If I took a book that had 1 millions characters in its text and overlapped each character on the same spot on the same page, but otherwise made no other changes, all the "parts" of the book are there but its meaning has changed.

Kinda like trying to read something in a dream. I'll open a book, look at the page, and see gibberish but "know" that the text is supposed to be saying something specific. If I was able to write down the gibberish and give it to somebody else to read, they wouldn't get the same meaning out of it.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Sure, you also have to have the same words in the same order in the same font in the same color in the same pattern on the page. That's what I meant though, the meaning does not come from the literal paper the book is made of - even an ebook has the same meaning as a paperback. Not everyone likes ebooks, of course, so for them they get a reprint of the old book.

And I do not think a "reprinted" person, made of meat with all the same stuff in their brain, is any different than the original. At the very least, my clone and I will certainly agree about this. I wouldn't make the decision for anyone else, but for my collective selves we will happily be replaced.

This attachment to the original body is sentimental imo. That doesn't make it meaningless, but if it's a choice between being a clone or being nothing? I'll take a clone body please.