Pinocchio vs. the Tin Man

Michael Straight · 26 Sep 2002, 01:32 · from urth-v0209.mbox · original

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From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: (urth) Pinocchio vs. the Tin Man
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 21:32:18 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <urth-v0209-1784 at digest.urth.net>
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On Wed, 25 Sep 2002, Jerry Friedman wrote:

> Funny, that wasn't my impression at all--I thought he wanted to become
> fully robotic--though he is in love or something with Jolenta.  Can we
> imagine a prosthetic-bearing bio in love with a chem wanting to become
> fully a chem?

Forget about the in love part, I think there are plenty of people who
would choose a super-strong, nigh-immortal robot body over a frail
biological one, even if one had to give up various human pleasures and
expereiences.

Greg Egan's _Diaspora_ imagines a future in which some people are
bio-modified, some are downloaded into and live in various "Mainframes,"
and some live with their minds downloaded into robot bodies.

So yes, some of us can imagine it.

	-- M.

--=20

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