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Re: Cybernetic Vs Biological Immortality
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Hi KC,
I think our brain's "memory" is not like that of an (ordinary) silicon chip, or magnetic disk. With those devices, everything is "remembered" unless specifically erased, and each "thing remembered" is given a precise location where it is written.
In contrast, I believe our memories are "distributed" (smeared out) through the brain, as in a hologram. Each memory is like the ripples in a pond, intersecting one another, yet continuing on despite the intersection. And like ripples in a pond, the smaller ones tend to get "washed out" more quickly.
In your 15 years, you have had a billion experiences, 99.99% of which are entirely mundane (like each time you buttoned your shirt, or took a spoonful of cereal, or took a single step on the sidewalk). Can you say they you remember each such instance, and can recall each one specifically? (Would you even WANT to, if you could?)
Your brain has the "knack" of remembering the big stuff, important stuff, usually, or somehow critical to your brain's way or organizing itself. And of course, with time, many things that seem "big" now will seem small later, as newer experiences become important.
Also, much of what we can recall is not so much "remembered" as it is constructed (or reconstructed). You know that after 23,506 comes 23,507 and not because you "remembered" 23,507 but because you know how to construct it from 23,506. Much of our memory is likewise a construction from smaller clues.
How many "things" would you need to remember with precision, or want to? A million or two? If I could recall a million "useful things", it would take me a year just to "re-experience" (think) of each of them ... and in the meanwhile, I would have lost a year's worth of new experiences.
As far as immortality goes, I think you have a point about the "surity" issue. You would want to change yourself gradually, so you could "back out" if the experience was not what you expected it to be. But if you simply remain "human-like" in brain capability, how many experiences might you have before it all seems like a huge re-run? (Due to the human-brain's capacity for consciousness, perhaps.)
I have to wonder...
Cheers! ____tony b____
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Re: Cybernetic Vs Biological Immortality
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On the topic of "Cybernetic Vs Biological Immortality", I think the reason why we are moving towards re-creating ourselves in another form is because of our universal goal of survival.
Because we are always looking for ways to improve our chances for survival, I think we are gravitating towards making ourselves more intelligent, faster thinkers, less vulnerable to biological disease, less dependent on things such as eating, breathing oxygen or drinking water, and more able to withstand space travel.
In our current form, we use too many of the earth's space and resources, and due to our human condition, we currently need to reproduce at a high rate in order to overcome disease, injury, and other daily threats to our survival as a species. Therefore our human condition is not optimal for long-term survival on this planet, and if we are to accomplish long-term survival, and support our accelerating intellectual growth, then it makes sense for us to become "intelligent machines" of an improved design.
Our brains process information at the rate of about 600 mph, whereas computers process information about 10 million times faster.
Our bodies depend on energy, food, water, a very narrow thermal temperature band, and room to grow physically. Computers, on the other hand, depend only on energy and have a much wider range of operating temperature.
Regards,
-Charles
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Re: Cybernetic Vs Biological Immortality
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>Our bodies depend on energy, food, water, a very narrow thermal temperature band, and room to grow physically. Computers, on the other hand, depend only on energy and have a much wider range of operating temperature.
The intake of food and water are just an internal process of getting energy. humans are a self contained working unit. unlike computers of today,we don't need to plug into the wall... ever. But to perform our functions we only need the same ONE thing, energy.
For imortality. I see it as humans and computers will meet somwhere in the middle. the biological technologies push the human further just as computer technologies push the computer better. we each have very important atributes that the other would like. the durabilty and speed of a computer would be amazing with the vast parallel computing and self assembly of DNA.
right now humans and computers are separtate and different fields of study, but both sides are benfiting from the other. the only barier for merging the two is the interface, somthing that is developing drastically slower than any other technology in my mind.
So having either a technical or biological imortallity would not be the question. for in the future you may not be able to classify it under those terms. |
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