lovely, dark and deep

May 2009 be everything you hope for and nothing I expect.

“Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.”

Our understanding of death has evolved with advancements in biology and medical technologies. But the generally accepted definition remains inaccurate. So, I will redefine it, consistent with my beliefs and the beliefs of the cryonicists.

Death is that degree of loss of neurological structural or biochemical integrity that no future technology could repair to the point of restoring higher thought and continuity of identity.

Even this definition may be technically inaccurate. On one hand, I have set the bar high by requiring restoration of higher thought and continuity of identity. However, this is a neurocentric definition, without regard for the body at large. The reason for this is that in all likelihood any technology sufficiently advanced to repair a cryopreserved brain will coexist with technologies capable of joining the repaired brain to a newly manufactured body, identical to the original at any stage of development, or idealized, whichever the individual chooses.

“‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”

…

“[A] sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth.”