Comments on: We are all Ponce: The Quest for Longevity http://futurismic.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-ponce-the-quest-for-longevity/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Sat, 19 May 2012 23:03:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Luc Reid http://futurismic.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-ponce-the-quest-for-longevity/comment-page-1/#comment-100876 Luc Reid Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:09:33 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=10634#comment-100876 To seize on one small part of the discussion: we might not want to look to uploading to provide immortality! Even if we move past the huge technological barriers (which I talk about in a Clarkesworld article, "Future Brains: Neuroscience Fiction vs. Neuroscience Fantasy"), there's no continuity of experience from the biological version of you to the new, electronic copy. That is, if I were successfully modeled down to the last neurological and physiological detail on a computer, there's nothing that would spontaneously shift my point of view from the physical body to the computer program. I would live on as far as other people were concerned, maybe, but the me that thinks of itself as me would just end. To seize on one small part of the discussion: we might not want to look to uploading to provide immortality! Even if we move past the huge technological barriers (which I talk about in a Clarkesworld article, “Future Brains: Neuroscience Fiction vs. Neuroscience Fantasy”), there’s no continuity of experience from the biological version of you to the new, electronic copy. That is, if I were successfully modeled down to the last neurological and physiological detail on a computer, there’s nothing that would spontaneously shift my point of view from the physical body to the computer program. I would live on as far as other people were concerned, maybe, but the me that thinks of itself as me would just end.

]]> By: Brenda Cooper http://futurismic.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-ponce-the-quest-for-longevity/comment-page-1/#comment-85351 Brenda Cooper Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:50:34 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=10634#comment-85351 I did listen to - and really like - Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store. I did listen to – and really like – Mr. Penumbra’s Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store.

]]> By: Steven Klotz http://futurismic.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-ponce-the-quest-for-longevity/comment-page-1/#comment-83962 Steven Klotz Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:09:35 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=10634#comment-83962 <a href="http://futurismic.com/2010/01/04/new-fiction-white-swan-by-jason-stoddard/" rel="nofollow">White Swan</a> by Jason Stoddard and Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi both deal with the social implications of immortality. <a href="http://robinsloan.com/mr-penumbra" rel="nofollow">Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store</a> and <a href="http://robinsloan.com/writer-witch" rel="nofollow">The Writer & the Witch</a> by Robin Sloan explore rather whimsical routes to achieving immortality. Wild Seed by Octavia Butler is probably the novel about immortality that sticks most in my mind. Be sure to check out the <a href="http://tagshadow.com/pca.php?tagName=immortality" rel="nofollow">Immortality TagShadow</a>. Compiling that was why I had those stories at the tip of my mind. White Swan by Jason Stoddard and Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi both deal with the social implications of immortality. Mr. Penumbra’s Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store and The Writer & the Witch by Robin Sloan explore rather whimsical routes to achieving immortality. Wild Seed by Octavia Butler is probably the novel about immortality that sticks most in my mind.

Be sure to check out the Immortality TagShadow. Compiling that was why I had those stories at the tip of my mind.

]]> By: Shockey Funke http://futurismic.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-ponce-the-quest-for-longevity/comment-page-1/#comment-83154 Shockey Funke Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:50:40 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=10634#comment-83154 Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling. Haven't read it in a while, but I remember liking the buildup of history the character experiences. Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling. Haven’t read it in a while, but I remember liking the buildup of history the character experiences.

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