WildcatMon, Oct 20, 2008 our nervous system can be seen as an ecological bio/conceptual response and interaction machine that has little need for a consciously aware emergent system for it to operate in its environment. in fact it will not be untrue to state that in most cases 'we' actually create an interference to the 'natural' nervous operating system of our 'meatsuits' (kudos for this word). having said the above I understand perfectly what you refer to, however as I see it, we are just now in the process of creating a reality that is extending our nervous system into the ambient ecology in which we presently exists. Given enough time to extend said nervous system into different layers of reality (think Drexler/Minsky) we may perchance reach a sufficient level of conscious awareness to state that 'control' (though I must admit I do not like the word) by awareness has been attained.
concerning the death issue, I do not understand in what fashion is death 'real' and 'purposeful'? a test? of what? by whom? for what purpose?
as I see it, aging and death in their present form is simply an accidental/circumstantial happenstance of a carbon based life-form under evolutionary pressures of lack. given time enough to create an economy of abundance (bio/nano/eco) ,death will be relegated to the dustbin of history as just one more issue we have managed to 'overcome'.
our nervous system can be seen as an ecological bio/conceptual response and interaction machine that has little need for a consciously aware emergent system for it to operate in its environment. in fact it will not be untrue to state that in most cases 'we' actually create an interference to the 'natural' nervous operating system of our 'meatsuits' (kudos for this word). having said the above I understand perfectly what you refer to, however as I see it, we are just now in the process of creating a reality that is extending our nervous system into the ambient ecology in which we presently exists. Given enough time to extend said nervous system into different layers of reality (think Drexler/Minsky) we may perchance reach a sufficient level of conscious awareness to state that 'control' (though I must admit I do not like the word) by awareness has been attained.
concerning the death issue, I do not understand in what fashion is death 'real' and 'purposeful'? a test? of what? by whom? for what purpose?
as I see it, aging and death in their present form is simply an accidental/circumstantial happenstance of a carbon based life-form under evolutionary pressures of lack. given time enough to create an economy of abundance (bio/nano/eco) ,death will be relegated to the dustbin of history as just one more issue we have managed to 'overcome'.