Steve Toutonghi
Hi Andrew,
I'm not that familiar with Goodreads and somehow managed to miss your question until now. First, thank you for the kind words about the book! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Though I think technology is an incredibly powerful tool, I'm generally skeptical about it as a solution to humanity's problems. I think one reason that immortality in particular is an unrealistic goal is that even the universe itself will die. So, I can't imagine true immortality, though we may manage very long lives.
When I think about an individual life over a long time line, it seems to me that one's experience during, say 1000 years, is likely to change one utterly. What remains? At what point does one person become someone else? Is an individual's life defined by the continuity of experience over time, or by patterns of behavior and belief? Is our drive for survival a desire for longer life (continuity of experience), or a desire to avoid death (persistence of identity)? How are those two things similar and how are they different? It all sounds academic when asking the questions but I think it has real implications for visions of technological development. As to what I believe--I don't know. I wrote the book in part to hear the characters discuss those questions.
I hope that makes some sense. I really appreciate the question.
I'm not that familiar with Goodreads and somehow managed to miss your question until now. First, thank you for the kind words about the book! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Though I think technology is an incredibly powerful tool, I'm generally skeptical about it as a solution to humanity's problems. I think one reason that immortality in particular is an unrealistic goal is that even the universe itself will die. So, I can't imagine true immortality, though we may manage very long lives.
When I think about an individual life over a long time line, it seems to me that one's experience during, say 1000 years, is likely to change one utterly. What remains? At what point does one person become someone else? Is an individual's life defined by the continuity of experience over time, or by patterns of behavior and belief? Is our drive for survival a desire for longer life (continuity of experience), or a desire to avoid death (persistence of identity)? How are those two things similar and how are they different? It all sounds academic when asking the questions but I think it has real implications for visions of technological development. As to what I believe--I don't know. I wrote the book in part to hear the characters discuss those questions.
I hope that makes some sense. I really appreciate the question.
More Answered Questions
Charles
asked
Steve Toutonghi:
Were you thinking of writing another book? Would it be focused on join technology?
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