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Like so many scientific pursuits, this one has its roots in science fiction. A terrific trashy futuristic novel from the 70's by Lawrence Sanders called The Tomorrow File [0] features preserved heads that are kept around to spout ideas in the future, when they might become useful, among many other Brave New World -type concepts. [0] https://archive.org/details/tomorrowfile0000sand_t5i1
Like so many scientific pursuits, this one has its roots in science fiction. A terrific trashy futuristic novel from the 70's by Lawrence Sanders called The Tomorrow File [0] features preserved heads that are kept around to spout ideas in the future, when they might become useful, among many other Brave New World -type concepts. [0] https://archive.org/details/tomorrowfile0000sand_t5i1
Way older https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleeper_Awakes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Door_into_Summer and for anything fantastic you can find it in mythology and ancient literature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muchukunda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Immortals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranka_(legend) A good re…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nothing stopping you from dying. You make your personal decisions and let others make theirs.
There are some externalities at play here though... - We currently only have one world that all living humans must share. - Imagine the sickening amount of power some people would be able to gather given a few centuries. That can't be good for everyone else.
I think that immortality would be a disaster, personally. That we die is a critically important aspect of life. I'd prefer that we work on ways to make the death process less traumatic.
Nothing stopping you from dying. You make your personal decisions and let others make theirs.
I think that immortality would be a disaster, personally. That we die is a critically important aspect of life. I'd prefer that we work on ways to make the death process less traumatic.
To be frank, the extent to which the very old now dominate science, business and politics is already unhealthy. I shudder to think what our world would look like if our most important positions of power were dominated by men born 110 years ago. They say science advances one death at a time. Looking at congress, I think you can say the same for politics as well.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a bit of research and effort into a head transplants. I wonder if and when that is successful to see how it impacts the individual. Possibly having memories of the body or changing personality.
where?
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3821155/
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>World's first human head transplant successfully performed on a corpse, scientists say (2017)
https://nationalpost.com/health/worlds-first-human-head-tran...
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First Human Head Transplantation: Surgically Challenging, Ethically Controversial and Historically Tempting – an Experimental Endeavor or a Scientific Landmark? (2019)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6511668/
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>No Doctor Has Ever Performed a Human Head Transplant. This Neurosurgeon Says He’s Ready to Do It. (2024)
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a62831709/human-hea...
"What is this, some kind of altered carbon?"
I think that immortality would be a disaster, personally. That we die is a critically important aspect of life. I'd prefer that we work on ways to make the death process less traumatic.
Why? We have already decimated any semblance of natural selection so death is no longer a necessity from an evolutionary standpoint. Maybe immortal humans would be more beneficent because they wouldn't be scrambling to get ahead in their short time here. If I didn't only have 30-40ish productive years to achieve whatever I will in this life it would be much easier to donate money or time to charitable pursuits.
Not even talking about the fact that we live in a very finite system
I think that immortality would be a disaster, personally. That we die is a critically important aspect of life. I'd prefer that we work on ways to make the death process less traumatic.
Success of something like this entails a way to regulate reproduction at a far more draconian level than even China's one-child policy. I don't think any civilized nation could impose a "no child" policy and remain intact.