erich@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Erich Stefan Boleyn) (03/01/91)
I have been reading this group for quite a while, and have found it
a fascinating read. I've been thinking about posting this for a long time.
Being quite paranoid about death ;-) (some of my friends say
pathologically... really, they don't realize the therapeutic value of this),
I found one of the best ways to deal with it is to think about how one would
produce realistic life-extension of a human being. Of course, this naturally
leads to all sorts of questions of how it would be done... and nanotech would
(provided it worked) be an interesting scheme. And if it could be done, what
form would it take? Many other questions like what one would do with the
time, social roles (different or even completely new?), and sundry others
come up.
Toward this end, I am studying cognitive science, molecular genetics,
physics, advanced mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, etc. It seems to be
an excellent motivator. In all, it seems that I am trying to get a bit of
everything. If nothing else, I will end up well educated... and certainly
*not* bored for quite a long time. The way I look at it... what else do
I have to do for the next 40-60 years.
So I guess I am curious about who else is interested in such things. It
seems that many who are on this group also are somewhat enthusiastic about
this idea, but I am curious about the real thing, and not necessarily hung
on nanotech as a means to get to it...
Note to Moderator: I don't know how closely this follows the lines of
the newsgroup as they exist...
Erich
P.S.: I am quite serious about thinking/working on realistic methods, and
do not assume that the complexities would be accessible myself, as
it is extremely imposing... I have even thought about working on
cognitive assistants... arghh!
"I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where it is."
/ -- Erich Stefan Boleyn -- \ --=> *Mad Genius wanna-be* <=--
{ Honorary Grad. Student (Math) }--> Internet E-mail: <erich@cs.pdx.edu>
\ Portland State University / >%WARNING: INTERESTED AND EXCITABLE%<
[It depends on just what level you hope to achieve something. There
are lots of people working on medical aspects, and I imagine that
there will be a lot more working on aging prevention as soon as they
get it through their heads that it's a problem we now have the tools
to attack. I expect that particular problem to crack sometime in
the next 25 years, and if you want to be in on it, I would reccomend
getting into molecular biology NOW. If you have higher aspirations,
as in enhancing the mode of human existence instead of just making
it last longer, any of the fields you mention might contribute.
--JoSH]