Tag Archives: Mind Uploading

Thought experiments as knowledge

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

One of the most remarkable aspects about the ongoing debates concerning the technical feasibility of mind uploading is the excessive confidence that some people have that these issues can be resolved without further experimental validation. The (implicit) assumption seems to … Continue reading →

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Mind uploading, falsifiability and cryonics

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

On the cryonics discussion list Cryonet cryobiologist Brian Wowk weighed in on the topic of mind uploading in a post that merits quoting in its entirety: I read with interest Bob Ettinger’s recent remarks about Mark Gubrud’s piece in The … Continue reading →

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David J. Chalmers on the Singularity, mind uploading and cryonics

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

If I would make an argument in favor of mind uploading (or substrate independent minds) it would not be a logical deduction from what we know about neuroscience but from what we don’t know.  As one of the leading philosophers … Continue reading →

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Down with uploading

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

Over the last couple of years, cryonics pioneer Robert Ettinger has been a vocal critic of simplistic defenses of the idea of mind uploading as a survival strategy. He has worked out his reservations in detail in his latest book … Continue reading →

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The science of personal survival

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

There are various competing strategies how to achieve meaningful life extension or rejuvenation, including , but not limited to, genetic manipulation, periodical elimination of damage, caloric restriction,  molecular nanotechnology and mind uploading. A useful review of these strategies has been … Continue reading →

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Brain preservation

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Aschwin de Wolf

Mind uploading advocate Kenneth Hayworth has launched an interesting website devoted to the science of brain preservation. Of particular interest is his Proposal for a Brain Preservation Technology Prize (PDF). This document includes one of the most comprehensive discussions of … Continue reading →

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Cryonics as something else

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Aschwin de Wolf

At EconLog economist Bryan Caplan has posted a number of blog entries that perfectly illustrate what happens when cryonics is not presented as a form of experimental long term critical care medicine but linked to other ideas such as transhumanism, … Continue reading →

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DNA preservation and cryonics

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Aschwin de Wolf

Following the news that mice have been cloned from 16 year old frozen tissue comes an announcement that scientists have made advances in resurrecting  the extinct Pyrenean Ibex. This does not only offer hope that someday other extinct species may … Continue reading →

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Biostasis through chemopreservation

Posted on February 25, 2008 by Greg Jordan

Twenty years ago, Charles B. Olson published an article called “A Possible Cure for Death” in the journal Medical Hypotheses. In it, he favorably compares methods of chemical preservation to cryogenic preservation. Unfortunately, this article provoked no wide discussion or … Continue reading →

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