[extropy-chat] Death

[Keith Henson]

At 12:50 PM 14/06/05 -0700, you wrote:
>Some of you know that I have been caregiver to my long term friend
>and roommate Michael who was terminally ill.  This morning he died.

snip

>  It was  like a switch simply turned off.

In my view humans have spirits, that's what we interact with.  So do dogs 
and cats.  So do computers running an OS on them.  Where does the spirit of 
the OS go when you turn off the power?  It is just *gone.*

>Don't mind me.  I will be ok.  I am sorry to lay this out there as I
>know many may be uncomfortable or feel I am laying something too
>personal on their heads unfairly.  I am simply processing.  I have no
>idea if it is right or wrong to write this or post it.  I don't
>really care.  For a while now I will simply do what I do.

I am sure you will be ok, we evolved both to form strong attachments and to 
give them up when people around us died, something much more common in the 
days when a family had ten kids and 3 might make it to adulthood.

Still it _is_ painful, i.e., the same areas of the brain are active in such 
loses as are active when you have been seriously injured.

As Eliezer said, death is a bummer.  Worse yet deaths today are happening 
within sight (for the far sighted) of a time when death should become rare.

And certainly don't worry about posting.  This is a community and certainly 
one function of community is to offer support when people need it.  You 
certainly have mine.

Best wishes,

Keith Henson