X-Message-Number: 19027 Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 22:40:54 -0700 From: James Bryan Swayze <> Subject: Brain electrics and death References: <> CryoNet wrote: > CryoNet - Mon 6 May 2002 > > #19021: Electrical activity and death [Toby Christensen] > > > > Message #19021 > From: "Toby Christensen" <> > Date: Sun, 05 May 2002 18:36:05 +0800 > Subject: Electrical activity and death > > Hello all, > > This question has been posed to me, and I am wondering as to how to answer it: > > Upon death, the brain's electrical activity ceases. All information is lost when brain activity ceases, as the electrons which constitute brain activity disperse. How then, upon revival, is someone with an informationless brain to regain the information they lost upon death in its entirety? > Who told you this? I hope they weren't a physician. I understood that information is held in the pattern, largely, of the connectivity of the neurons of the brain. But I'm no expert so I'll forgo behaving like one except to say that I further believe I once learned that the brain's electricity is biochemically derived so once kick started again and warm enough to produce more electrons and provided the original pattern is retrieved all should go quite well. However, as to one dying and being dead for hours even and having one's electrons dispersed (forgive me Thomas) I would refer this person to the now many logged incidents of people successfully revived and fully themselves after extreme cold water droning death, snow bank hypothermia incident death, or down right purposeful hypothermic shutdown (ehem ummm death) for bloodless surgery both cardio and brain. All of these, as I understand it, were in a clinical definition "flatline", no brain activity, hence no electrons whizzing about (except those involved in making atoms behave as atoms) state of deanimation (death for the uninitiated). Toby, for ammunition to arm you against other likewise detractors let me refer you to a few sources of good information. First, either of the two main Cryonics organization's websites. Just oodles of stuff to be found from either one. Links to these are as follows: http://www.cryonics.org/ and http://www.alcor.org/. I believe both have a link to Ralph Merkle's treatise on ischemia death and how to reverse it. So keep a sharp eye out for Ralph's paper. Oh heck here's the URL, http://www.merkle.com/merkleDir/techFeas.html. Now that's easy, eh? There are some good books to read on the theories we place our hopes in. Might as well start with the one book that started it all, "The Prospect for Immortality" by our very own Robert C.W. Ettinger available online here at http://www.cryonics.org/book1.html. Then also nearby at the same website "Man Into Superman" by Robert C.W. Ettinger again at this URL http://www.cryonics.org/book2.html. Our very own Mike Perry's "Forever for All" at http://www.upublish.com/books/perry.htm. Our Dave Pizer's "Ralph's Journey" available er ah, hmmm maybe start looking here at http://www.ralphsjourney.com/. Notable author and frequent cryonet poster and for you a fellow Aussie Damien Broderick has a good many books available at Amazon, here's a link to some I have, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-4171908-3167911. Another Australia resident, Thomas Donaldson publishes his own newsletter on topics very close to your question called Periastron. Email him for availability. Have I left anyone out I wonder? Oh yeah Charles Platt! (Just kidding you Charles) Did you know, Toby, we had such distinguished folk here as all these? Charles' book "Protektor", a book with a great many themes we discuss, is available here, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380784319/qid=1020746893/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-4171908-3167911 and another of his books, "Silicon Man", another book with a theme we discuss and sometimes angrily argue over is available here, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1888869143/qid=1020746893/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-4171908-3167911. Well I hope _now_ I've not left anyone out, please forgive my ignorance if I have. All these books should give you fodder for argument and imagination, Toby, enjoy. Lastly, keep those questions coming to we cryoneters. You and your questions are most welcome. James Last lines of the first Star Trek the Next Generation movie. CAPT PICARD: What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived, after all Number One, we're only mortal. WILL RYKER: Speak for yourself captain, I intend to live forever. -- My website: http://www.geocities.com/~davidpascal/swayze/ A collection of photos of me and some of my artwork: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292752723&code=2039335&mode=invite A radio interview on Dr. J's ChangeSurfer Radio program with me and the father of cryonics Prof. Robert Ettinger, author of "The Prospect of Immortality": http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=3728 A religion I actually recommend: http://uk.geocities.com/venturist2001/index.html Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19027