X-Message-Number: 11152
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 10:39:07 -0500
From: "Raphael T. Haftka" <>
Subject: Do we have to choose between meat and computers?

Thomas Donaldson made a good point that one should disassociate the
question of identity from the question of duplication. Instead of the
destruction of the first self that he proposes, I think that there is also
a chance of a slow migration to a different medium. In particular, I expect
that the migration to non protoplasm memory may not be that far off. Here
are the steps that I see in my crystal ball (murky as it is).

1. Computers that can communicate directly with our brains through
electrical impulses. These will probably be developed first for severely
handicapped people.
2. People getting used to store factual information on a computer they wear
on their belt or on their head, because communication is so easy.
3. Communication upgraded to allow people to store the signals from their
eyes, ears, nose and taste buds in computer memories for later retrieval.
People getting used to replaying past events with perfect fidelity. 
4. Communication upgraded to allow people to store some forms of thoughts
and feelings.
5.Use of protoplasm memories decling gradually to nothing.

I do not claim that silicon(?) memories will have the same texture and feel
as the protoplasm ones. However, they will have so many advantages in terms
of fidelity and ease of access that people will migrate to them anyhow.

Note that the same type of migration happened once in history with the
invention of writing. We sometimes marvel at the memory feats of ancient
bards who passed orally from one generation to the next the history and
mythology of their tribes. People living today do not develop the kind of
memory that these illiterates had.

Rafi Haftka
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Raphael (Rafi) Haftka				
University of Florida				phone:352-392-9595
Department of Aerospace Engineering,		fax: -7303
Mechanics and Engineering Science		http://www.aero.ufl.edu/~haftka
Gainesville, FL 32611
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