Re: Do you want to live this long?

WWhat you are talking about there is FORM, nothing more. When you build your castle out of Lego bricks and I come and kick it to pieces, the Lego does not die at all. Only the current form "dies" and so it is with us.

I have been many forms. A sperm being just one of them. There will be others of that there can be no doubt at all. Nature demonstrates this to us daily.

What you need to understand therefore is what really makes you YOU.

Temet Nosce

Which part of you is mere FORM made up of universal "Lego bricks" and which part is not?

Re: Do you want to live this long?

Lego is an inanimate object Realist and has to be assembled by someone, it could not assemble itself. You body however is biological, a chemical reaction that allows cells to replace those that have died, no cell in your body is more that ten years old. even bones are completely replaced after around ten years hence the ageing process. The constant reproduction of cells is like re-recording music, each copy is not as perfect as the original.

The brain stores information throughout your life it gives you your personality, how you react to a situation, even the things you believe based on the input from your senses. Without these five senses you would cease to exist and interface with the world around you. Once cell replacement stops the brain ceases to function and all memories are lost, including your personality and identity. The only thing that remains is the DNA that you passed on to your children assuming you had children. The DNA is the blueprint for a new human form, but the brain will be starting from scratch.

Re: Do you want to live this long?

I agree with OGF on this. Our identity is just the sum of our memories. Once our memories are gone we are no more. You can probably keep a body alive indefinitely on a machine but the person inside may never come back.

At least that is we haven't figured out how to download our cache. I'm sure that's coming though. Where you could live on in a new body via AI. Harness the ability to move the identity to a transferable file and you can technically live forever in different bodies or in a machine.

Re: Do you want to live this long?

That may well become a possibility Annie, if stem cells can build a copy of the deceased brain.

Re: Do you want to live this long?

...Think i`ll pass, thanks. I have a morbid aversion to raw eggs...AND old age...!!

Re: Do you want to live this long?

A fascinating scenario, that we 'exist' because we retain memory.

MY MIL is 93 and bed-ridden in a carehome. She hasn't a clue who anyone is BUT is happy with whatever is going on in her head.
Many people suffering from dementia seem to be discontent with their lot.
Hmmmm ... many people who are NOT suffering with it are similarly discontented.

Unsure if I'm meandering ... just musing

Re: Do you want to live this long?

Raw eggs in home made Ginger Beer are a tonic.

Re: Do you want to live this long?

If you could live forever then you could plan ahead . As it is now it is all one mad rush where you can only pack so much in. Anyway I don't think the brain is wired for a very long life else you wouldn't forget half the s*** you learn. Bugs the hell out of me when I need to alter some code or other and realise I will have to start from scratch. So, going by this even if you lived for EVA you would have to repeat past experiences to relearn them - much like reading a novel or watching a movie repeatedly as I do now. We would need BIGGER BRAINS with more memory on board - extra ram - to cope with the longgggggg years.