Re: Review of "Open Your Eyes" (SPOILER)

From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Sun Sep 23 2001 - 13:05:21 MDT


         * SPOILERS *

Edwin Evans wrote:
>
> SPOILER REPLY:
>
> I liked the movie OK, but it didn't live up to my expectations (after
> reading Eliezer's nonspoiler and semispoiler review). I suppose if I had
> watched it having no idea it would involve sci-fi element, I would have
> been pleasantly surprised.

Oops. In retrospect, I can see that you are completely correct about
this. But it does make it rather hard to recommend the movie!

> > If Alcor doesn't know about "Open Your Eyes" and the
> > forthcoming US version,
> > **someone really ought to** tell them NOW
> Hey now... :)

Well, originally that post was supposed to go to cryonet, but then it
bounced, and the message I sent to someone asking them to forward it also
bounced, and furthermore I don't know anyone at Alcor. But you are
nonetheless completely right about this, and I have forwarded on the
review, with explanation, to the best email address I could find at
Alcor's website.

> I thought the movie would make more sense. Would anyone really sign up
> for the splicing option?

NOT ME.

> Do they delete the whole chunk of memory
> between before you signed up and when you died which would normally be
> years?

I get the impression they just delete the memory of having signed up, or
the memory of requesting a splice at any rate. (If you're signed up for
Alcor and your memory says that Alcor doesn't offer the splice option on
the contract, it means that you have died and are now living in a computer
simulation.)

> Didn't the guy in the bar give him enough of a clue, or at least
> enough of a temptation to try controlling things with his mind again?

>From our perspective, yes. But we are experienced Extropians.

> And of course, why, oh why did he have to jump from a building to wake up?

Either dramatic plot device, or some kind of psychological method for
severing the connections to the old world before waking up. Almost
certainly the former. Still, you can rationalize quite a lot on the
assumption of SL3 gross psychosurgery rather than uploading.

[SPOILER FOR "THE SIXTH SENSE"]

> Now, "The sixth sense", *that* was a GREAT "character has big
> realization about splice in their existence" movie!

[SPOILER FOR "THE OTHERS"]

"The Others" is by the same director as "Open Your Eyes".

-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://intelligence.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence



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