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From: schraudo@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Nici Schraudolph)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Robots & free will (was Re: The limitations of logic)
Summary: Anybody heard about Schroedinger's cat?
Message-ID: <5782@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Date: 20 Jan 89 22:05:10 GMT
References: <3328@sdsu.UUCP> <43228@linus.UUCP> <539@uceng.UC.EDU> <3550@ingr.com>
Sender: nobody@sdcsvax.UUCP
Reply-To: nschraudolph@ucsd.edu (Nici Schraudolph)
Followup-To: comp.ai
Organization: what, organized - me??
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In article <3550@ingr.com> case@ingr.com (Bill Case) writes:
>I wonder what the quantum physics folks would think about the robots
>reaching a state of consciousness?  There is pretty universal agreement
>among quantum physicists that the universe "manifests" itself during 
>measurement, and one school of physicists believe that consciousness has a 
>profound effect on how matter appears.  So what happens when the robots are
>out there taking measurements and imposing their consciousness on "reality"?

I vaguely remember an intriguing gedanken experiment illustrating how this
"manifestation by measurement" carries over from subatomar scales to 
everyday experience. It involved "Schroedinger's cat" in a box, and ended
with the conclusion that the cat only exists when the box is open.

Unfortunately I can't remember the details - can somebody out there please
post a concise description?

--
   "Language is a Virus from Outer Space"  -  William S. Burroughs
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#  Nici Schraudolph                          nschraudolph@ucsd.edu  #
#  University of California, San Diego       ...!ucsd!nschraudolph  #
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Disclaimer:  U.C. Regents and me share no common opinions whatsoever.