0
Do something while we wait
Posted by
odeamartin
,
07 August 2011
·
35,505 views
Hi guys,
First post here - though long way from first venture into similar territories.
2 points if I may
1. I feel strongly that this early period of possibility in life-extension should not be an environment based on competition for funding, but one of open collaboration across all reasonable avenues for success. This is too big a goal to not cover all bases.
2. I have on a number of occasions pursued the following line of thinking.
All current avenues to surpassing 'normal' lifespan death and extinguishing of personhood are not at a ready state. If I die right now I will cease to be and barring a Frank Tippler 'Omega Point' I will never be again.
What can I do if anything to give myself a best chance of getting beyond this?
a) Contribute to life-extension methods in whatever ways I can
b) Cryonics - take an expensive option (but perhaps only practical currently available), or support brainpreservation.org to try to bring this technology to a wider audience or to you
c) Pursue the mind-filing option as proposed by Terasem in the hope that writings/videos etc will enclose enough of your personhood to be retrieved in the distant future
Or
d) The option I would like to take - and the organisation I pursued founding - find a location where all options above are available plus others, as well as the discussions and information that is available in a number of online fora. However, importantly offer members actual services; create partnerships with existing orgs. These would include (beyond the information, discussion available elsewhere) for example;
Mindfiles (Storage space to upload what best represents your personhood)
DNA sampling and storage
Supplements, Rejuvenation and bio-tech options as and when they become available (SENS - Sierra Sciences etc)
fMRI PET scans etc provided and stored (deals with medical providers/acquiring own scanners)
Perhaps I should discuss why I feel DNA and Brain imaging would be worthwhile members of the wide range of options I think people would take if given the choices. There are many discussions and years of thought evolution behind certain statements that I would now see as correct, outlined in the next three paragraphs;
all matter is ultimately information gleaned by exhausting more probable entropy filled entities until sheer volume offers the improbable order and the orders ability to maintain order - this gives us the macro world and videos such as http://www.ted.com/t...ig_history.html can take us from matter to humanity
information is computable and replicable and, as such, is transferrable between substrates. The goals of ASIM seem the best option to me in the short and long-term for two key reasons, they invite a concentration on imaging technology and an appreciation that the interpretation of the data is unlikely to be needed to be total and the workings of the brain will be comprehended totally in the future. The second is that a substrate independent being will operate in an environments that it can manipulate to a much greater extent than the physical offers, and that perhaps excluding some massive universal level catastrophes (nearby supernova/big rip/big crunch type scenario) the informational existence is not at the whim of natural disasters/accidents and many other perversions even with strong genetic breakthroughs in situ.
I would be of the opinion that if you allow future scientists/technologists the longest imaginable periods of time that all that will stand in the way of achieving total understanding of the mechanics of the entirety of a human would be the desire to do so (of course, their drive for eons would be the same as ours – to protect their own futures). Also, I feel that at this point of total knowledge these future technologists would not total atomic or even cellular level data to recreate the ‘personhood’ of an individual. In fact, we do not know what resolution of data would be required to allow ‘me’ the sense of continuity from death to new life.
Two other points I would like to mention here, firstly DNA seems to contain an awful lot of the information already for decoding our neural network – particularly with newer neural models such as the temporal predictive model; and also, we have the great benefit of being able to deduce from our experiences with sleep/anaesthetic/coma that reduced consciousness reduces sense of time elapse. We can take it then, in death, that there is no consciousness and therefore no time elapse. And so, we offer the strong hope to people that with regular scans, DNA storage plus as many other means of storing information as possible that they will biologically die and then reawaken instantaneously.
Just finally, on what I had hoped for the organisation to offer the public also, was the hope that DNA in itself would suffice or at least provide the equivalent of a crash victim who suffers complete retrograde amnesia for the future of any who’s DNA is stored. Their life experiences could be described in endless video uploads etc and a very therapeutic practice for the bereaved that should prove to be. The idea of uploading a video diary explaining how the grandchildren are doing etc would surely help that process, when coupled with justifiable hope for a future meeting.
Finally, finally this project has been a part-time pursuit for a number of years, but in truth operating by just me it was never really a runner – and so I offer all the ideas therein for support by longecity. I will do whatever I can to push it forward but can’t do it all in isolation – I would dearly love this to be my life work though – and for a very long time.
Let me know what you think
Martin
First post here - though long way from first venture into similar territories.
2 points if I may
1. I feel strongly that this early period of possibility in life-extension should not be an environment based on competition for funding, but one of open collaboration across all reasonable avenues for success. This is too big a goal to not cover all bases.
2. I have on a number of occasions pursued the following line of thinking.
All current avenues to surpassing 'normal' lifespan death and extinguishing of personhood are not at a ready state. If I die right now I will cease to be and barring a Frank Tippler 'Omega Point' I will never be again.
What can I do if anything to give myself a best chance of getting beyond this?
a) Contribute to life-extension methods in whatever ways I can
b) Cryonics - take an expensive option (but perhaps only practical currently available), or support brainpreservation.org to try to bring this technology to a wider audience or to you
c) Pursue the mind-filing option as proposed by Terasem in the hope that writings/videos etc will enclose enough of your personhood to be retrieved in the distant future
Or
d) The option I would like to take - and the organisation I pursued founding - find a location where all options above are available plus others, as well as the discussions and information that is available in a number of online fora. However, importantly offer members actual services; create partnerships with existing orgs. These would include (beyond the information, discussion available elsewhere) for example;
Mindfiles (Storage space to upload what best represents your personhood)
DNA sampling and storage
Supplements, Rejuvenation and bio-tech options as and when they become available (SENS - Sierra Sciences etc)
fMRI PET scans etc provided and stored (deals with medical providers/acquiring own scanners)
Perhaps I should discuss why I feel DNA and Brain imaging would be worthwhile members of the wide range of options I think people would take if given the choices. There are many discussions and years of thought evolution behind certain statements that I would now see as correct, outlined in the next three paragraphs;
all matter is ultimately information gleaned by exhausting more probable entropy filled entities until sheer volume offers the improbable order and the orders ability to maintain order - this gives us the macro world and videos such as http://www.ted.com/t...ig_history.html can take us from matter to humanity
information is computable and replicable and, as such, is transferrable between substrates. The goals of ASIM seem the best option to me in the short and long-term for two key reasons, they invite a concentration on imaging technology and an appreciation that the interpretation of the data is unlikely to be needed to be total and the workings of the brain will be comprehended totally in the future. The second is that a substrate independent being will operate in an environments that it can manipulate to a much greater extent than the physical offers, and that perhaps excluding some massive universal level catastrophes (nearby supernova/big rip/big crunch type scenario) the informational existence is not at the whim of natural disasters/accidents and many other perversions even with strong genetic breakthroughs in situ.
I would be of the opinion that if you allow future scientists/technologists the longest imaginable periods of time that all that will stand in the way of achieving total understanding of the mechanics of the entirety of a human would be the desire to do so (of course, their drive for eons would be the same as ours – to protect their own futures). Also, I feel that at this point of total knowledge these future technologists would not total atomic or even cellular level data to recreate the ‘personhood’ of an individual. In fact, we do not know what resolution of data would be required to allow ‘me’ the sense of continuity from death to new life.
Two other points I would like to mention here, firstly DNA seems to contain an awful lot of the information already for decoding our neural network – particularly with newer neural models such as the temporal predictive model; and also, we have the great benefit of being able to deduce from our experiences with sleep/anaesthetic/coma that reduced consciousness reduces sense of time elapse. We can take it then, in death, that there is no consciousness and therefore no time elapse. And so, we offer the strong hope to people that with regular scans, DNA storage plus as many other means of storing information as possible that they will biologically die and then reawaken instantaneously.
Just finally, on what I had hoped for the organisation to offer the public also, was the hope that DNA in itself would suffice or at least provide the equivalent of a crash victim who suffers complete retrograde amnesia for the future of any who’s DNA is stored. Their life experiences could be described in endless video uploads etc and a very therapeutic practice for the bereaved that should prove to be. The idea of uploading a video diary explaining how the grandchildren are doing etc would surely help that process, when coupled with justifiable hope for a future meeting.
Finally, finally this project has been a part-time pursuit for a number of years, but in truth operating by just me it was never really a runner – and so I offer all the ideas therein for support by longecity. I will do whatever I can to push it forward but can’t do it all in isolation – I would dearly love this to be my life work though – and for a very long time.
Let me know what you think
Martin