Morgan Freeman showed on a recent "Through the Wormhole" that prototype tech exists that can recognize activity in the brain as translatable ideas and thoughts. It may not be full fledged yet, but it is already possible. The ground work is there, after all, our brains are nothing more than fancy organic radios.

I fully agree with most of what you write here, but I am still struggling to understand this: "Laws must be broken for society to progress"

"But the goal is not complete enforcement of laws, the goal is happiness and fulfillment of the citizenry."

I have to agree with you. I work in IT and the sheer amount of man hours required to actively monitor every citizen and write up reports on subjects of interest is ridiculous. The myth of the watchful all seeing ever present eye, is in reality morel like an all seeing ever present generally glancing in your direction…

Marvelous, I will hold my fingers crossed for you. The idea of an alien race without original sin is a tremendous one. That would actually put them up a rung from us sinful apes, wouldn't it? Somewhere between angels and us. I'm sure that would be a hit among the faithful, like a case of Marsha Brady to the nth…

Thank you kind sir! I very much appreciate this full summary and the recommended reading. Thank you for taking the time to write it up. These Leakey's sound positively fascinating.

Finally a point i can agree with you on!

Not necessarily, but i can see your point. While it is still the same body going through the change, which would mean the soul (if you believe in such a thing) would still be there, the consciousness would doubtlessly go through a phenomenal change. If for nothing else than the reason that one day it was a leaf…

I'm compelled to agree with you, but still ... within the coocoon, the worm is being replaced cell by cell into a butterfly. I don't know how pervasive that change is, whether it affects the brain too or not, but that would be nearly identical to an organic brain changing into a mechanical one, neuron by neuron. Argh!…

I'm trying to follow your logic but I think you let your passions run away with you and you skipped a few crucial steps. :) Happens to me all the time.

Totally agreed. When you stop to think about it, that's all we are right now anyway. What you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel about the world, is data coming in from your sensory organs being analyzed and constructed for you as one experience by your brain. That's why things like optical illusions are possible.

I can side step your dystopian future by the simple example of remote computing. What i mean is, folks can still compete with Metallo full conversion borgs by using Surrogates, that is, bodies normal folks can operate long distance via a remote interface, like say VR glasses or whatever. Still human in every day…

I'm not so sure. Gradual conversion may be the answer, but you are still just copy pasting. You aren't moving the original neurons, you are replacing them. I don't see anything short of actual brain transfer doing the trick. But then, even our natural aging and regenerative processes end up gradually altering us over…

There is something to that idea, I suspect. I heard it said that by the time we are 33, every single cell in our body has been replaced from the ones we are born with. I don't recall how pervasive this is, whether it's just a few organs or whatever, but that concept and then if you add in cases of people who suffered…

Agreed, we may end up finding out that we are the sum of all of our parts, not just the brain, but our entire nervous system. At which point, i guess putting our brains in a new jar, so to speak, would be the only sure way to preserve our identity. But that still leaves so many unknowns. This whole complex question is…

Yea i still think that would be a slow death, parts of you switching off while other parts take over. Then again, it does raise an interesting question regarding brain damage and the brains ability to circumvent busted neurons to continue working with less real estate. There have been remarkable stories of folks…

What a morbidly sophomoric dismissal of the key point of the very idea of this whole situation!

But it does! lol

Sure as hell ain't good enough for me. I totally get what you are saying and agree with you. I am flabbergasted this simple concept not only TOTALLY eludes the guy but he seems almost willfully ignorant of it, as if he can't face the truth of it.

I think the guy is off his meds. He clearly doesn't believe in the human soul or whatever is the center of our consciousness. What you described is known in the field as 'the continuity of consciousness problem' which has most professionals perplexed, so to see that dude totally gloss over the idea is rather insulting…