Live Forever With Stephen Hawking!

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So here we have Stephen Hawking telling us that there is no heaven but one day we will be able to store our brains like a computer and live forever that way?? Wouldn't this be a little like being a quadriplegic or living in an iron lung?? Is this an advance? Maybe for him it wouldn't seem any different but for me?? Don't take heaven away from me - I want to die one day!!!

 

 

Stephen Hawking: Brains Could Be Copied To Computers To Allow Life After Death

The Huffington Post  |  By Meredith Bennett-Smith   
 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/stephen-hawking-brains-copied-life-after-death_n_3977682.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Religion

 

 

Could your brain keep on living even after your body dies? Sounds like science fiction, but celebrated theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking recently suggested that technology could make it possible.

 

"I think the brain is like a program in the mind, which is like a computer," Hawking said last week during an appearance at the Cambridge Film Festival, The Telegraph reported. "So it's theoretically possible to copy the brain on to a computer and so provide a form of life after death."

He acknowledged that such a feat lies "beyond our present capabilities," adding that "the conventional afterlife is a fairy tale for people afraid of the dark."

Hawking, 71, made the remarks in conjunction with the premiere of a new documentary about his life.

 

He has spoken previously about what he calls the "fairy story" of heaven and the afterlife. Likening the human brain to a computer whose components will fail, he said, "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers."

 

Some people are actively working to develop technology that would permit the migration of brain functions into a computer. Russian multi-millionaire Dmitry Itskov, for one, hopes someday to upload the contents of a brain into a lifelike robot body as part of his 2045 Initiative, The New York Times reported recently.

 

A separate research group, called the Brain Preservation Foundation, is working to develop a process to preserve the brain along with its memories, emotions and consciousness. Called chemical fixation and plastic embedding, the process involves converting the brain into plastic, carving it up into tiny slices, and then reconstructing its three-dimensional structure in a computer.

 

 

[TheresaThoma]

Ok this just seems more than a little creepy. I mean yes the brain (and its memories etc) is there but what about the soul?

[Luigi]

And what would be the purpose of me storing my memories if I'm not there to remember them? 

[Lilllabettt]

I have no particular desire to live with Stephen Hawking for any length of time, let alone "forever."  Sorry, Stephen.

[blazeingstar]

Not for nothing but isn't stephen Halking pretty much good as a brain in a jar?  I mean what would really change for him?

[Aloysius]

the computer brain thing is totally strange to me, I don't know if I'd like to do it or not... thing is, I wouldn't really believe my consciousness/soul would stay behind, so it'd be like leaving a legacy, a talking interactive book of sorts, and that'd be really cool to do... you could totally Jor-El your great great grandchildren 8)

 

I always wonder what I would do if there was a biological solution to death, though.... should I forego it, or stay on earth to wait for the second coming?  nothing so wrong with either option, it would be sad to put off the Beatific Vision, but since you have eternity for that anyway, perhaps you might feel called to further glorify God in your earthly life for as long as you can... but of course that opens you up to a longer period of trial and temptation in this life in which you could fall.  it'd be a hard decision, and I'd be fascinated by Catholic bio ethicists suddenly needing to really take into account eschatological theology along with moral theology... that's the kind of fascinating conversation that'd be amazing to have.  and of course there'd be huge ethical questions considering a bunch of humans living forever would strain the carrying capacity of the earth on a whole other level than current debates over overpopulation could never even dream of... is euthanasia permissible for someone who has been made immortal to the effects of aging?  that's not as easy a question as it might seem once you really start to think about it.  of course no one knows if a biological solution to earthly aging and death would ever be possible, so it might just be angels dancing on the tip of a needle, but I quite like discussions about angels dancing on the tip of a needle anyway :)

[Nihil Obstat]

I have no particular desire to live with Stephen Hawking for any length of time, let alone "forever."  Sorry, Stephen.

His two ex-wives would likely agree. I think the world would be taking an unacceptably steep risk by letting him live forever on the internet. :|

[CrossCuT]

"Stephen Hawking has left the library. Stephen Hawking has been saved."

 

[Nihil Obstat]

He would probably spend weeks at a time griefing people in Starcraft and Team Fortress.

[John Ryan]

The whole atheist neurosis that we will somehow be able to transcend death by downloading our consciousness into a machine makes no sense under the metaphysical naturalist paradigm. If there is no soul, then "downloading" would merely make a copy of us. Downloading a file does not actually drag the originally file from the mystical world of the internet onto your hard drive.

Edited September 26, 2013 by John Ryan

[Ice_nine]

nope :stubborn:

[Winchester]

What if the "soul" is merely the result of the brain?

[r2Dtoo]

I don't know I think downloading my consciousness to a computer might be kinda cool.  I could pop up on my great grand kids computers whenever I wanted to.

 

Me: Hey Billy, what's up?

 

Billy: Oh...hey gramps...just doing my homework...uh, we're studying 9/11 in school.

 

Me: Oh cool.  I was there for that let me pull up the memory file for you...wait, why is boobs..com open in your browser?

 

BIlly: Uhhh....

 

Me:  Billy, if you don't close your browser right now and start doing your homework I'm going to email your mother.

 

Billy:  Ummmm...

 

Me:  BILLY!

 

Billy: Yes, sir.

 

 

 

 

Best great granddad ever. :hehe2:

[Era Might]

I don't know I think downloading my consciousness to a computer might be kinda cool.  I could pop up on my great grand kids computers whenever I wanted to.

 

Me: Hey Billy, what's up?

 

Billy: Oh...hey gramps...just doing my homework...uh, we're studying 9/11 in school.

 

Me: Oh cool.  I was there for that let me pull up the memory file for you...wait, why is boobs..com open in your browser?

 

BIlly: Uhhh....

 

Me:  Billy, if you don't close your browser right now and start doing your homework I'm going to email your mother.

 

Billy:  Ummmm...

 

Me:  BILLY!

 

Billy: Yes, sir.

 

 

 

 

Best great granddad ever. :hehe2:

 

http://youtu.be/d-NYK3dlgzA

[OnlySunshine]

Interestingly enough, we were discussing this in one of my classes last week.  The general consensus there was that we did not want to live forever - I know I sure don't!  It reminds me of that movie with Bruce Willis called Surrogates where cyborgs are controlled by the humans while they are "safe" in their own home.  They experienced no real human emotions and the husband and wife in the lead roles eventually get rid of their cyborgs and start living life normally again.