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
 



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