X-Message-Number: 25521 Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:25:05 -0800 From: Mathew Sullivan <> Subject: Assumptions are a given Thomas, Boatloads of assumptions no doubt, which could go nowhere or in a different direction, so keep it in the realm of sci-fi for now. I though I made myself obvious that this is in the realm of wishful thinking, and to be a bit more obvious, I don't intend to sell my earthly goods and hold my breath at the technological altar. Carbon nanotubes and diamonds are made of the same thing, but the structural arrangement is different. For simplicity's sake, substitute diamond fibers with nanotubes for structural reinforcement, but at that point it is watered down enough that it does not stimulate the imagination very much. I thought I answered your question on wetware. Maybe I should have phrased it as "vulnerable wetware." Based on the upgrade scenarios for a brain you are interested in, could I remove the brain from the body, accelerate it by hundreds of miles per hour, and smash it against a steel block without any damage to the brain? If the answer is yes, then I would say that we are in a similar camp. If your answer is the brain would have to be reconstructed using last night's data backup stored someplace outside the solar system. I would say that it is essential to have a backup, but still not robust enough for me. Being critical about the feasibility of such a robust brain is easy to do, but until I have it for me, I don't anticipate being satisfied or content without a fully synchronized, distributed network of duplicates. Ps. Over the years I've been asked about how we will deal with the need for new bodies for those who are head-only. My response has been who knows how it will be exactly done? Then I'll go through a couple scenarios and mention the tissue regeneration scene from the movie "The Fifth Element," while noting that memory is obviously not encoded throughout out our DNA as was the case in the movie. (Clearly, there were assumptions taking place here.) I used to be only half-serious when mentioning the movie - then I read the following article: Press "print" for body parts Jun 10th 2004 http://www.economist.com/science/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=2724491 This does not mean I'm convinced, but the regeneration scene in the movie does not look so far-fetched now. Cheers, Mathew Sullivan Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=25521