if this thing became real, there would be no need for music anymore. alfred hitchcock said somewhere that in the future he would want a machine that could directly stimulate the brain to create sensations of horror, dismay, etc. and then arrange them into a new "film" (narrative).

i think if you did it, it would be like doing drugs. popping a nice pill or something like it. the real skilled users would be the guys who could create the best trips. creating music by manipulating machinery and electrick gadgetry and instruments would be obsolete.

Yeah it's a good point you make, but I think if you were plugged into the machine, you could have as much pleasure from music as you possibly could ever want. The machine is something so advanced that it can continue to create new music all the time for those that are plugged in.
If everyone plugged into the machine, then there wouldn't be much happening on the outside, but I suppose that is a bit of separate issue.

The analogy with drugs is good, except that it is a lot harder to pinpoint any negative effects in the same way as drugs. Also, if the machine gives you constant pleausre, I think you would be plugging in for your whole life rather than just temporarily like taking drugs.

lol thought I posted this in the chillout room, can someone move it?

cheers

my friend works with amputees and she told me about an old lady with prosthetic arms connected to her nerves and controlled by thoughts. she eventually went crazy. the real negative effect in connecting to these things is that there is no longer a separation between reality out there, the stuff out there that prompts those feelings in you, and you looking out, reacting. you lose subjectivity.

Ah the good old utilitarian debate on the nature of utility. Pleasure, informed preference, pure hedonism ?

This is so 1975 !

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Originally posted by julien2 Ah the good old utilitarian debate on the nature of utility. Pleasure, informed preference, pure hedonism ? This is so 1975 !

A bit closer to reality now that it is close to happening. Time to ask these questions again.

So, we can or can not disconnect? If so, can we re-connect? How often?

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quote:

Originally posted by shaw So, we can or can not disconnect? If so, can we re-connect? How often?

I think you only connect once. Once you've connected there is no way to distinguish being inside the machine from reality, so you wouldn't ever think of disconnecting. So you've really just got the one choice: to either connect or not.

Julien2 can you please elaborate a bit on what "informed preference" is. Do you think Nozick has refuted Hedonism?

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Originally posted by Tangil I think you only connect once. Once you've connected there is no way to distinguish being inside the machine from reality, so you wouldn't ever think of disconnecting. So you've really just got the one choice: to either connect or not. Julien2 can you please elaborate a bit on what "informed preference" is. Do you think Nozick has refuted Hedonism?

In that case, this boils down to a spiritual debate, since the only real question is that of eventual consequences (in an afterlife). Without any, the logical decision is, clearly, to plug in.

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Interesting thread. I'm in a bit of a hurry to give my opinion right now and hopefully I can do it in a few hours. In any case, I can already point something out:

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Originally posted by Tangil I think you only connect once.

If I recall correctly, he does give us some room to imagine multiple scenarios. If you want, you can pre-programme your entire life, or you could unplug every two years for ten minutes and then make up your mind about what it is that you want to do next.

I've got the book here somewhere...

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Originally posted by Lira Interesting thread. I'm in a bit of a hurry to give my opinion right now and hopefully I can do it in a few hours. In any case, I can already point something out: If I recall correctly, he does give us some room to imagine multiple scenarios. If you want, you can pre-programme your entire life, or you could unplug every two years for ten minutes and then make up your mind about what it is that you want to do next. I've got the book here somewhere...

Thanks for pointing this out Lira, no rush to give your opinion.

Hmmm... if you can connect and disconnect whenever you want, it seems more likely that most people would give it a go at least once just to see what it's like. This case is more analagous to taking a drug.

If you can only connect once however, I doubt many people would do it.