The Bioethical Implications of Human Immortality (moral, Earth, paradise, elder)

[yossarian22]

Originally Posted by rojse

I do not think that the brain would be capable of remembering everything that you had done, over the span of hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

By the time our mean life expectancy reaches half a century we probably would either be able to use the majority of our brain power (we would certainly be able to memorize a ridiculous amount of data) or be able to get memory implants.

[rojse]

Originally Posted by yossarian22

By the time our mean life expectancy reaches half a century we probably would either be able to use the majority of our brain power (we would certainly be able to memorize a ridiculous amount of data) or be able to get memory implants.

A few questions on this statement.

First, please state the parts of the brains that are currently not used. You may be technical if you wish, I have made some personal studies into the brain and it's workings.

Secondly, we have trouble remembering much of what we have done last month. What breakfast cereal did you eat on the second Monday of last month, for example? What clothes did you wear? What about last year, the second Thursday of February? How will this faulty memory of ours improve as we increase our lifespan?

If you mean to say that as we improve medical science to extend our lifespan, we will also be able to use medical science discovered in parallel to this area of research to improve memory retention. If that is the case, I would agree with that. Otherwise, I would like to hear the reasoning behind your statement.

[yossarian22]

Originally Posted by rojse

A few questions on this statement.

First, please state the parts of the brains that are currently not used. You may be technical if you wish, I have made some personal studies into the brain and it's workings.

We use the vast majority of our brain, but we do not use sections of it actively. The blink phenomenon, for instance, cannot be controlled actively. The blink phenomenon is the ability to use extremely small slices of data to determine an outcome, with amazing accuracy.

Secondly, we have trouble remembering much of what we have done last month. What breakfast cereal did you eat on the second Monday of last month, for example? What clothes did you wear? What about last year, the second Thursday of February? How will this faulty memory of ours improve as we increase our lifespan?

As medicine increases, so will the understanding of the brain. It IS possible to remember every moment of our life and remember everything we have ever read or heard. This has happened to a few individuals (I cannot recall their names) and leads universally to insanity. We do not remember things as well as we can unless we are either scared to death (a specific protein is blocked and I cannot remember it) or we see something multiple times. Hopefully we will have fixed these problems by the time remembering what we do in our professions becomes a problem

If you mean to say that as we improve medical science to extend our lifespan, we will also be able to use medical science discovered in parallel to this area of research to improve memory retention. If that is the case, I would agree with that. Otherwise, I would like to hear the reasoning behind your statement.

That is what I say.

[Runt]

Originally Posted by yossarian22

We use the vast majority of our brain, but we do not use sections of it actively. The blink phenomenon, for instance, cannot be controlled actively. The blink phenomenon is the ability to use extremely small slices of data to determine an outcome, with amazing accuracy.

There's a book floating somewhere around my house on this topic. I believe it is titled "Blink". Have you read it? If so, is it worth my time?

As medicine increases, so will the understanding of the brain. It IS possible to remember every moment of our life and remember everything we have ever read or heard. This has happened to a few individuals (I cannot recall their names) and leads universally to insanity.

These individuals typically suffer from extremely severe cases of synesthesia. My understanding of the phenomena is that the complex way in which their minds connect concepts, sensory data and sensations allows for better encoding---and better retrieval---of memories.

[yossarian22]

Originally Posted by Runt

There's a book floating somewhere around my house on this topic. I believe it is titled "Blink". Have you read it? If so, is it worth my time?

It's a very good book. I would definitely read it and any other books by Malcolm Gladwell. There are a couple other books about how this happens.

These individuals typically suffer from extremely severe cases of synesthesia. My understanding of the phenomena is that the complex way in which their minds connect concepts, sensory data and sensations allows for better encoding---and better retrieval---of memories.

Here is my understanding of the disorder. A protein, I cannot find the name but I will look it up, is active for a majority of the time. Whenever your brain receives new information, this protein blocks it unless the brain is in a state of fear and danger or the information is repeated constantly, and it is repressed. Individuals with this disorder remember everything. One man was able to memorize a 100x100 number grid that had no patterns in it at all, in the time it takes one person to read it. He could also recall every single memory test he was given until he died.
Edit: I believe the protein is called CTP. It is believed to block long term memory.

[rojse]

Here is a Wiki page that discusses the idea of improving ourselves through altering our original bodies.

Transhumanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think it is worth a look at when discussing this subject, especially since it devotes some space for arguments against this phenomena.