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#Definitions

A Definition of 'Immortality'

When I speak of immortality I speak of a state of the universe in which an intelligence has a reasonable expectation that it will continue to exist and operate, without defect or deterioration, beyond a point in the future where we expect technology to exist that can alleviate and heal any micro-defects.

On Why Death is Bad

Death ends a mind. Under our current knowledge, a mind stands as one of the most precious resources that we have. A number of metaphysical postulations and religious opinions expect a mind to continue after death, but there no physical evidence exists that hints at any such truth.

Of course many of us have faith that the mind endures beyond death, but we also do not hurry to test that hypothesis. If a divine being takes odds with us preserving our minds, it has welcome to intervene.

On Expectations

The immortality that I address in this book has no magical or spiritual component. The minds that participate in this immortality will unlikely realize that they exist in that state. Approaching the state of immortality slowly will hide the reality of immortality approaching. The mind will live for a significant amount of time with the expectation that it will die around 100. Then, after a time that expectation will will become 150. Then when the mind reaches 200 years old it may only expect to live another 100 years. At 350, 1000 may seem achievable but not likely. And so on.

On Accidents

Many minds may still die due to accident and physical forces outside the control of the minds. A large galactic event may annihilate the entire area that minds inhabit and end this grand experiment prematurely. A plague on earth may end it in the next couple of decades if luck goes against us.

On the Location of Minds

Where does the mind reside? Currently we find it in the mass of neurons in our heads. There may exist in the future a way to augment this mind or even transfer this mind to a much more robust medium. In fact, extremely long life may require this transfer take place many times over the course of a life.

On Atoms

The possibility of this transfer derives from the fungible of atoms of each particular elements. One cannot find difference in one carbon atom from another. The molecules that these atoms form, when positioned in 3D space in a similar manner, act the same. On a much more complex level, if I were able to take make a 3D scan of your brain at the atomic level and reassemble it with a 3D printer, it would exist as the same mind. It would have your memories. The strengthened axons in brain 1 that had would exist in strengthened form in brain 2.

To go to a further technological step, if I'm able to create a nano-device that simulates a neuron with fidelity and I'm able to arrange these simulated neurons in the same connections as your in your mind, this new mind would exist as the same mind.

Now having two minds that think they exist as one mind cause another set of issues, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

On Immediate Hurdles

Two immediate hurdles stand in the way for humanity to get over to reach immortality..

First, we need to put a cap on the genetic code that causes our cells to age. Many scientists expect this better understanding of process to emerge soon. We have already discovered that telomere strings get shorter as cells divide and cells stop regenerating when the strings get short enough. By manipulating this string of genetic bits we may drastically extend expected life spans. A doubling of life spans at this point may get us to the life expectancy slope of 1 that we need to reach.

Secondly, we need to diversify the space that we inhabit in the galaxy. First to Mars, and then beyond.

On Macro-hurdles

Once these we surpass these initial hurdles we will need to work on bigger problems like overcoming accidents. Perhaps by 'backing up' our minds. Then on to active back ups. Etc.

On the Distant Unseen

The further out we get on our technological development map, the harder it becomes to speculate about the possible. Stranger things exist to contemplate when our technology gets advanced enough. For example:

What happens if we send our duplicated minds into different light cones? Are they still the same mind?

When we contemplate the heat death of the universe, could we construct a zero-energy latices for the reconstitution of minds upon another 'big bang?'

Many of these ideas sound crazy and far out, and truly they are, but these questions, and others like them cannot have answers until we first solve the problem of preserving our minds far beyond what our current bodies allow.