X-Message-Number: 16767
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 23:31:44 -0700
From: Kennita Watson <>
Subject: Re: Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
References: <>
Louis Epstein wrote:
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > Message #16589 Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 06:09:58 -0700
> > From: Kennita Watson <>
> > Subject: Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
>
> (E-E-e-e-e-k!)
<sigh> Why do I bother? I probably won't sway Louis. It must be
for my adoring public :-) . Or to clear up my own thoughts...
>
> > Louis Epstein wrote:
> >
> > > You do have the same body you had as a small child,which has matured.You
> > > have not replaced it,it has continued to develop. An "uploadee" would have
> > > left the body.Ceasing to be human.
> >
> > I will probably upload eventually, but along the way I expect to:
> >
> > - cure my MS and repair the damage it's done
>
> Not dehumanizing...
How kind of you...
>
> > - replace my vocal chords with more flexible and pure-toned ones (I
> > love to sing) -- including a much wider range
>
> With real ones or fakes?
Do you think Stephen Hawking should be denied a set of artificial vocal
chords if they are developed? What about people with throat cancer?
And why should they have to take ones just like the ones they lost if
better ones are available?
From http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/manmade.html : Read it and weep:
The Artificial Human
The era of the man-made man or woman has arrived. Scientists, surgeons,
and so-called bioengineers are working overtime to develop artificial
organs, grow skin and other body parts in the laboratory, and even
propagate whole, living organs, including the human heart. Click on the
body at left to learn more about these decidedly 21st-century technologies.
>
> > - set up my musculature and motor cortex so I can dance (another of
> > my favorite activities) the way I imagine
>
> Not sure just what you mean here.
The Web site above discusses artificial hips, shoulders, arms, and knees.
I'm sure further advances are coming, such as muscles for those with
muscular dystrophy, sure to be improved shortly thereafter.
Body control by brain waves is on the way -- e.g.
http://www.beachbrowser.com/Archives/Science-and-Health/August-2000/Cyberlink-Interface-for-Quadriplegic.htm
and Q&A at http://www.pbs.org/saf/1107/hotline/hjpeckham.htm .
Again, as technoogy improves, why should such people be forced to
live with inferior stuff, and why should I be forced to live with
inferior stuff for the crime of not having been disabled severely
enough?
>
> > - greatly increase my endurance
>
> How?
They already make artificial hearts and lungs -- those too will
advance. And those muscles I mentioned...
>
> > - replace all my bones with diamondoid fibers or other synthetics
>
> By genetically engineered biological means,or
> just rip and stitch?
Not necessarily either. (Hmm -- if I figure out how to do all
of this by genetic engineering, do I get the Epstein Seal of
Approval? :-) Anyhow, I assume nanotech will be involved,
replacing one molecule at a time, maybe even at a rate similar
to that at which the bone would normally regenerate, to minimize
trauma. Hmm... From
http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/biology/humananatomy/skeletal/skeletalsystem.html:
"The bone tissue is composed of several types of bone cells embedded
in a web of inorganic salts (mostly calcium and phosphorus) to give
the bone strength...". I'm sure carbon nanotubes or some such could be
used to form that web. I can hardly wait. Bye-bye, osteoporosis!
>
> > - replace my eyes and visual cortex with ones that can process
> > a much wider spectrum
> > - replace my ears and auditory cortex with ones that can
> > process a much wider spectrum
>
> You think you'd like this?
Absolutely --- as long as I had control over tbe range and sensitivity.
I don't want enhanced ears to limit my appreciation of my neighbor's
fourth-grader's violin recital, but I'd like to be able to hear when
someone is sneaking up behind me, or when a super-or-subsonic sound
warns of an avalanche or a piece of failing machinery.
I'd also like to be able to appreciate sunsets in more different
"colors", and planets without binoculars -- street signs without
glasses is just waiting for me to free up some money and a few days
of recovery time.
BTW, the Artificial Human article (referenced above) talks about
research into artificial eyes.
>
> > - park a nanobot in every cell of my body to check for and repair
> > damage, flush waste products, etc.
> > - upgrade the wiring in my brain to greatly speed up its functioning
>
> How?
I don't know exactly, but I do know that signals in the brain are
currently chemically transmitted, which is hecka slow. The damage to
the myelin sheath caused by MS slows them down by a factor of 10 and
I seem to still be me. By the same token, super-myelin that speeded
them up by a factor of 10, or some other adaptation that preserved
the wiring but sped up the signals, maybe making them electrical,
would preserve me, but my brain would work faster.
>
> > - add a computer interface -- maybe a brain-to-brain interface --
> > and extra memory
> > - replace my skin with more durable material, probably with
> > selectable color and design, that can tolerate a much
> > greater temperature range
> >
> > I could probably think of more if it weren't 6 AM. I've got to get
> > some sleep soon. Oh yeah --
> >
> > - set myself up so sleeping was no longer required
> > - and eating
> > - and excreting
> > - and breathing
> > - and dying
> >
> > When in there did I stop being human?
>
> Quite possibly somewhere,depending on how
> you do it.
Depending on whether you find it creepy, you mean.
>
> > Like I'd care. As far as I'm concerned, I'd still be me, which is
> > what matters in my book.
>
> If you turned into something not-you
> deluded that it was you,you/it wouldn't
> really be you.
What is the magical thing that I would change that would make me
not me? Do human beings currently know how to replace any one
thing that would make them not-human? What if all those things
were replaced? Do you think The Six Million Dollar Man was
human?
And why should I accept your judgement on whether or not I am me?
Who better to tell? Do you think some evil implant would conspire
to delude me?
I'm ranting now, because I think I see technophobia and I'm
getting upset. (It's also been another 2+ hours; could that have
something to do with it? Nah... :-) ) Anyhow, time to sign off.
--
Live long and prosper,
Kennita
--
Kennita Watson | Check your receipt! If it has your complete
| CC number and exp. date on it, complain to the
http://www.kennita.com | manager; you are ripe for credit/identity theft.
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