The Death of Self

Let me start off this entry with a disclaimer. This is an idea and this current blog entry is merely a flushing out of an idea. It isn't meant as a researched thought, but a brainstorming of my thoughts. I generally prefer researching and buffering before posting, but I didn't want to purposefully this time. So before you complain, you have been warned. Why would I post ideas that may have been thought before and not search them out? Because ideas are exciting! And when they first come to you it is a great feeling, a feeling that fades quickly and sadly becomes washed away with the others that came before you. SOmetimes it's not about being the first, it's about getting excited when things fall in to place and you understand them, or are set up to welcome the understanding of the ideas from others. But I digress.

In the time it took me to write the nonsense above the excitement waned. Basically we were watching Nova and it's about black holes, multiple universes, string-theory, etc. I am in a Darwin class, and working on a thesis dealing with an aspect of self, through in to the mix a little Hofstadter and Dennett and a happy mood...you get an idea. An idea about humans and life. The explanation to our son about us, humans, not being around forever. I'm aware of work being done out there today, but even then, will we all 'be' around forever? A link to Martine Rothblatt reminded me that maybe, but that's not exactly my point. The idea that when we die, what's dying, what's left. If you go and get my dear mother and bring her back will 'she' be back, unlikely. I've seen Pet Cemetary, *shivvers*.

So I think about the possibilities of death, I've seen it, I've watched it slowly deteriorate daily my mom, while at the same exact time watching life begin with my daughter, I was pregnant too. The polar opposites of life at the same time. It happens to many people, and for me it was one that I've learned a lot about life and living that a book can't. What is my point here? Well I'm thinking there are options being worked on...I'll get in to in a bit...right now, what's the bottom line. Death is the death of the self. The death of consciousness alone, because the rest of us, while it dies, it continues to live. The bacteria keeps on, keeping on. It's not done living, now the DNA, if you've procreated, it's good. So for now, I'm going to not go there. I just want to look at the self and the bacteria.

Ok, options. Cryonics, I loved Tanya Jones, I like the idea of Cryonics. But what am I bringing back. I'm not sure. What if what comes back isn't me or doesn't know me. I assume that'll be ok, it can be a new me, I would recommend some bodily upgrades, so I guess I can think of this as a build-a-bear situation. And I do NOT be any means intend this as a dig at those affiliated with Cryonics in ANY way. I do not know the potentiality, it's being worked on, and I think it should continue to do so. I like the idea of preserving a shell of me and I think there's potential to combine it with another option. Moving on.

Longevity, I like this, and it works for the self evolutionarily I think. It makes those bacteria keep on working for you and not running away to work for anyone else. The self mastering its biggest obstacle, the loss of it's 'host' of sorts. The goal should be one that most, all but I don't want to be presumptious, should support. No one really wants to die really unless you are miserable and in dire straits pain. I saw this end, and even with all that, my mom still didn't want to die. Her self pulled her through many times her host wanted to turn off. The self did not want to disappear, but the host could no longer sustain itself, what a crappy struggle for power. Ah, but another option is out there...

Martine Rothblatt and her mindloading. I have been fascinated with this for the past almost 2 years. Mindloading the self. I know, it's not possible, ok, fine, then move on to another blog entry, cause in this one, we're going to talk about its possibility. The idea of taking the bacteria, the host out of the equation. With research to go for sure, what if, when someone gets to the end of their straights, the pain too intolerable, the self reluctant but they get an option. One they have planned for their entire lives. Not in an all-consuming way, in a brush my teeth kind of way. Flipping one switch off to transfer and turn off another. My goodness, then if you got the cryonics, you can exist until then you can just 'hang out' in cyberspace until they can get your body back. Or skip the body, and stay in a cyber form. Wow, really, there's ideas and inventions out there working on Augmented Reality, overlaying the virtual onto the real. What if some of the virtual is us uploaded into a cyber form and then overlayed back in to the real world. What a concept! What a time. I'm not forecasting I'm just in awe of the posibilities that lay before us and the people that are working on it while we continue about our days. You could be your avatar, and there would be a new entity. This is not even to factor in the options of cyborg, AI, robots, etc. My my there is so much to ponder.

But in the end, it's all about the self, and how we are fighting as a species to keep our self right where it is. How we are going to capture something that we can't find, identify or grasp entirely? We've thought about it for many, many years, but it's there, in front of us, it's us, how I look forward to exploring this deeper as my self continues it's cycle of age and knowledge.

If you made it this far, thanks for staying with this rambling. I didn't edit, I'm always edited, I thought for this, I'd be raw and let you meet my self. This is me, I am