete the original JPG, is the remaining image different? (Just when viewing, I'm not talking about core addressing or any of that shit here.)
He said 'no, of course they're the same'.
So I asked, if I make a lil copy of myself, right here, then the original dies, is the remaining Vee different?
And he said YES.
What- what LOGIC is that?
I can only assume he believes in some sort of magical force that exists in us, making us wholly unique in a way that cannot be mimicked by a computer-- which is just ridiculous.
Computers can do anything... especially imaginary sci-fi computers with the power to create day-glow motorcycles.
Jaime: It's the philosophical and ethical conundrum of cloning and teleportation that has plagued thinkers since their inception, and it has absolutely no effect on her. I'm of the opinion that if I make a perfect clone of myself, and then I die and the clone lives on, that I am still dead - she doesn't seem to think so and sees no reason why anybody would. This is the type of argument we have that goes around in circles until one of us ends up getting bitten (hint: that person would be me).
