5 thought experiments on identity and copies

A provocative viral post titled "5 thought experiments on identity and copies" dives into philosophical puzzles about selfhood, continuity, and consciousness. The first experiment, "Organ shipment for brain," asks if you die when your brain is chopped into pieces, shipped, and reassembled—like organ transplants. The author argues the only defensible death points are at the coma's onset or never, suggesting sleep is a form of death. The second, "Saw-trap copy help," considers whether you'd bother solving a puzzle to help a copy escape a trap, questioning altruism toward duplicates.

The third explores anticipation when copied: if you're in an elevator with two possible exits, is it like being copied into red and green rooms? Should you anticipate both outcomes equally? The author questions whether a copy is truly in your anticipated future, especially if memories are altered. The fourth, "Theseussing speed," imagines a drug accelerating atom replacement to every 30 days, testing if you'd value your future self less. The fifth, "Copy merge," involves merging memories of a red-lit room with a green-lit original, asking which room you'd anticipate exiting. These experiments challenge readers to rethink identity as fluid, not fixed—a critical discussion for AI ethics, digital copies, and consciousness studies.