3 Thought Experiments That No One Can Solve

In this video, we combine three different thought experiments into a single narrative. Through which, we explore topics related to consciousness, perception, and what it means to be you. The individual thought experiments are reinterpretations of John Searle's 'The Chinese Room,' Frank Jackson's 'Mary's Room,' and Gilbert Harman's 'Brain in a Vat.'

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[PursuitofWonder]

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[Blattacker]

Personal thoughts on each thought experiment:
1) Especially when considering artificial intelligence, I think the clearest signifier of true intelligence would be choice. In this example, the man is capable of responding differently than the book tells him to. He could choose a different Chinese response at random or even respond in his native language. He chooses to respond the way the book instructs him to for his own reasons. Similarly, if an artificial intelligence develops the ability to choose to respond in a way contrary to its instruction set (for example, if an AI programmed for conversations developed the ability to choose not to engage in a conversation for any reason, without those explicit instructions programmed in), we would have to accept that the AI fulfills every meaningful metric for "true" intelligence.

2) I'll get to my specific answer to this later, but within the thought experiment itself, it could be tested very easily. If Mary could immediately identify and name which color was which without any comparison (for example, if everything in the room/hallway she stepped out into was blue, with no other colors present and she immediately knew that color was blue), it would be clear that she did not learn anything new, or at least did not learn anything meaningful. At best she gained context, but not any new knowledge or information. If she didn't know which color was which just by looking at it, it would be clear that there is some information about color and color perception that could not be imparted with the methods she had available to her, and thus she *did* learn something new upon exiting her room. Realistically, my personal opinion is that the latter scenario will always be true. For starters, we have no empirical evidence that everyone perceives colors the same way. Color is just how a brain "translates" wavelengths of light. Different brains may translate it differently. When I look at something green, the color I see may be what you would call yellow, or you might not even have a name for what I see when I see green. Because of that, I don't think it's possible to describe the physical appearance of a color without using color to describe it. As such, when Mary sees color for the first time, she will learn the physical appearance of each color.

3) I think about this one a lot, and it's existentially terrifying, but I take comfort in the fact that I have scars on my body that I don't recall where they came from. Especially when I look at my body and discover a "new" scar and have no idea where it came from, that is proof to me that this body exists. If my perception of reality only existed within my mind, everything that I experienced would have been generated by my mind. If I don't recall the circumstances which led to a scar, the moment I forgot the scar existed would be the moment it ceased to exist on my body. Realistically, I have no proof that scars *haven't* disappeared off of my body because I've fully forgotten them, but I do have proof that there are scars that I've forgotten that I am then surprised to later find. Also when my memory of an event differs radically from someone else's memory of an event, I have to assume that, at worst, we are two people in a semi-shared simulation, otherwise my mind would have had to render both my own perception of the event as well as a fictional, different, perception of the event for this other person, and I'd likely then be able to "remember" this other person's version of events. If the computer/machine I'm hooked up to is manufacturing the story, how would it make sense, from a logical/programmatical standpoint, for the machine to have two separate, distinct instances of the same "memory" being implanted into different parts of the simulation? That all being said, I believe it boils down to perception. If I am in a simulation, if it is all I ever perceive, and all I'm ever _capable_ of perceiving, then it is reality. It is *my* reality. If you want to get down to it, everything you perceive in reality is your brain deciphering information it's bombarded with. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are all just your brain's translations of physical stimuli. They're not real. Sound is just a pressure wave. Color is particles of light moving at specific wavelengths. Scents and tastes are particulates stimulating receptor cells in your body. Touch is the most fake of them all, since nothing ever really physically touches anything else, it's just your brain's translation of opposing forces. Even if this reality is "real", what you experience is a simulation your brain runs to make sense of what is essentially just a ton of particles flying around seemingly at random.

[awesomality]

For Mary's experiment, it's essentially same as any of us who read about food that we've never tasted before or perfume ads describing what they smell like. They can use descriptive words drawing from tastes or smells we already know but if we haven't experienced even those, it'll be impossible to know.

[scroogles]

The third expirement just makes me sad. My consciousness is what it is. Whether "I" am a really a brain or just a simulation of one is irrelevant to me, for it would change nothing about my state of being. That being said, I would hate knowing that the great and horrible things I've experienced, the people I've met, and the things I've done were not real. Especially the people. I find great comfort in knowing that every other person I see, everyone I meet and don't meet, experience a life just as detailed and complex as mine. Much of my love for others is built upon their complexity, so to learn that there no depth to any of them. To learn that there is nothing behind anything that I saw or heard from them or the world as a whole, *that* would be what affects me the most.

[dancing_frank_lee]

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden

[Hexxecutioner]

There's a simple answer to Mary's Room- EMOTION! I'm a guitar player, and there is most definitely a difference between studying music theory, looking at a piece of sheet music, vs playing the song, listening to a song, and responding to it emotionally.

[josiahyoung]

The color thought experiment is wild but for sure after she sees color she’ll learn everything. She has been given the technical knowledge but the FEELING of a thing, especially like color, IS the experience

[preetiraut]

it's kinda comforting to think of the brain trying to figure itself out,
by making several copies of itself
and all of em tryna work together

[davidwood]

When I see a movie that starts out in black and white, and suddenly changes to color my mind is automatically pleased without me analyzing it .

[cheejo]

The third one I’ve though about frequently for years, even before I’ve seen this video. One day, the thought just popped into my head. “My mind is a prison, and all of my senses blind me from the true nature of the world. All perceptions of life are distorted in a way that allows me *to* perceive it.” These are the my thoughts that come and go infrequently, but it’s always in the back of my mind. I truly believe there is something beyond the way our minds perceive the world.
Or I’m just dumb and I’m just overthinking this lmao

[slateflash]

If Mary accidentally gets a paper cut, she will be so curious about the red blood that she will keep harming herself just to confirm what she's been reading up about, but has never experienced firsthand and she will eventually bleed to death

[gerardohartono]

For the third room. my answer is pretty simple: you can't, and it does not really matter anyway. the reason being the concept of reality is deeply personal. The thing is, this is very similar to the cave man thought experiment, if all your life, all your reality, is within a certain boundaries, then the boundaries is not limiting (it is simply the current truth). the thought that such boundaries is cruel and/or limiting can only be felt/understood by an individual OUTSIDE of said boundary.

of course from time to time we will encounter a subject that will be so curious, he will try to define the boundary, and try to surpass the limit of these boundary, at which we will see an attempt by said individual to technically expand these arbitrary boundary. however, even by successfully defining and surpassing the old boundary, it will simply expand the field, and a new arbitrary boundary will be created.

the easiest way to understand this is think something like long long time ago before ships were invented, the boundary of each human population is the sea, and after expansion, the sea is no longer a boundary, however a new boundary is found, and that is the space. and from previous example, it is pretty safe to say that space will not be the last either. however, 1 truth remains, even before seafaring, living inside the currently known boundary without ever realizing said boundary is never limiting. Only after you see a bigger house can you feel that your sack is too small

[dipsherlock]

I’m currently taking an intro to philosophy class in college, and it’s really interesting to see these thought experiments and topics discussed in such a creative way. I have such a deep interest in philosophy, and you inspire me to express that love through my art.

[TheFinalChapters]

Mary's Room is pretty straightforward: yes, she would learn something she couldn't possibly know: what color looks like. Words can only describe things in relation to other words. Without a basis, there can be no true understanding.

Color is such a fundamental property that it cannot otherwise be described but by its invisible components. The wavelength and other properties would not instruct Mary on how her specific eyes would see the color red, nor is there any comparison that can be made when colors are off the table.

Try to imagine what a 4 dimensional space would look like. You can't do it, because you've never seen anything like it. All the simulations in the world couldn't let you imagine what it truly looks like, becuase the medium is still 3D.

[obsidiansiriusblackheart]

This is the first time I've heard The Chinese Room explained in a way that makes perfect sense, and I finished my honours degree in computer science 7 years ago

[Grancigul]

The first experiment reminds me of pets who have "learned" certain words and know what to expect or do when they hear them
A dog can save your life by bringing you a phone to call for help without understanding what it all means
It doesnt understand human language but it has learned that we use it to communicate and can pick up on some stuff
Tho we are more proficient at it we are essentially no better than them and we always act without perfect understanding of our actions because we can never know everything so i believe partial understanding is sufficient to declare it intelligence which is different from sentience which requires emotions

[bradleyboyer]

The first experiment was developed by John Searle as an argument that AI can never gain consciousness. I remember studying it in a philosophy class in college.

[lifeengagement]

Thoughts are definitely borrowed. It’s just a word game we are playing. Same content, same questions, same all repeated by philosophers, writers, psychologists and many more but in a different manner. I am one of them. Writing on Instagram, creating content and honestly, I feel like I am cheating sometimes. Selling same thing packaged differently which is why I cannot promote my page, finish that book, or make videos and post them.
Having said all of that, I still am grateful to come across your contents.

[TexanWineAunt]

For Mary’s Room, I would say that the glandular response triggered by actually seeing colors would add knowledge that was not attainable via language, i.e. her color study materials.

[christarlex]

I once had a friend whom I used to talk to about these subjects all the time, he hated this channel because it kept him awake at nights haha :)) I always come here to relive those moments we had together and it feels amazing, I miss him so much..