X-Message-Number: 3867 From: (Thomas Donaldson) Subject: Re: CryoNet #3859 - #3860 Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995 17:17:39 -0800 (PST) To Mr. Clark: I will get to the core of the subject. Have you made any arrangements for your own cryonic suspension? Or do you believe that uploading of YOURSELF into a computer will become possible in your own natural lifespan? And incidentally, one way in which neurons affect one another's internal behavior is by chemical methods... so it is not true to say that they are simply black boxes to one another. As for maintaining themselves just as other cells do, it is that ability at self-repair (which may be less than some other cells, but still plays a significant role in our brains) that distinguishes brains from any machine we have yet built. It is also, among several other traits, one trait a brain and the associated body will need badly to survive for very long if operating in real time and the kinds of environments we normally live in. I will say, though, that all such discussions about uploading etc are trivia compared to the question with which I began this posting. If you have chosen to be suspended, then on our revival we will probably both find that we were ignorant of so much that our present discussion is meaningless. If you have not chosen to be suspended, then (and remember, I know about the computer world too) I would say that you are pursuing a vain hope, far less likely than successful revival after suspension. (There is nothing wrong with arguing that point, but it is a far more difficult point to argue than the proposition that uploading will become both possible and desirable at some unstated future time). Long long life, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3867