assume cloning works

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Enforcer Talen
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assume cloning works

Post by Enforcer Talen »

could you clone yourself (assume its without an inconvenient brain), put your brain in it, and live another lifetime?

if you could, would you?
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

You've been on a question-asking spree this week, haven't you? :wink:


Depending on how old your brain is, you might not get used to the body. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Though if this body is an exact template of your old one albeit younger, the transition should be much smoother. Imagine trying to balance yourself in a tinyier(sp?)/larger body than you're used to.

I might do it. Though I don't fear death in and of itself, it's still my natural instinct to AVOID it at all costs when it comes for me. I'm not too terribly couragous, so I may give it a shot. Be fun to see what the future holds long after my "death."
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

gives me something to do.

Im not afraid of death, or, I dont think I am. my main complaint is that Id miss out on what happens afterwards. so Id do it for a few centuries, if possble.
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Post by Morat »

It depends. If life keeps going as it has been for me, then I don't think I would. However, I think I will be happier once I get into my career, so I might change my mind once I get old enough for it to be an issue.
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Post by neoolong »

I would. For a while. Until I get bored of life. I want to see the future.

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Post by Darth Yoshi »

Of course. As long as my body is post puberty, like mid-20's. I accept the notion of my death, but it'd be cool see what technology people will have in the next 200 years.
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Post by Seggybop »

Your brain will eventually self-destruct unless you do something about it. That is probably the main problem with this working. The operation to switch in the brain would also be pretty difficult, but it should be possible. In which case I would certainly do it, because dying is sad.
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Re: assume cloning works

Post by Peregrin Toker »

Enforcer Talen wrote:could you clone yourself (assume its without an inconvenient brain), put your brain in it, and live another lifetime?

if you could, would you?
Given the issues Seggybop presented, wouldn't it be a better idea to transfer one's consciousness and memories into the new body's "blank" brain instead??? I might sound like either a Raëlian or somebody who's read too much sci-fi, but the possibility might be there some 50 years from now...
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Re: assume cloning works

Post by Johonebesus »

Simon H.Johansen wrote: Given the issues Seggybop presented, wouldn't it be a better idea to transfer one's consciousness and memories into the new body's "blank" brain instead??? I might sound like either a Raëlian or somebody who's read too much sci-fi, but the possibility might be there some 50 years from now...
How would that be possible? If we assume for a moment that there is no soul, then my "self" is my consciousness, my awareness, which is a result of the constant activity of my brain. You might be able to copy my memories into another brain, even copy my brain's state at the moment, but that will only create a new consciousness that is identical to but separate from mine. How would you actually transfer my consciousness in such a way that I would continue to exist? Maybe if you could hook the two brains together and gradually kill the old brain a bit at a time and have the new brain take over the function simultaneously, so that the chemical and electrical functions which result in my consciousness are never actually interrupted.
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

I'm going to ignore the whole brai transplant thing since it's far too technical for modern science and simply highlight that even a genetic clone of you may look and act totally different to what you are now. Just Google for CC the cloned tortoiseshell tabby cat.
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

I like tabby cats. :P
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Post by Gandalf »

I'd love to do that, I could live forever.
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Post by Sea Skimmer »

I might depend on how it all works. If my brain keeps ageing then getting a new body isn't going to be real fun.
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

UltraViolence83 wrote:I like tabby cats. :P
So does my tabby. :)

The brain ageing thing may be a problem, but hopefully not as much as with other parts of the body since the brain doesn't replicate itself and so any cellular damage brought on by multiple generations of cell reproduction will not occur.

However, there is the problem of storage space as with any memory medium, how long into your new life until you literally have a full up brain and then what? Use an external HDD?
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Post by NecronLord »

It would be easier to copy the nueural patterns and chemical systems of the brain (under a petabyte AFAIK) and upload yourself into an advanced android than it would to transfer a brain.

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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

Thing is, is that copy you or not?

Damn, I hate that question, if it was exactly the same as you would it be you? Probably not.

*Goes a bit more insane*
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Post by NecronLord »

It is unless you believe in a soul. Particularly if you have yourself scanned the moment your heart stops or (insert cause of death here)
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

NecronLord wrote:It is unless you believe in a soul. Particularly if you have yourself scanned the moment your heart stops or (insert cause of death here)
But that exact copy, to any observer, may be you, but would it be you? Would you, after your original was destroyed, become that copy or would what was your essence in the original be destroyed in favour of a new replica.

It seems odd and I can't really explain it well without getting into hokey metaphysical stuff or referring to cloning incidents in ST and RD, but I can't help but wonder.
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Post by NecronLord »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:hokey metaphysical stuff or referring to cloning incidents in ST and RD, but I can't help but wonder.
The proscecution rests :D
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

NecronLord wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:hokey metaphysical stuff or referring to cloning incidents in ST and RD, but I can't help but wonder.
The proscecution rests :D
Bah, it's not exactly my field of expertise. :o
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Post by NecronLord »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Bah, it's not exactly my field of expertise. :o
I don't think anyone here specilises in Hokey Metaphysical nonsense? :)
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Post by Johonebesus »

NecronLord wrote:It is unless you believe in a soul. Particularly if you have yourself scanned the moment your heart stops or (insert cause of death here)
If there is no soul, my awareness is the result of the chemical and electrical reactions in my brain. A different set of chemical and electrical reactions might be identical to mine, but it would not be me. Without the ability to transfer the functions in such a way that my awareness is shifted from one set to another without a major disruption in the processes creating consciousness, I will be dead and the clone or android will be just a perfect copy.

A better method would be to gradually, over years, replace the brain a tiny bit at a time with artificial components, or graft on new neurons as old ones begin to wear out. Maybe you could take the clone's baby brain and implant bits of it into parts of your own brain that are beginning to deteriorate.
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Post by His Divine Shadow »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Thing is, is that copy you or not?

Damn, I hate that question, if it was exactly the same as you would it be you? Probably not.

*Goes a bit more insane*
Hence why the method I devised using a form of nano-technology is preffereable, you design non-organic equivalents to all parts of the brain, also they ought to be mainly identical in size and shape.

Then using nano-technology you begin the process of studying each neuron, ganglia and such one at a time and making a inorganic duplicate of it, and replacing the old organic component, then another one and another one, this process could go on for years but in the end, your brain is inorganic and immortal.
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

NecronLord wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Bah, it's not exactly my field of expertise. :o
I don't think anyone here specilises in Hokey Metaphysical nonsense? :)
I'm probably the closest thing, and my knowledge of it is also very lacking. :oops:


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Re: assume cloning works

Post by Slartibartfast »

Enforcer Talen wrote:could you clone yourself (assume its without an inconvenient brain), put your brain in it, and live another lifetime?

if you could, would you?
I think that, with all the modern technology that improves our maximum lifespan up to 90 or even 100 year old in some cases, we've reached pretty much the maximum practical life, since at those high ages the brain pretty much breaks down and you get all the ugly elderly brain diseases.

In other words, an old brain, as in really really old, would not last very long in a new body (even if it matches perfectly) since it's already decomposing. Also neurons don't regenerate.
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