coco got me to thinking
since she posited the organ donation thing

so i thought of something kinda screwy and probably not even physiological possible.. i mean if someone needed a brain, they would probably be dead... or something... haven't really thought all this out.... as u can tell

yeah this is science fiction ( at least for now)

but if ever there were conditions in which other people could use your brain cuz their brain got messed up or they had some genetic condition etc.

would you check a little box in the driver license that says " take my brain"?

and what if the person who took your brain would have your thoughts, would you still be willing to donate?

yeah, crazy fantasty horror idea

but you know? sometimes strange thoughts hit me during strange hours

this is no exception

and God help the one who gets MY brain

i will either feel sorry for that person or envy them or both

hey... i had some "nice" thoughts too...ya know?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2012 06:56AM by la_veronique.

Since our personality resides in the brain, you would actually be getting a new body instead of the other way around.
Brains are useful research tools for scientists though, only so much is even understood about our grey matter.

Yes.

Hmmm. My brain - different body. Sounds like I'd be getting another chance at life. Heck, yeah!


My favorite raw vegan

Uhh, doesn't anyone remember what happened to Claudia in The Vampire Armand? =\

Dr. Robert White attempted many head transplants in the 1960s on animals... DEFINITELY NOT VEGAN.

I think there are a lot of crazy ideas out there that flirt with transhumanism, but in my core I just don't think science will ever be able to crack "the mystery," that ineffable magic bit about life, the singularity, whatever you want to call it... And I think attempting to dominate (dissect) it, the only possible outcome is horrible, disgusting, and generally sacrosanct, e.g. animal head transplants. What could be proved and what can one really expect?

And I think eventually there will come a maturation point in science (hadronic mechanics) where the ineffable becomes acknowledged... but at the same time, implicitly irrational. The Mystery cannot be dissected, transplanted, operated upon... but we can harmonize ourselves with it. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, ESPECIALLY in the event of consciousness. If AI ever comes to be (I am skeptical), it won't be programmed that way, it will arise naturally as something greater than the sum of its parts after reaching a certain point of complexity.

There's a type of moss that does just that in nature (its name is eluding me). When its survival is threatened, it somehow grows together in one gigantic clump to become one massive, flowering, reproducing thing, to maximize its chances or survival, and afterward breaks apart into singular mosses again.

It's also what makes the internet so fascinating....

If any of this makes any sense.

In conclusion, I don't foresee brain transplants ever becoming possible, because what we assume is accomplished by the brain is greater than the sum of its parts (body, blood, other organs, experiences). It's amazing stuff.

Phantom, I think the moss you refer to is slime mold:

Quote

When food is abundant a slime mold exists as a single-celled organism, but when food is in short supply, slime molds congregate and start moving as a single body. In this state they are sensitive to airborne chemicals and can detect food sources. They can readily change the shape and function of parts and may form stalks that produce fruiting bodies, releasing countless spores, light enough to be carried on the wind or hitching a ride on passing animals.

[en.wikipedia.org]

As for brain transplants, you, the brain would be receiving a new body. Whoever was in the body would be gone.

There are people that hope this sort of thing will happen. They have paid big bucks to have their heads frozen in liquid nitrogen in hopes that they and their brains will get a new body in the future.

I'm against all transplants. It is a ghoulish operation. Right now in India, poor Indians, in for some minor procedure are having organs stolen against their will for transplant into rich murderous people.

The way is to heal the diseased organs with live food.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2012 06:50PM by brome.

I do not begrudge a person the practice of self-healing with food and lifestyle any more than I'd begrudge a person gaining more years of life via transplant. It's a personal choice whether to donate or not and while I agree that organ theft is ghoulish and horrific I think the solution to that is more willing organ donation ALONG with better healthful practices.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2012 06:52PM by coco.

My father is in his 90s and he keeps talking about how he's donated his brain (or is it the whole body?) to science. What I find a bit tacky is that they send him mail about it. I feel like once he agreed to it, they don't have to send..."reminders" LOL...whatever you'd call it. Yes, very, very tacky...

brome,

Because some surgery patients in India experience the stealing of their organs during procedures means no one born with a faulty kidney should benefit from a transplant. That is, because some organs are harvested for donation illegally, all organ harvesting for donation, no matter how dire the need, should be banned.

Have I got that right, or am I misunderstanding you?

phantom

astutely expressed

loved it
yep
right
the mystery cannot be cracked open simply by cleaving it with a hammer
it just gets cleaved
mystery spills out
in different directions
not to be reconstructed again
in the same way