10 replies to this topic

[Medical Time Travel]

The Brain Preservation Foundation

An important website for us who are considering or already signed up with cryonic suspension.

http://www.brainpres...n.org/index.php

[drus]

thanks for the post, very interesting. certianly along the lines of cryonics and a worthy pursuit. i'm not really into the 'mind-uploading' thing necessarily, but i am generally interested. is this a group or society that one can join?

[bacopa]

this is an interesting look into brain preservation. Plasticized brains sounds interesting. But where is the actual science behind it? Is he alluding to cryonics or uploading or is this something totally different?

[boundlesslife]

The Brain Preservation Foundation

An important website for us who are considering or already signed up with cryonic suspension.

http://www.brainpres...n.org/index.php

This one, linked to it, Killed by Bad Philosophy, contains a novel interpretation of consciousness that both (1) demystifies uploading and (2) shifts the perception of identity heavily to memory related information vs. "moment to moment" experience. The second part of this is by far the most important to those of us who relate strongly to "mindfile" preservation of identity. Hayworth's model suggests that the MEM-self (as he describes it) is a steadily growing pattern of experiential memory across which the POV-self (POV = "Point of View") flickers like flames flicker above a fire, except that (of course) in the case of a fire the substance burned is being reduced in mass, while in the MEM-self the experiential base of identity is constantly expanding. There's no point in attempting to synopsize his views of what consciousness is here, except to remark that he builds strongly upon the ideas of writers like Daniel C. Dennett, Marvin Minsky, and others of like mindedness.

[bgwowk]

this is an interesting look into brain preservation. Plasticized brains sounds interesting. But where is the actual science behind it? Is he alluding to cryonics or uploading or is this something totally different?

He is in agreement with the paradigm assumed by cryonics, which is that memory and personal identity are encoded in the molecular structure of the brain. Preserving this structure with sufficient fidelity can theoretically save a person's life.

He speculates that if a method were developed to preserve an entire brain at room temperature with the same stability and fidelity achieved in small tissue pieces prepared for electron microscopy, that might be as effective as vitrification (ice-free cold preservation) at preserving identity without the need for cold. This is a challenging technical problem because the chemicals used for resin embedding (something beyond mere fixation) of electron microscopy samples are viscous and difficult to perfuse through blood vessels.

His prize might be regarded as a challenge to cryonicists and electron microscopists to see who can be the first to demonstrate preservation of the neural connectivity of an entire brain with high ultrastructural fidelity in the solid state. With the implementation of vitrification techniques this past decade, I think cryonicists have a bigger head start on this than electron microscopists.

http://www.alcor.org...tml/annals.html

[brokenportal]

What do you all think about Longecity giving to this prize? I could see us doing $100 to $500 in negotiation for some banner space with them perhaps.

[Not A Naked Ape]

In my opinion, this would be a good idea. If it is really possible to find a method for chemical brain preservation that is cheaper than cryonics, it could be the last chance to survive for many people.

[Shannon Vyff]

John Smart will be getting some mainstream publicity with his presentation to WFS (which is has a heavy business membership) http://www.wfs.org/c...uture-2012-talk

[albedo]

Very well written and clear from Kenneth Hayworth (attached). How hard is to realize (as I do), as in his conclusion, that "..... you, gentle reader, decide for yourself that you wish to have your brain preserved and participate in this “greatest adventure imaginable” you will find, as I have, that your ability to do so is being blocked at every turn."!

Attached Files

•  Killed-by-bad-philosophy.pdf   191.56KB   3 downloads

[Kahnetic]

Longecity should definitely consider donating to their prize. Definitely the kind of cause we should be supporting.

[albedo]

The BPF Small Mammal Prize has officially been won!

 

Newly invented Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation procedure wins Brain Preservation Prize

http://www.brainpres...l-announcement/