Brain Preservation

Brain Preservation.


The brain has to be retained in some way, to be considered human at all in the future, when humans will no longer be organic creatures, but mechanical constructs. Why? Because the human brain is the one organ that houses all our emotions, thoughts, memories, morality, ethics and our consciousness. Without the brain we can't live forever as, like I mentioned earlier, the brain houses our consciousness, so without the brain we wouldn’t be conscious at all. But if the brain is retained all this can be avoided. We’d have robotic bodies, that are far superior to the frail biological shell that we have now, and we will be able to love for eternity. Imagine the things we’d see and experience in this eternity.

Of course, some people have come towards me and asked, “Wouldn’t our brains deteriorate in the end and become useless?” Well to answer this question, I did some research and have found some promising answers.

1) Mind uploading

2) Nanotechnology

3) Cryonics

4) Cloning

Of these 4 results that I’ve found I felt that mind uploading seems like the most promising, albeit improbable one. So allow me to elaborate each point for you, and hopefully, you’d get a better understanding of things.

Mind Uploading

Mind uploading is a theory that is being looked into. It involves neuroscience, computer engineering, and cybernetics. From the words mind uploading we get the idea of uploading something into our mind, but in fact it is uploading our mind into a computer. Scientists hope that they will achieve this soon, as with this technology they can upload their consciousness into a computer. So while their body dies away they will still be alive inside a computer. Several films have depicted this as plot devices, although not in the way that scientist imagine. For example the film “Ghost in the machine” talks about a serial killer who is somehow uploaded onto a computer, and goes around the cyber world to murder people in the real world. This is a form of mind uploading, although it’s in a negative light. There are other benefits of mind uploading as well, besides immortality. With mind uploading you can make duplicates of your brain, just like a normal computer folder. We can then send these duplicates into different bodies, send them to do other stuff that you don’t necessarily have time to do. Wouldn’t that be great? But of course such technology is still far away, and some think, improbable. However optimists like me think that it is possible to see such technology become available in our lifetime.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is a new field of science that is emerging. It is a relatively new field that requires a lot of research in order to understand the laws that govern this field of science. But in a nutshell nanotechnology is simply the use of nanobots (Robots which are 1x10-9 cm) to manufacture products, repair extremely small things and also for use in the field of medicine. There are many advantages in using nanotechnology. One is the use of those nanobots to repair the dying brain cells, which can extend the lifespan of the human brain by continually repairing it. Nanotechnology is a more probable and readily available technology for the use of repairing human cells. But all these are still theoretical in nature and require a great deal of research to make this theory into reality.

Cryonics

Cryonics is a very new field of science which involves the freezing of the human body with liquid nitrogen to prevent decomposition, and to revive these humans in the future when the technology becomes available. This technology is rather dangerous as there is no guarantee that we will be able to revive these humans in the end. But of course it’s a better alternative to burial or cremation. Cryonics currently comes in 2 packages, an $85,000 package which involves freezing the head only. The other package costs approximately $150,000 and is a full body freezing. This technology is promising, albeit uncertain, for preserving human life.

Cloning

Cloning is a word that’s not new to us. Ever since we heard of Dolly, the first genetically cloned sheep, we’ve heard even more stories of cloning. Cloning is a way of extending human life, but has to be used in conjunction with both mind uploading and nanotechnology. Without it cloning would be useless. The cloning that I’m talking about here is merely just the cloning of the brain, but of course we can have the choice of cloning our entire body as well. However, cloning will have to work hand in hand with mind uploading to be able to ensure our continued existence.