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From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Re: Thought Question: A kinder and gentler net??
Message-ID: <1995Jan31.222202.24536@news.media.mit.edu>
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References: <1995Jan29.223330.864@news.media.mit.edu> <Pine.SUN.3.91.950131101731.22319B-100000@altair.herts.ac.uk> <3gln21$4th@bcarh8ab.bnr.ca>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 22:22:02 GMT
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In article <3gln21$4th@bcarh8ab.bnr.ca> warlock@bnr.ca (Jacky Mallett) writes:
>In article <Pine.SUN.3.91.950131101731.22319B-100000@altair.herts.ac.uk>,
>Stephen Kelly  <comrstk@herts.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>>
>>Marvin Minsky wrote:
>>
>>> What you're *not* aware of is knowing any significant detail about
>>> yourself, that is, any more than you know about other people.  (In

[snip]

>Isn't this though equating consciousness with memory?

I think that consciousness phenomena are indeed closely related to
short term memory.

>   i can build computer programs that will do that, at
>least at the rudimentary level, based on state and stored information. As 
>far as we know though, these programs aren't self aware. 

So far as I know, they are.  Or, at least they have some of what is
essential to being self aware.

>Did anybody ask one of the people who had the no long term memory condition
>you refer to, if they were self aware? 

The people who cannot transfer short term into long term memory say
and behave as though they are normal, but then forget what happened.

The people, if there are any, who have lost all their long term
memories would not be able to speak, or recognize anything.  
