Wednesday Feb 3rd, 2010



The World Wide Web has impacted how I do research, keep in touch with friends and relatives, and has expanded my knowledge and understanding of the world. It has even impacted my dating life, as I have joined internet dating sites. Now, all of this is handy and nice, but if the world wide web did not exist, which it has in my lifetime, I can honestly say that I could live very well with out it. I can go to the library and get a book out or an interlibrary loan. I could write letters to friends and relatives (I still send Christmas Cards, a tradition that is dying due to e-cards) As for dating I would have to satisfy myself with the local fare or move. The world wide web is not crucial to my existence, perhaps because I enjoy the outdoors I feel more connected to the physical here, rather than the world of cyberspace. So, I could live without it, but would I want to? The answer is no.

The emergence of biodigital technology

I find this topic fascinating. At present I do everything I can to live a long healthy life. I don't eat sugar, I eat organic food, take multivitamins and fish oil, and work out, all in an effort to extend my life and keep cognitive dis function at bay (no dementia in old age for me thank you). Ray Kurzweil's predictions for upgrading the "suboptimal software" of the brain, and the "singularity" where humans become immortal bio digital beings is right up my alley. I would love to live to be hundreds of years old, mostly due to curiosity of what the future may entail. I think our current fascination with vampires has something to do with our subconscious trying to reconcile our desire to live forever. We are also trying to reconcile our superstitious beleifs with our technological scientific values. Using technology to immortalize ourselves I think is the ultimate goal of everything we have been doing since, well, forever. Once we've moved beyond the pervasive fear of death and disease we can move on in terms of evolution. This technology must be made available to all, imagine the "digital divide" between those who must suffer sickness, old age and death due to lack of funds (which happens right now to be frank, esp in the U.S.) and those who can obtain optimum heatlh and immortality? what about those who feel it's wrong and would do everything in thier power to stop further advances, believing perhaps its against God's will? In order to prevent our own extinction we may have to become integrated with machines, and why not?