X-Message-Number: 21006
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 00:13:51 -0800
From: James Swayze <>
Subject: Regarding the pursuit of perfection

Regarding the new discussion about the pursuit of perfection I agree
that it is something to attempt to attain but not ever truly be possible
to obtain. There will always, I hope, be a higher bar to traverse. This
is one reason I disliked the notion of the Christian heaven, how boring
would that be? We need challenges always and forever.

However, how we got into this discussion stemming from my comments on
nanotechnology curing all disease is based upon a misunderstanding. I
must apologize for using misleading language. I did not mean perfection
as per the human entity but rather I should have used 'made ideally
healthy' in place of 'perfecting cells', because I meant merely that
disease won't be able to exist where cells are constantly kept in a
state of absolute health.

Though we might 'blueprint' a given human body as per my suggestion cell
by cell it would still only be a human body. This is something possibly
capable of doing someday once we have the genome totally understood as
well as the proteome as it is referred. This is as opposed to the
partial understanding we now have because as I understand it they
skipped around a bit through the genome not trying to sequence each and
every gene as yet.

So, for instance, if I were to be perfected as I said in my earlier post
at the cellular level, but this time I will instead say that each cell
be made ideally healthy, I would still be me with all my human traits
and faults. Perhaps if I had hidden phobias or brain chemical
imbalances, in future able to be eliminated by means of knowing the
ideal state necessary for absolute health, my personality might change a
bit but I would still likely be just as stubborn, opinionated, sometimes
arrogant, often a rogue where women are concerned, in effect just as
humanly frail as I was before. However, I could then begin the long
process toward enlightenment humanity has always dreamed of minus the
hindrances of pain, disease and crippling injury as those things can
tend to bring the worst but sometimes the best out in human beings...
perhaps a little of both. Here's to aiming for perfection but not
necessarily ever reaching it.

James
--
Cryonics Institute of Michigan Member!
The Immortalist Society Member!
The Society for Venturism Member!

MY WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/~davidpascal/swayze/ While there
follow the links to photos of me and some of my artwork and a radio
interview on Dr.  J's ChangeSurfer Radio program with me and the father
of cryonics Prof.  Robert Ettinger, author of "The Prospect of
Immortality".
A RELIGION I actually recommend: http://www.venturist.org
A FAVORITE quote: Last lines of the first Star Trek the Next Generation
movie.
Capt.  Picard: "What we leave behind is not as important as how we've
lived, after all Number One, we're only mortal."
Will Ryker: "Speak for yourself captain, I intend to live forever!"

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