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Article #875

What is an self (again-ish) (was Re: Organic Machines?)

#875
From: Malcolm Shute
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 04:53
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In article <Jan.21.23.18.33.1993.5385@planchet.rutgers.edu> cuhes@csv.warwick.ac.uk (Malcolm McMahon) writes:
>I did have the interesting thought that animals can be regarded as a
>cell's solution to the problem of boldly going where no cell has gone
>before; as a way of generating a cell-friendly local environment in
>globally hostile environments and as a means of travelling vast distances.
Have you read any Richard Dawkins? ("The Selfish Gene", "The Blind Watchmaker", etc)

A "dog" isn't a furry animal with a wagging tail and a wet nose...
it's a piece of DNA which happens to have found it beneficial to
travel around in a spacecraft with the particular form that we
are familiar with (that happens to have a wagging tail and a wet nose).

There.
That should spark off another "What is 'I'" discussion, if JoSH allows it!
(Hint: 'I' am just a piece of DNA that happens to travel around in this
spacecraft with two arms, two legs, and a brain full of funny impulses that
represent past experiences and thoughts).
--

Malcolm SHUTE.         (The AM Mollusc:   v_@_ )        Disclaimer: all

[Sheesh.
 --JoSH]
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From: mshute@cs.man.ac.uk (Malcolm Shute)
Newsgroups: sci.nanotech
Subject: What is an self (again-ish) (was Re: Organic Machines?)
Keywords: Fundamentalists morphing Aliens Giger Bear _Queen of Angels_
Message-ID: <Jan.26.23.53.16.1993.23140@planchet.rutgers.edu>
Date: 27 Jan 93 04:53:17 GMT
Sender: nanotech@planchet.rutgers.edu
Organization: Dept Computer Science, University of Manchester, U.K.
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Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu