Island Life by David Slack

Dude you've pinched one from whaleoil and that crazy unfit parent from Riverton....you know the one who has the sense of humour failures.

I have a similar approach to junk patents - "would you be proud to explain it to Edison" - sadly only 2 of mine honestly pass that test

Funnily enough the ability to order up more Jonathon Hunts and other un-imaginable horrors appears to be rapidly approaching. I was following connections to this story in yesterday’s New York Times about futurist Ray Kurzweil. The Future Is Now? Pretty Soon, at Least

The ideas are fleshed out in this Wired article.

According to Grossman and other singularitarians, immortality will arrive in stages. First, lifestyle and aggressive antiaging therapies will allow more people to approach the 125-year limit of the natural human lifespan. This is bridge one. Meanwhile, advanced medical technology will begin to fix some of the underlying biological causes of aging, allowing this natural limit to be surpassed. This is bridge two. Finally, computers become so powerful that they can model human consciousness. This will permit us to download our personalities into nonbiological substrates. When we cross this third bridge, we become information. And then, as long as we maintain multiple copies of ourselves to protect against a system crash, we won't die.

And then, as long as we maintain multiple copies of ourselves to protect against a system crash, we won't die.

Oh man, the (UK time) most recent episode of Doctor Who examines one dimension of this idea in a really heart-rending way. The "ghost" of a person, left imprinted on a comms device after life has gone from the body; blind, confused, fading to black ...

probably worth noting the recent IEEE spectrum issue on the singularity - lots of good stuff in there on the off chance you were hoping to upload soon

I thought about multiple copies of Doug Graham and cried.

But... does one Sir Ed hold the Order of Merit or do they all? Is it one Order of Merit between them or does that devalue the honour? And if there's 20 Sir Eds about, how does anyone else get a go?

What the insiginia for blogging by the way?

But... does one Sir Ed hold the Order of Merit or do they all?

I'm pretty sure none of them did.

I thought about multiple copies of Doug Graham and cried.

Doug Graham isn't a member of the Order of New Zealand.

You were crying because he hasn't been so honoured? :-)

Cloning people we wish to honour seems a way more rational response than giving them tarnished (via 'the queen is the fount of al honours') wee glitteries which mean buggerall to most of us:
hmm, lessee- list of possible honourees:

*Shrek the Sheep?
*

And then, as long as we maintain multiple copies of ourselves to protect against a system crash, we won't die.

Oh man, the (UK time) most recent episode of Doctor Who examines one dimension of this idea in a really heart-rending way. The "ghost" of a person, left imprinted on a comms device after life has gone from the body; blind, confused, fading to black ...

I kind of prefer the Iain M Banks model: perfect backups of the human consciousness in case of bodily death. To any observer, it really is your consciousness and personality, and the backup has all your memories and is convinced it is really you... but is it really you? What must it like to have all the memories of a fully human life alongside the certainty that you are a replica of the original human being and no more?

But I'm rambling. Quality post, David.

This is a all a bit like the Roald Dahl story William and Mary where the long suffering wife discovers after her husband’s death his brain and eye are being kept alive in a basin of cerebrospinal fluid. She prepares to exact her revenge on his still sentient being after all the indignities he had visited on her during their married life.

I have a similar approach to junk patents - "would you be proud to explain it to Edison" - sadly only 2 of mine honestly pass that test

Ouch...that's a good test *cough*software patent*cough*.