Salutatio David!
30-Dec-97, David Martorana wrote to Richard Meic
          Subject: "Uncertainty"
 RM>> Now, add this to the uncertainty that an :*EXACT*: copy of
 RM>> something can be done.  Can one REALLY make an :*EXACT*: copy of
 RM>> anything?  No, fore there _are_ differences, however subtle.
 MB>> There is no difference between man "A" and man "B" at ALL, not
 MB>> even subtle ones.  If any difference makes no difference, then
 MB>> there is no difference at all.  ;)
 DM> Richard! I also cannot imagine how to correlate a "knowledge of
 DM> not same" with an *identical*" copy (assumed no subtle differences
 DM> "other than" observer awareness of the happening).  "....We are
 DM> having a conversation. I am transported a foot to your left. You
 DM> are aware that the result is a shifted copy as we continue with
 DM> the conversation. The old me is gone and the new me is identical.
 DM> I would tell you its the old me. Now you are transported a foot to
 DM> my left while we are talking and the circumstance repeats and you
 DM> are sure you are the old you. Now a third party enters the room
 DM> and we all go to lunch as if nothing
 DM> happened............................!  Granting my sample was too
 DM> long and less than stated perfect, it does to confuse me a bit
 DM> more than might seem it will you! NOTE: I did not claim the copy
 DM> to be the same, only identical. (different atoms ??? same
 DM> structure ???. Other than just saying they are not the same, is
 DM> there some more thaat can be said ? It would seem, without my
 DM> knowing what, that there is more an issue here than not! no? ??
Identical, but not in every way.  There will always be some
imperfections in the copy.  I suppose that if one was able to make a
copy _instantaneously_ then there might be a chance that it could be
exactly the same, (I mean, no passage of time.  Not even 0.000001 th of
a second).  But the fact remains, if the original and the copy had no
differences at all (which, as I said, is impossible) when the original
is destroyed then the person that was the original is dead.  So, what if
the copy is exact, all it is is a copy of the person, not the original.
No teleportation is done.  For a person to be teleported successfully the 
person at the destination MUST be the SAME person, not a copy (exact or 
otherwise).  
I still laugh when a particular friend of mine gets excited about that 
photon/teleportation thing.  All they did was form a photon at one place
that just happened to look like the one they destroyed at another.
 Dicere...
 email address (vrmeic@spots.ab.ca)
Richard Meic
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