I wanna know more about this term, "information theoretic definition of death".
The paper 'Molecular Repair of the Brain' by Ralph Merkle defined
information-theoretic death as follows:
- A person is dead if their memories, personality, hopes, dreams, etc. have been destroyed in the information theoretic sense ( structures in the brain that encode memory and personality have been so disrupted that it is no longer possible in principle to restore them to an appropriate functional state )
- A person is not dead if these brain structures are sufficiently intact that inference of the memory and personality are feasible in principle, and therefore restoration to an appropriate functional state is likewise feasible in principle
How does this connect with cryonics? Wiki states,
"Information theoretic death also arises in the context of cryonics, which can be viewed as the use of cryopreservation to attempt to prevent information theoretic death. The use of information theoretic criteria has formed the basis of ethical arguments that cryonics is an attempt to save lives rather than being an interment method for the dead. Conversely, if cryonics cannot be applied before information theoretic death occurs, or if the cryopreservation procedure itself causes information theoretic death, then cryonics is not feasible."
So basically, if you still have your "memories, personality, hopes, dreams, etc" after being cryoperserved, you still have a chance to be resuscitated according to the information theoretic criterion and cryonics rationale.
That's neat.
Also, looking back at the first quote, "The rationale for cryonics is that the process may be reversible in the future if performed soon enough"
Performed soon enough?
I think that means, when they awaken the cryoperserved, they have a limited amount of time to resuscitate the actual body to its functional state.
Scientists have concluded that resuscitation from cryopreservation isn't possible with any "near-term technology".
Here are some revival techniques in point form:
- Advanced Bioengineering
- Molecular Nanotechnology
- Nanomedicine
- Mind Uploading ( the most speculative and hypothetical technique )
The first 3 requires repairing damage from:
- Lack of oxygen
- Cryoprotectant toxicity
- Thermal stress ( fracturing )
- Freezing in tissues that do not successfully vitrify
- Physical therapy to regain function of the body ( like a long-term coma )
- Reversing the effects that caused the patient death
Some concluding statements:
- In many cases, extensive tissue regeneration will be necessary
- Hypothetical revival scenarios generally envision repairs being performed by vast numbers of microscopic organism or devices ( this is where nanotechnology comes in ). These devices would restore healthy cell structure and chemistry at the molecular level, ideally before warming
- More radically, mind transfer has also been suggested as a possible revival approach if and when technology is ever developed to scan the memory contents of a preserved brain ( Now this sounds cool! )
It has been claimed that if technologies for general molecular analysis and repair are ever developed, then theoretically any damaged body could be “revived.”
Survival would then depend on whether preserved brain information was sufficient to permit restoration of all or part of the personal identity of the original person, with amnesia being the final dividing line between life and death.
Amnesia being the final dividing line between life and death.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home