Head Transplantation and Beheading

Mike Coward (mikec@ilnk.com)
Fri, 07 Nov 1997 11:02:50 -0500


Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 20:27:44 -0500 (EST)
From: CurtAdams@aol.com
>Subject: Re: Head transplantation done
>
>In a message dated 11/6/97 5:40:17 PM, bostrom@mail.ndirect.co.uk wrote:
>
>>To me it seems unnecessary to have a donor body: might it not be
>>possible to replace it with a heart-lung machine?
>
>Not yet; you'd need a liver and bone marrow as well. Further, although
>the intestines and the spleen could be replaced, I don't think the
>replacements are yet of the caliber for indefinite lifespan.
>
>Also, current heart-lung machines require a threefold dilution of blood
>to operate and that would leave your hemoglobin too low to function
>properly. Finally, the current versions chew up red blood cells at a
>rate far exceeding the ability of the body to replace them.
>
>I think cultured organs would be much more practical than body transplants.
> I think we'll be able to grow hearts and hook them
>to the appropriate nerves long before we can build an interface
>between two different spinal cords.

There are always ways to get by problems.
How about transplanting the spine with the head.
How about growing a new tailored spinal cord for implantation?
How about cybernetics?
I'm not saying it won't take a huge amount of work.
I'm not saying it would be 100% effective.
Do these ideas make it seem even a *little* bit more likely?

This is a topic I have been thinking about quite a bit lately
and I have come to a conclusion
that the less work my brain has to do the better.
The entire body below the neck
will most certainly be able to be replaced/repaired
before the brain will.
So that is what I care about
and must go to extremes to protect.
Chop off my arms and legs,
in a couple of years I will rejoice because I will still be ALIVE!

If I did have no limbs,
what would happen to the parts of the brain
that used to control them?
Those areas would be taken over by other areas.
There was a man who lost his hand
and the hand control area of his brain
was used by his face control area.
Touch a part of his cheek
and he feels it on his fingertip control area.
That man has a very sensitive cheek!

Now think about my whole body control area
being taken over by my head control area.
Imagine the processing power,
a full brain used almost entirely for thinking!
I'm not saying it would be easy.
It would take decades of intense mental training
to learn how to use my brain to it's full potentional.
It would take alot of getting used to,
because I'd be the worlds shortest goddamned genius. :-)

Ok, ok...
I'm not so sure the theory is sound
but it's worth thinking about.