[extropy-chat] Science News Article on lifespan

spike spike66 at comcast.net
Thu Feb 17 07:01:46 UTC 2005


> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Beck
> Subject: Re[2]: [extropy-chat] Science News Article on lifespan
> 
> I've wondered about this before - but it seems like the rest of the
> universe can appear to move faster for a mouse...

Andrew I'm sure hoping that time can appear to move (I think
you meant to say) slower for a mouse.  My reasoning is based
on the notion that signals can move thru the brain of the
mouse much more quickly than thru the brain of the elephant,
since the distances are much smaller.

I don't follow your argument about time dilation, 
but rather see it as simply a linear scaling effect.

Nowthen, I do fondly hope that perceived time does go
much slower for the mouse (a minute is a lot longer for
Mickey than for Dumbo).  I have a notion that 
someday humanity may figure out how to simulate a 
neuron to such fidelity that we can simulate 10 billion
of them and thus simulate a brain.  If so, ultimately we 
would upload into the ultimate computer, which would
be a nanoscale mechanical device.  Punchline: a simulated
human brain could perhaps be run on a device the size if
the head of a speck.  If so, I have every reason to think
a second might be perceived as you and I do a minute.

Regardless of how advanced we get, shit happens still:
tsunamis wash over unexpectedly, earthquakes wreck things.
And no matter if we solve all that, heat death of the universe
is coming eventually, many billions of years from
now.  In the best case I want all the life multipliers I
can get.  If I only get 10 years of uploaded existence, 
but I perceive it as 600 years, well thats better than 10.

spike








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