Tuesday, June 4, 2013

What no one thought about

The Complete and Total Loser is a genius but no one but him knows it.
For example, he's years ahead of anyone else he's heard of when it comes to the concept of downloading your brain onto a computer, thereby attaining a form of immortality. 
The New York Times had an article on the topic in, oddly, its business section on Sunday, and no one in the article nor any of the fifty-six people commenting on it saw the flaw with the whole idea that the Loser found child's play to spot. 
Most argued in various ways about whether it could be done. Answer: Yes, someday. Others debated whether it should be done. Answer: Irrelevant. That which can be done, will be done, no matter how hard anyone tries to stop it.
Here is the problem with it:
When computers are sophisticated enough to download your brain, they'll also be sophisticated enough to create a reality for you to live in. That's great. Your virtual self will be able to walk down virtual streets, eat virtual food with friends, and do everything to as satisfying a degree as a real person. But when that's possible, it will also be possible to rewrite your programming. 
The Loser would like to try life as a winner. He'd like to be a handsome movie star, a powerful leader, a great athlete, a successful writer. Hell, why not all four? That will never happen with his limited intelligence and poor social skills, however, so they'll have to be redone entirely. 
Do you see the problem yet?
It's simple. At some point, and it wouldn't take long, he -- or anyone else who wants to be different, which would be everyone in time (remember, this will last for thousands of years), you won't be you anymore. You'll be some ideal person with an ever dimming memory of you, a memory of someone you're well rid of.
So what's the point?

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