If a universe presents itself via discernible differences (information) and is regular enough for computation, then its substrate (if it has one) must necessarily and sufficiently be a computer, i.e. a system capable of regular state change with Turing universality.
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To me this assertion appears to ignore the fact that even the computability of maths is conjecture not a fact ; so I would say that where you use 'must' in this and the following tweet, that 'I conjecture' would be more accurate?
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Mathematics is mostly uncomputable. The existence of turing universal computers that can do constructive math is an empirical fact.
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So why think anything else is computable if even maths isn't? Unrelatedly I confess I was riled by “computationalism the only working philosophical edifice” in a way I wouldn't be by “computationalism is an interesting idea worth exploring.”
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If you have any other philosophical system that can explain mind and universe from first principles, I’d love to hear about it!
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Solipsism and “it's all an illusion” can both explain all available data completely. But most of us reject them. Empiricism is very fashionable since C18, with naturalism/physicalism just now being challenged by a resurgent panpsychism but likely to stay ahead for a while. …
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The nature of discernible truth is the set of theories that can explain the observations. The theory that there are others with minds similar to mine has more explanatory and predictive power than its negation, no?
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I think “No” is the correct answer? The solipsist could make the same prediction about p-zombies as I might make about people, and then he could grumble, “but as for this fanciful notion of ‘other minds’ so-called, what explanatory power does that add?”
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Oh, but I *am* a p-zombie, as far as I know! I think I can show that my conscious experience is a fake memory.
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Do go on?
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I experience myself as acting on the here and now, with synchronized sensory modalities, which is all clearly impossible. I cannot even have a time-delayed experience, because of the duration of the sense-act loop.
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This is amusing, but I don't think it relates to p-zombies? Shall I rephrase: The solipsist can make the same prediction about human bodies as I make about people and then grumble, “but as for this fanciful notion of ‘other minds’ so-called, what explanatory power does it add?”
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It depends on what you understand as "mind". I think of it as a system that is capable of modeling an environment, and its own interaction with that environment, in our case in the service of regulation of the dynamics of organisms under conditions of multi-level selection.
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