X-Message-Number: 20259
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 08:44:23 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #20254 - #20258

for Mark Plus:

About the future of "death", you say some things which I agree with
completely and others I find doubtful.

First of all, the superiority of "electrical machines" over 
"organic machines" such as us isn't clear at all. The major
advantage that organic machines have is an ability at self-repair,
which in our case will become more and more over time. Moreover,
life forms do one major thing our machines do not do: they can
repair themselves. As for speed, life forms have been around for
billions of years, and large for millions of years. If speed
of reaction were important, then they would have evolved much
more electrical and fewer chemical connections. I come from a
math and physics background, but would have to say that the 
more I look at life forms the more I think that supposed faults
may actually contain hidden advantages.

Oh yes, one more thing. Neural nets in the computer sense are
certainly useful devices, but they don't really imitate the
way our own nets of neurons work. Nor is it true that any kind of
machine (no matter how made) will be immune from serious damage.
Just go visit a yard of wrecked cars & think about what it says.

Just a few brief comments about our future life.

                  Best and long long life for all,

                           Thomas Donaldson

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