If you were cloned and...........

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If you were cloned and your clone grew fast and became your same age now, what kind of relationship, if at all, would you want with them? (They are exactly the same as you in every sense).

To be completely honest... I would totally do me.

I'd be freaked out

and no I would not do me

I've thought of this in my recent existential crisis. It would actually not be very absurd if your clone was an exact clone of you as you are now, both mind and body. Why? Because there is a clone of us all, in our own minds. We have a separate person inside us all, that we bounce ideas off of , and that we often hold conversations with (It's not actually a separate person, I'm just using that for illustrative purposes. Its still you.). Ancient people mistook this "voice in our head" for a spirit, a separate entity that lives within our mind. There is actually a sociologist who put forth the theory recently that they mistook this entity for a god! It planted the seed for religion! But I digress, so back to our main branch of thought. If you had an exact clone, it would be like this VIOH jumped out of your mind, and suddenly materialized in front of you! Now, your thoughts and feelings would be vocalized in the world outside of your mind, instead of just inside of it. In effect, you would literally be taking to yourself, except a separate yourself, as paradoxical as that might be!

However, very soon, life would begin to separate you, and you would begin to grow apart, into separate individuals. This leads into my next thought experiment, with the non-constant variables changed (those being the clone's age at materialization, and the amount of time before you meet your clone)

Now, if the clone was an infant clone that grew up in a separate environment, the person that grew up would be VERY different from you. Personality is a combination of both nature and nurture, and this new person would be very different, like a twin almost; same base, different structure built on that base. You would be looking at a you that, while having the same starting structure, would have its variables different, its personality variables morphed by its environment.

Doing your exact clone would probably be like masturbation, except taken to a whole new level! Would that be creepy? Probably! Masturbation 2.0. Imagine watching yourself!

Could you use your gaze to psychoanalyze yourself? Wouldn't it be weird to actually know almost EXACTLY what another person is thinking? Or maybe, it would be incredibly comforting? Food for thought..

I've been watching Blade Runner and doing a transhumanism paper recently, I've been thinking about this question ( and similar ones) a lot. This is actually something that I haven't heard before , and would really like some feedback.

Kalister1, that is the most interesting theory I have read in a very long time. It also, coincidentally, makes me think of a movie that I was forced to watch when I were visiting an online friend; it was about a man that made duplicates of himself to manage work, and the more time that went by, the more different they became from each other. This does reflect on the environmental aspects of how one's personality is. I have also been thinking about what would happen would there be one clone made of a person, and then clones of the clone. It would be interesting to see what would happen, and if there would be a visible change the more the mind is split. One theory I have heard is that the more the person is cloned - the farther from base point one that a clone is - the more mentally challenged would the person be. Basically, some people believe that the person would have autistic traits. This fascinates me greatly. I would assume that the person that first thought of this theory does not have autism, but it does make things interesting if people like us, with Asperger, would further develop this theory, by giving our point of view on whether or not this would be what could happen. What say you on this matter?


And also, to address the original question, I have actually given that some thought as well. I have come to the conclusion that I would become jealous of myself. It would feel like that clone ripped me of everything that I am, and consequently, I would hate myself. Both of myself. Most likely, I would end up letting the clone take over my place as I take peace in death.

I don't know, now that I think about this more...

I'd probably get into some kind of argument with me and beat the sh** out of myself. I'm extremely opinionated and stubborn. And hate extremely opinionated and stubborn people. And enjoy beating the sh** out of them.

That is all

I'd be freaked, but I would try it... to see what a female version of me is like... it'd be incredibly strange.

In his Eight Worlds short stories and novels, the SF writer John Varley develops this notion in a number of interesting ways. What if you could be cloned and have all of your pre-existing memories "played" into the new body? What if you met your clone, but the person had undergone gender reassignment? What would happen if cloning were outlawed and there were more than one person carrying identical DNA; which of these would have more right to continue to live? And so on.

It's a fascinating issue...life with clones.

I was thinking more along the lines of how well you'd like yourself, though.

Oh, okay. I think my first reaction would be, "Holy unnamed deity! The thing in the mirror has just taken on a life of its own!" After we both got used to the idea, it might be fun comparing notes and seeing how divergent (or not) our points of view become as we progress through our separate existences.

Personally, I'd prefer immortality by other means, so I would send the clone off on its merry way.

I would never leave the house ever again, and my relationships would deteriorate, for I would spend every waking hour talking to myself about mitochondria, atomic bombs, and pathology. In fact, we would be so distracted with conversing with each other and watching movies (if I have a clone, does that mean they have their own stuff? Over 1000 movies to choose from! JACKPOT!) that we would probably forget to eat, bathe, and change our clothes.

Here's a question for you:

If you chew on your clone's hair, is it stimming?

We'd probably mope around all day whilst spouting uneducated philosophy, talking about death and thinking of homicide/suicide whilst swimming in the depressive pool of autistic drool. Like me now, but two.

Good times.

I'd probably hate to be around her, with her unesthetic looks - the unwashed hair, the sloppy clothes and her depression.

It would be dull.
I couldn't ask him anything, because I'd already know the answer