From: Matt Mahoney (matmahoney@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Mar 01 2009 - 08:17:20 MST
--- On Sat, 2/28/09, Charles Hixson <charleshixsn@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Yeah I know it seems different. You think you
> wouldn't step into a teleporter that you know will
> slowly crush you to death, but after you have done it
> hundreds of times you will overcome your fear and conclude
> there is no difference.
> >
> You seem to be announcing yourself as the kind of person
> that can't even be trusted by himself. I don't
> think I'd do it the first time, so I doubt I'd ever
> get used to it. (Yes, I can imagine extraordinary
> circumstances that would compel me to use such a machine. I
> would strive strongly to avoid them. That's the kind of
> situation where I'd consider killing someone else to be
> self-defense.
The teleportation industry might go to great lengths to soundproof the booths so nobody would hear the tormented screams of their customers. Suppose you only found out how it worked after you have used it 100 times. Suppose it costs $100 to teleport anywhere in the world, and for $20 extra you have the option of having the booth filled with a narcotic gas so you die painlessly. How many more times would you teleport before you no longer saw any sense in paying the extra fee?
These questions are only hard to answer because of the way we are programmed. It is normal to fear those things that decrease the likelihood of passing on your DNA.
-- Matt Mahoney, matmahoney@yahoo.com
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