Re: Thank you all Holy, Yes I am doing all I can to fulfill my goals. I gave much thought to this 30 years ago and came to realize that there was so much that I wanted to do but there appeared to be too little time in a typical human lifetime to even start. Everything I would learn or experience would be for nothing unless I could live to enjoy those thoughts. I kept coming back to the issue that death seemed inevitable. That led me into numerous areas of research – Religions: All offer a promise to survive physical death. This was clearly a strong partial alignment with my goals (to cheat death). But my experience as an evangelistic Christian left me totally unconvinced that such an approach was going to help me achieve my goals. There simply wasn’t any factual basis for any of the claims. There wasn’t any certainty of the desired result, and as I studied more I began to see major fundamental flaws. I realized that those who follow a religion want the same as me but have accepted a path of self-delusion. Anti-aging Research: I spent a great deal of time reading scientific literature in this area, but not being a trained scientist I found most of the advanced material was beyond my understanding. I considered going back to university to study in this area but realized that I wasn’t bright enough to be able to make any of the breakthroughs I felt were needed. I decided that I’d leave this area to those who could make those breakthroughs. In the meantime I simply monitor the major research projects, and I am very pleased to see massive progress in recent years. This gives me hope that I should be able to extend my life well into my 100s. I hope by then that further breakthroughs will extend that further and then beyond. Mind Uploading: This provides the greatest hope of satisfying my goals in the long term. The topic is not well understood by most and I am not going to explain the details or many of the implications here. Briefly: Computing power will equal and surpass the power of the human brain within about 10 to 25 years. The essential concept is to have my brain scanned in perfect detail, digitized and loaded into a computer based substrate. I would survive as a non-biological being (the term is posthuman) and escape all the disadvantages of being biological. MU is my greatest hope although current research is slow since we do not yet have the needed computing power. To help in this direction I have moved from the UK to Silicon Valley in California where I now work for a major computer manufacturer. I now manage a department of senior designers and have access to state of the art computing technology. I need the scientists to work on the Whole Brain Emulation techniques as well as brain scanning technologies. Alongside this is the development of robotic limbs, bodies etc. My area of focus and expertise is the computing power that will be needed. These goals make my attitude to life somewhat unusual. Typically I see very little in life worth taking too seriously. Wars come and go, stocks rise and fall; it’s like watching a good movie. Everything is worth watching but everything is temporary. But my health is of vital importance and I take that seriously, and my work has long-term purpose, so short term details never worry me. Research in all areas is progressing very nicely and I am very optimistic that I will achieve my short-term goal – defeating the aging process. After that I’ll start living and following other interesting pursuits. I hope you find my story interesting, even though I doubt you will comprehend all the more subtle implications; after all it has taken me decades to reach this point. Cris
Hell, Cris ... I've been thinking weird thoughts since I was five or six. What's taken you so long? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I was just telling the less weird stuff here. I daren't tell the real stuff I've considered. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And clearly I'm not as bright as you right?
So chagur, what have you done with your life? Did you or do you have a purpose to whatever you do? I have clearly defined goals that I may or may not achieve. A great part depends on the work and research of others but if I can find ways beyond my current activities to increase that progress then I will certainly do so. Most people do not set any long term goals apart from having a family and dying of old age. This seems to me more like a conveyor belt of people makers. The vast majority have aimless lives and unfortunately such lives are considered normal and acceptable. So where do you stand? Cris
One for two, Cris ... 1. I've been evaluated at approximately 75 watts. And you? 2. Aware of my mortality, something that was driven home about my sixth or seventh trip around Sol, I've pretty much have lived the moment. About the only goal I ever set was experiencing, in a sense, space. Scuba diving took care of the weightlessness and a few years aboard submarines gave me an idea what living aboard a spaceship might be like. Everything else has pretty much been being lucky and going with the flow: education, marriage, kids, career, etc. Consequently I have few regrets and fewer 'if I had only ... (whatever)' to waste time on while enjoying my retirement ... which includes busting balls ... some things never change. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
So So we have one that looks to the future for a purpose and another that se the purpose in living here and now. Which one is correct? I believe I will choose both. I want to live enough to experience as much as possible for one person, but I also want to live now and experience the days that pass. Please continue your discussion if you please!
Holy, Awright. Setting a long-term goal is good, but to get there requires setting a series of short-term goals. Aw I know many people aren't good at setting goals and prefer to drift through life aimlessly. But they miss many opportunities. If we really end up only living a few measly decades then planning those times to maximize the fun makes a lot of sense to me. But plans need to be flexible to allow for unforeseen opportunities that will occur. Think of life as a journey and a well-planned journey helps to ensure that most things you want to achieve are on the list. Many people wait until they retire before they plan and then find health and fitness limit their options. My destination is important but the journey will be long and I would be miserable if I didn’t enjoy the journey. Life can be fun and even more fun if properly organized. Leaving things to chance and hoping for the best rarely provides everything you expect. As for retirement, that simply isn’t on my list. My life is my work and I enjoy my work enormously, after all it is an essential component of my long-term plans and I see no reason to ever stop. So have fun whatever. Cris
To the original questions 1. To not let the universe make me insane. To seek good and beauty and to be constantly vigilant so that I won´t behave badly and that my view of the world is not too narrow and that hate, envy, depression, greed or arrogance won´t get control of me. Not to let the world hurt me too much. To learn, evolve and to be moderate. 2. To love and trust them and try to be fair and open towards them. 3. Same as 2. 4. To serve my soceity as it has given much to me but also to be critical towards it, so that I can tell what could be better and try to make it so. To be an active citizen and never try to seek my own good with the cost of the society. 5. Help humanity the way I can and support the fields of sciene and human progress that I believe that will help all mankind. To support the preservation of nature (even spiders Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ). To be equal towards all human beings and not to categorize humans by theyr religion, ideology, nationality or race. Remember that the world is what we make of it and never ever say never ever. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 6. To be a tough challenge to the universe (as it tries to make us all insane!! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ). 7. To be.
I have found that accomplishment is achieved through setting goals, and I don't think I would be happy if I lacked accomplishment. But I also have another take on this. I had the opportunity to travel with a group of people who did not see planning the entire trip ahead of time as a neccessity. Our overall timeframe was limited, as well as our modes of transportation, and we picked a general destination, but the rest we left, for the most part, completely open. One of the high points was a hike in a place called Exit Glacia near Seward, Alaska, and we would never have found the place if we had planned ahead. As it was we asked a local where to go and he pointed us in the right direction. Likewise, some of the most gruelling experiences in the outdoors for me have been the result of spontaneous planning, but I would not trade any of them in. There is just something about an experience that is enhanced when you have absolutely no preconceptions about it. Leave your expectations at the door, and you won't be disappointed. I once heard someone say that you never really taste orange juice until you accidentally pour it on your cereal in a dark kitchen first thing in the morning. The accomplishments I have made through goal setting have greatly empowered me and made me a better, more useful person, but when it comes to experience I'll leave the itinerary at home every time. I admit I'll probably grab the map on the way out though.
Maybe that's where it's at ... Accomplishment brings satisfaction ... An unexpected experience can bring joy. Just a thought. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
