X-Message-Number: 9807
Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 10:23:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: John K Clark <>
Subject: Heckling

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In #9797 On  Thu, 28 May 1998  Paul Wakfer <> Wrote:
         

        >The crucial point which Thomas and I have tried to make again and
        
        >again is that WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT STRUCTURES OF THE BRAIN CONTAIN
                >OUR MEMORIES AND IDENTITY. 
            

It doesn't matter, unless of course religious people are right and identity  
has nothing to do with the brain at all. You used the word "structures" and 
that implies information, if that can be recovered then these structures, 
whatever they may be, are not irretrievably lost. I stand by my statement 
that Dr. Merkle ideas have value. He gave good reasons for thinking that the
brain does not enter a chaotic turbulent state when it's frozen so that the 
information in it may not be irretrievably lost, he did not give a proof and 
nobody said he did.
              


        >Therefore, if there is even one *iota* of distributed irreversible
        
        >damage (ie. truely lost brain information), it makes no sense at all
        
        >to say that nanotechnology, of whatever level, can retrieve and
                >reconstruct our memories and identity 
              

It's logically possible I suppose that one crucial bit of information is the 
key to identity, and it's logically possible that freezing a brain will 
permanently erase that important bit, but are you so certain of this to say 
that people who think it may not be true are making no sense and are actually 
harming Cryonics? 

I think the hostility I'm receiving over this comes not from what I actually 
wrote but from what people think I'm trying to imply. Well, I'm not ashamed 
of my opinions and I enjoy a good argument, if I thought that improving the 
science of Cryonics was unnecessary I would not hesitate to say so loud and 
clear. The reason you have not heard any such statement from me is that I 
don't think it's true, in fact I can't think of any area of research that's 
more important.
   
                                              John K Clark    
 
PS: Paul do me a favor, read Ralph Merkle's post [#9762].


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