MovieChat Forums > Freejack (1992) Discussion > A thought i n the mind transfer

A thought i n the mind transfer

posted 8 years ago by krissd
8 replies | jump to latest

Ive been thinking alot about this.
Lets suppose you can read out every neuron pattern in your brain. Then copy it to somewhere or someone else.
Copying would destroy the original.
This applies to teleportation too.

There is NO way it would ever be you being transfered. It would be exactly like you in every way. Much like in Freejacks ending as it should have ender if it was not for the twist. The digital and the version of the boss who was supposed to get Alex body. To everyone else it would look sucessfully. But the actual person having the transfer would in theory layout there, dying and watching another person with his entire personality stand in a new fresh body. But the actual him would never be transfered. It would only look so to everyone else.

To put it a bit more spiritual. Your "soul" would never be transfered. And by that, the very first time Captain Kirk teleported, he ceased to exist. From then on, it was his personality and everything he knows. His original self died before the first episode.

[–] xprotimusx 8 years ago

What 'soul'?

[–] krissd 8 years ago

Well that which makes you YOU.. Your conciousness. I mean. If everything in your mind was copied to another body. Then that wouldnt be you in that new body. That would be someone thinking exactly like you and thinking that it IS you. But imagine a copying process where youre supposed to get a new body.

You have like 5 seconds from the transfer is complete till your old body dies. Youll just get to see a copy of yourself wake up and thinking its you. However the actual original you would see this but still die.

To everyone else it would be you. But it would still just be a copy.

[–] lathe-of-heaven 8 years ago

Actually, that is a very strong argument that I have encountered before, especially in regards to teleportation. But, it would also apply to mind 'transference' too, I would think.

In my opinion, there would never really be a true way to 'transfer' the actual essence (or soul) of a person to something or someone else. At best, just like you said, it would simply be a copy. Nice observation! 

Heh, it just came to me... I bet that you would have a TON of things to say about the film 'PREDESTINATION'...

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[–] krissd 8 years ago

The only way i could see this possibly being done would be to very gradually replace each neuron with an artificial one of some sort and then replacing the body once your entire brain is taken over by the electronics. I cant tell exactly why but this seems like the only possibility i can imagine that would let you transfer yourself.

[–] lathe-of-heaven 8 years ago

Ah, I see... So that way the original 'being' or consciousness is never fully ended or terminated, but the person's sense of self and consciousness would gradually be rebuilt / transferred while they are 'aware', neuron by neuron, rather than being destroyed and completely 'duplicated' or re-created.

Interesting...

But, of course the process that you are referring too would not necessarily have to be 'slow', but could be accomplished almost instantaneously, thus giving the appearance of immediate transference. So, perhaps your assumption of destruction / re-creation (or duplication) is just that, an 'assumption', when in 'reality' the exact process that you suggested is in fact actually being done, but so quickly as to appear instantaneous...

I now have over 7000 films; many of them very rare and OOP. I LOVE to trade. PLEASE ASK! 

[–] PaladinNJ (21528) 4 years ago

People have been debating this since the original Star Trek first aired.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 4 years ago

Outer Limits addressed this in the episode “Think Like a Dinosaur”

Instead of teleportation, they duplicate the subject at the destination. Once duplication is confirmed, they have to “balance the equation” by killing the original.

Hilarity ensues.

Also, “Chappie” addresses consciousness transfer as energy. You can duplicate the subject’s memories, but the “self” is energy that leaves the original body permanently.

[–] 123Guy (7387) 4 years ago

that's all completely speculative. even the TRANSPORTER conundrum. we are supposed to assume they worked around the "Copy, original destroyed" thing with quantum mechanics or technology unknown to us.... .... exactly the same way we assume the Enterprise can fly trough space, phasers work, Klingons exist... you don't get to pick and choose fiction and reality in fiction, it is all fiction sometimes somewhat based on reality.

they obviously figured out how to STORE brain and soul in this film - having already done many successful transfers in the past... ...thus sometimes other FREEJACKS got loose. So, go with it that it works. The same way we pretend Jagger can act. :D (he did fine here, it's all on the director anyway)