"Brains could be separated from the body"

[Still Waters]

Professor Stephen Hawking has predicted that it could be possible to preserve a mind as powerful as his on a computer - but not with technology existing today.

The cosmologist, 71, said the brain operates in a similar way to a computer programme, meaning it could in theory be kept running without a body to power it.

http://www.telegraph...m-the-body.html

[+and-then]

Sounds like the daydreaming of a person who holds no hope of anything after death but...nothingness. Kind of sad.

[pallidin]

This is rather complex.

The human body supports the human brain(mostly through blood pumped from the heart)

Yet, the human brain, in some VERY important issues, directs the rest of the body to support it. This includes the lungs, liver, kidneys, GI tract for food absorbtion, etc.., with the amazing "nervous system" playing a large part.

Think "Heart/Lung machine, as well as IV infusion of water and nutrients to support the brain during certain types of medical procedures.

Edited September 20, 2013 by pallidin

[Arpee]

Sounds like the daydreaming of a person who holds no hope of anything after death but...nothingness. Kind of sad.

Why is that "sad" to you?

[antonT]

Just as the heart/lung machine keeps an organism alive, something more intricate will eventually be developed to keep a brain alive.

Great! Mr Hawkins, but what pleasures would there be in life??

Without nerves there would be no sensation - no sex or sexual pleasure - no taste or eating pleasure- no pleasure of music- no smell- no appreciation of the wonderful vistas of this world and of the universe etc.........................

I suppose one could do the Time's crossword all day!

Life would not be worth living. The only reward I can think of is that, as long as nobody switches one's life support off or if one could upload one's brain onto a computer.......then, with everlasting consciousness no matter how boring, one will be able to achieve everlasting life and with everlasting life the realisation of what existence is all about.

Edited September 20, 2013 by antonT

[pbarosso]

Why is that "sad" to you?

because there is no reason to live if there is nothing after. so if you asked this question hoping for some kind of debate, don't hold your breath. if you think the same way, its sad to me. I am not coming back to this thread to debate or argue, people can just have an opinion and not defend it.....is that sad?.

[Frank Merton]

Just because you are a head in a bottle doesn't mean life would have to be boring. Lots of people who spend their whole lives watching TV or sitting in front of a computer might as well be heads in a bottle.

[jules99]

because there is no reason to live if there is nothing after. .

Is that really what you meant to say?

[fullywired]

"Brains could be separated from the body"

says Professor Stephen Hawking

After reading some of the posts that have been posted over the years on UM, I am convinced it has been accomplished already but only the body survived

fullywired

[Thorvir]

Hawking is a bit late to the party:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whisperer_in_Darkness

[Frank Merton]

Sounds like the daydreaming of a person who holds no hope of anything after death but...nothingness. Kind of sad.

How do you manage to conclude this? Seems he has had a fuller life than anyone posting on these boards. Believe it or not but atheism is often a liberating thing that frees us from superstition and delusion, two things I would rather live without. Besides, if you believe because you want to live forever, you are bound to end up just as dead anyway, with maybe a p***ed-off god to deal with who sees your true motives.

[geonerd]

Hawking is absolutely wrong. People are self aware and computers are not. Programming will not fix this because a computer can only do what it is programmed to do. The human mind is so much more and is connected to the quantum world by microtubules inside every nerve cell in the brain. These act as microscopic quantum computers that pull consciousness from the quantum world. This is where the soul resides. And no matter how super we make a computer, we cannot duplicate these effects. Until humans develop a super quantum computer and fully understand how consciousness works, there will be no removing a human brain from a body. The brain cannot function without accessing quantum information.

These effects explain ESP, precognitive abilities, near death experiences, and the computational power of the human brain.