The phrase I use is: Technology supports technique. If the technique is to play piano, a well-maintained acoustic piano is the ultimate instrument. If the techn

The phrase I use is: Technology supports technique. If the technique is to play piano, a well-maintained acoustic piano is the ultimate instrument. If the technique is to play music, a toy keyboard will suffice. What technical studies often lose track of in their quest for perfection is a sense of balanced technique. If you want an immortalized thought you can very nearly achieve that by publishing a book. But an immortal body and mind is at odds with a developing body and mind. When we say immortality we surely don't mean "I can continue to be a glum and unfulfilled soul staring at a screen forever." And yet, with respect to our digital technologies it really is somewhat like that - more and more gets captured and archived. Does life improve? Depends on the measure. We address one set of traumas only to uncover others, at first dismissing them, and then gradually coming to afford them respect. It's extremely common not to recognize how screwed up we are. If we were to say, instead of the preservation of your exact form, you get to be healed of past trauma and remain full of energy, but without controlling exactly where you end up, how you evolve, and maybe forgetting some of your past - would that still be immortal? And if so, then a existing healthy, fulfilled life is very near to that. And I do believe philosophical thoughts like those are where we are going, since we have picked most of the low-hanging fruit leading to material comfort while still guarding it jealously and justifying a deficit in column A by pointing to spectacular achievements in columns B, C, and D. We have to realign the techniques and therefore the technologies to square it up.