7 ms·

This is a key development in my personal plan for Futurama-style immortality. Glass jar futures, anyone?

by Matticus_Rex 9y ago

justaman 9y ago
Rather die.
- mikeash 9y ago
  Futurama even covered that! “Interesting side note: as a head without a body, I envy the dead.”
  - logfromblammo 9y ago
    I vaguely recall a reboot Twilight Zone or reboot Outer Limits where a rich woman paid a doctor to keep her alive by any means necessary, and ended up being just a head on a pedestal with one robot arm, that was limited in its range of motions such that it could not aim a gun at the head. And also In Fallout 4: Nuka World, where the Walt Disney expy character was just an immortal head in a tiny Vault-Tec bunker.
  - kylek 9y ago
    Glad someone else made a futurama comment first. My first thought upon reading the title: Good news everyone!
bigtunacan 9y ago
With a realistic enough VR and feedback environment I would take it if they could keep the essence that is me alive and able to interact with reality.
- Matticus_Rex 9y ago
  If this is the bridge that gets my brain to last until brain emulation happens, I'm sooooo down.
- basementcat 9y ago
  Maybe this already happened to me and I didn't realize it. Apparently in my VR simulation, most major Linux distributions have adopted systemd and the UK is leaving the EU.
  - Semirhage 9y ago
    Apparently in my VR simulation, most major Linux distributions have adopted systemd and the UK is leaving the EU. So trippy! You’ll never believe mine though, Donald Trump is president of America and Dick Cheney outlived Robin Williams. I think I got a bad vat.
- rubber_duck 9y ago
  I don't understand how people think their there is some "essence" that is somehow disconnected from their body. Everything about your experience, selfawarenes, emotions, etc. is connected to your body. A simple physical interaction can change your mood and behavior instantly. Like getting hit or sexualy aroused, your personality can be permanently changed by hormonal changes, your mental performance is influenced by your physical fitness. Your selfimage and behavior is based heavily on your appearance (eg. one thing known to increase long term happiness is improving your attractiveness). Even if you could run your brain without your body the result would nothing like the person you are now - some traits would be preserved for sure - but imo calling that essence ignores how much subconscious/physical are a part of your personality.
  - bigtunacan 9y ago
    The way you re-used essence in quotes makes me think maybe you interpreted my post as meaning a metaphysical soul or something along those lines. That was not at all what I was going for. Simply taking a brain out of a body and then "keeping it on life support" would be horrendous. Think of it, your brain is very much alive with zero stimulation for a theoretical eternity. That would likely drive people insane. My point was if the technology became sufficiently advanced that we could say wire the brain into an artificial body where we could still see, communicate, maybe even feel pain and pleasure. Think of the numerous people with severe physical handicaps who might actually find something like this to be an improvement over their current living situation.
    - rubber_duck 9y ago
      Not necessarily metaphysical - I get a feeling a lot of these discussions treat brain and body as separate entities and the reasoning reduces to the same as metaphysical ghost in the machine - brain in the machine. If we ever get to that point you're almost a completely different entity from the person you were in your body, you could share some of the memories and logic but even your perception on them would change drastically along with your self image changes.
      - 9y ago
eludwig 9y ago
I don't remember the author off hand (maybe John Varley?) but there is a science fiction novel where people are kept as heads with all of their nerves hooked up in such a way that ANY sensation could be perfectly created. Needless to say, it was possible to go to some pretty dark places with this. Imagine, for example, feeling like you had to urinate but never being able to relieve yourself for all eternity. And that was one of the "lighter" abuses. shiver
grondilu 9y ago
It's also one of the technologies pictured in the human depository[1], though. 1. http://www.earthexplodes.com/comics/200/ http://www.earthexplodes.com/comics/200/

This is a key development in my personal plan for Futurama-style immortality. Glass jar futures, anyone?

justaman 9y ago

Rather die.

mikeash 9y ago
Futurama even covered that! “Interesting side note: as a head without a body, I envy the dead.”
- logfromblammo 9y ago
  I vaguely recall a reboot Twilight Zone or reboot Outer Limits where a rich woman paid a doctor to keep her alive by any means necessary, and ended up being just a head on a pedestal with one robot arm, that was limited in its range of motions such that it could not aim a gun at the head. And also In Fallout 4: Nuka World, where the Walt Disney expy character was just an immortal head in a tiny Vault-Tec bunker.
- kylek 9y ago
  Glad someone else made a futurama comment first. My first thought upon reading the title: Good news everyone!

bigtunacan 9y ago

With a realistic enough VR and feedback environment I would take it if they could keep the essence that is me alive and able to interact with reality.

Matticus_Rex 9y ago
If this is the bridge that gets my brain to last until brain emulation happens, I'm sooooo down.
basementcat 9y ago
Maybe this already happened to me and I didn't realize it. Apparently in my VR simulation, most major Linux distributions have adopted systemd and the UK is leaving the EU.
- Semirhage 9y ago
  Apparently in my VR simulation, most major Linux distributions have adopted systemd and the UK is leaving the EU. So trippy! You’ll never believe mine though, Donald Trump is president of America and Dick Cheney outlived Robin Williams. I think I got a bad vat.
rubber_duck 9y ago
I don't understand how people think their there is some "essence" that is somehow disconnected from their body. Everything about your experience, selfawarenes, emotions, etc. is connected to your body. A simple physical interaction can change your mood and behavior instantly. Like getting hit or sexualy aroused, your personality can be permanently changed by hormonal changes, your mental performance is influenced by your physical fitness. Your selfimage and behavior is based heavily on your appearance (eg. one thing known to increase long term happiness is improving your attractiveness). Even if you could run your brain without your body the result would nothing like the person you are now - some traits would be preserved for sure - but imo calling that essence ignores how much subconscious/physical are a part of your personality.
- bigtunacan 9y ago
  The way you re-used essence in quotes makes me think maybe you interpreted my post as meaning a metaphysical soul or something along those lines. That was not at all what I was going for. Simply taking a brain out of a body and then "keeping it on life support" would be horrendous. Think of it, your brain is very much alive with zero stimulation for a theoretical eternity. That would likely drive people insane. My point was if the technology became sufficiently advanced that we could say wire the brain into an artificial body where we could still see, communicate, maybe even feel pain and pleasure. Think of the numerous people with severe physical handicaps who might actually find something like this to be an improvement over their current living situation.
  - rubber_duck 9y ago
    Not necessarily metaphysical - I get a feeling a lot of these discussions treat brain and body as separate entities and the reasoning reduces to the same as metaphysical ghost in the machine - brain in the machine. If we ever get to that point you're almost a completely different entity from the person you were in your body, you could share some of the memories and logic but even your perception on them would change drastically along with your self image changes.
    - 9y ago

eludwig 9y ago

I don't remember the author off hand (maybe John Varley?) but there is a science fiction novel where people are kept as heads with all of their nerves hooked up in such a way that ANY sensation could be perfectly created. Needless to say, it was possible to go to some pretty dark places with this. Imagine, for example, feeling like you had to urinate but never being able to relieve yourself for all eternity. And that was one of the "lighter" abuses. shiver

grondilu 9y ago

It's also one of the technologies pictured in the human depository[1], though. 1. http://www.earthexplodes.com/comics/200/ http://www.earthexplodes.com/comics/200/