That idea always bothered me.
If the transporter doesn't really transport YOU, but instead only creates a perfect copy of you at the destination and destroys the original, you're dead and a copy has taken your place.
Your consciousness is a function of a complex, ongoing chemical reaction. It IS totally measureable with a powerful and detailed enough MRI. A copy of that is simply a copy. Your consciousness does not transfer from one to the other any more than consciousness is shared by twins.
As to the 'break in consciousness' when sleeping or unconscious, I think it's a misnomer. Your brain continues to work in those situations, only your perception of it is blocked. The chemical reactions that are 'you' continue to occur without a break, you continue to emit brain waves, and your neurons continue to fire. If the chemical reactions in your brain stop, you're dead, not asleep.

What is religion anyway? Many of them exude the same principles of which I believe have some truth in all of them. Hinduism and Buddhism probably moreso than others but that is just me and what I have seen and learned.

Though there is definitely more verifiable truth to Math and Science. We were built and evolved in this intergalactic system, a system largely devoted to geometry... and an intergalactic system that we do not know much about.

We hardly even know how our brain functions and even less about the subconscious or what happens when we sleep, we know these aspects of our own being impact us, we can study the brain waves, we can hypnotize, we can slip in different molecules into our serotonin receptors, but we still do not understand why. It is a mystery yet to be solved. Much like this phenomenon we might believe as God. Eventually, I believe that we can figure out the science and it will be mindbogglingly simple creating much complexity. Akin to a simple formula as x=abs(x) or y=abs(y) or m=x*x+y*y or x=x/m+cx or y=y/m+cy. But, math will not contain the science of all of the states of being, spirit realms, and matter that do not relate to us on Earth. In my opinion this is only one life. The science of the next could be completely different.

Is God a deity or a they? The programmers of a gigantic reaction that occurs probably in many more places than we can imagine. Who are connected to everything. Maybe, it was a blob of energy that never knew it could create consciousness and the Earth evolved us to be conscious to protect it. Yeah, great job guys.

No one has that great of an idea because if it is real, it would be absolutely mind blowing and beyond all human comprehension, yet probably very simple once we understood it. There is only one way I know to reach out and touch a little bit of it on Earth and it is absolutely amazing and terrifying all at the same time and beyond human linguistics. Science so far is hardly trying to figure it out but it is science, because if all living things ingest this molecule that resides in everything and then is able to see through dimensional portals, into afterlife, through the universe, think it is dead because it is impossible otherwise... well that is Spirit Science something of which is only beginning to come to fruition.

I just think everyone is somewhat right, even Christianity, hehe, as long as they are teaching compassion and love; there is something to it be it group therapeutic, psychological, or really there is something much bigger going on that science has no way of quantifying. Again, I am not saying anyone is right or wrong but that there are truths in everything and to completely disregard them might not be the best approach, even if it is an amalgamation of prior knowledge so very twisted by imperialists throughout these two thousand plus years.

Science is what we need to get behind to begin unraveling these mysteries, even though it is a slow process. I bet that science will eventually grapple to learn that these mystical underpinnings of religions, cults and ancient sacraments... these things Christians call holy light, prayer, God, resurrection, afterlife, angels... fit into the coding of the universe. If string theory and quantum mechanics did not already open that can of worms up. But, I also doubt that whoever created this thing that we are, wants to be seen and would have put up many barriers, knowing full well that its creations would seek them or it out. Or maybe it is the exact opposite....

What I do for a living and what I do in my bedroom are polar opposites...

>> ^AgentSmith:

>> ^MonkeySpank:
I don't understand how this works. I read the articles and I am a little skeptical. I've designed fMRI and DTI algorithms for years and I don't see why they keep talking about fMRI and brain waves. fMRI is an activity map that is related to the hot spots in the brain where the hydrogen protons aligned by the magnetic field resonate to the frequency of the emitter (TR/Echo Time) and only show consumption of glucose (hydrogen protons motility) during a designed paradigm, which in this case would be having the subject watch a video. Diffuse Tensor Imaging will help map the neurons going there in case a surgical procedure is necessary, and that's about it. Extrapolating fMRI (a very coarse k-space reconstruction) to brainwaves (an EEG signal) and images sounds very suspicious to me, and nothing published so far explains how this is technically done. I understand the excitement and it certainly would be possible in the future, but under the current state of the art, I don't see how this is possible, especially with fMRI or Fractional Anisotropy.

...says "MonkeySpank", lol! Really, thank you for the insight, but the association between your well informed comment and your avatar is what did it for me.
This is what led me to believe that E = MC² --LoudBelcher78

>> ^MonkeySpank:

I don't understand how this works. I read the articles and I am a little skeptical. I've designed fMRI and DTI algorithms for years and I don't see why they keep talking about fMRI and brain waves. fMRI is an activity map that is related to the hot spots in the brain where the hydrogen protons aligned by the magnetic field resonate to the frequency of the emitter (TR/Echo Time) and only show consumption of glucose (hydrogen protons motility) during a designed paradigm, which in this case would be having the subject watch a video. Diffuse Tensor Imaging will help map the neurons going there in case a surgical procedure is necessary, and that's about it. Extrapolating fMRI (a very coarse k-space reconstruction) to brainwaves (an EEG signal) and images sounds very suspicious to me, and nothing published so far explains how this is technically done. I understand the excitement and it certainly would be possible in the future, but under the current state of the art, I don't see how this is possible, especially with fMRI or Fractional Anisotropy.


...says "MonkeySpank", lol! Really, thank you for the insight, but the association between your well informed comment and your avatar is what did it for me.

This is what led me to believe that E = MC² --LoudBelcher78

I don't understand how this works. I read the articles and I am a little skeptical. I've designed fMRI and DTI algorithms for years and I don't see why they keep talking about fMRI and brain waves. fMRI is an activity map that is related to the hot spots in the brain where the hydrogen protons aligned by the magnetic field resonate to the frequency of the emitter (TR/Echo Time) and only show consumption of glucose (hydrogen protons motility) during a designed paradigm, which in this case would be having the subject watch a video. Diffuse Tensor Imaging will help map the neurons going there in case a surgical procedure is necessary, and that's about it. Extrapolating fMRI (a very coarse k-space reconstruction) to brainwaves (an EEG signal) and images sounds very suspicious to me, and nothing published so far explains how this is technically done. I understand the excitement and it certainly would be possible in the future, but under the current state of the art, I don't see how this is possible, especially with fMRI or Fractional Anisotropy.

>> ^EMPIRE:

Westy... the retarded part isn't the flexible screen. That's pretty damn cool, and I can't wait for phones that can wrap into something resembling a pen or other cilindrical shape.
The retarded part is controlling the phone with bending... it's just so damn stupid, and because they have to had those bending sensors in the back, it just makes the screen a whole lot thicker than it has to be.


yah I agree, thats what i was partly trying to say in my comment , that its retarded in this context , but the bendy buttons or having bending of the screen as navigation might prove to be usfull in some other format rather than used in a clone of what a current smart phone is.



obvously in this case the bending is redundent to this device and a hinderance but maby bending the screen to navigate might be benoficail in other devices or for other uses where a capacative screen or tuch screen might not work ,




as another brain wave , people waring thick gloves or working in environments with lots of vibration for example would benefit from having this type of navigation and physical interface , underwater repair divers, sky divers , astranorts doing space walks , people with hutchinsons or late stage parkinsons might be able to use this to navigate complex menues. that sort of thing.

>> ^enoch:

can't...stop...staring..at..that FUCKING HAIR.
dude...grab some scissors for chrissakes.


But he's a scientist. Scientists need that hair to amplify their brain waves. Or something.

Birds and aquatic mammals are capable of unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS), which means they can sleep with one eye open and one hemisphere of the brain awake. USWS helps dozing aquatic mammals such as dolphins keep breathing, presumably by permitting them to surface once in a while. It also lets sleeping birds keep an eye out for predators--literally. This was demonstrated in an experiment reported in Nature earlier this year. Neils C. Rattenborg, a graduate student in the department of life sciences at Indiana State University, lined up four groups of four mallards. (Yes, he got his ducks in a row.) Then he videotaped the birds while they slept. He found that those on the ends of the rows--those more exposed to predators--had two and a half times as much USWS as the birds in the middle of the group. A bird on the end kept its outer eye (the one facing away from the group) open 86 percent of the time, whereas birds in the middle kept it open only 53 percent of the time. Brain-wave tests confirmed that half the brain slept and half was in a "quiet waking state," alert enough for the duck to escape should danger threaten.

Thanks, Cecil!

--==★
The more you know!

I hate groupthink, it's always A vs B polarized stupidity. I've seen the pictures of babies in utero. I've bothered to notice all the people born in the second trimester living full lives. I've watched my own daughter on an ultrasound at 8 weeks old, with arms and legs wiggling and heart beating.

You're being stupid if you don't think those are human lives. Sorry, might be rude to say it, but that's how i see it. Close-minded, unthinking, willfully ignorant, etc. Believing life starts at birth might have been arguable 30 years ago when most people had never seen an ultrasound and we didn't have the medicine to support preemies that we do now. But that's just ignorant, unscientific and, frankly, heartless to still claim that.

So drop the stupid lines about women's rights and devaluing women. I've never met a pro-lifer who was pro-life for that reason. If you honestly think that's the motive, then again, you are being willfully ignorant and close-minded.

And those on the pro-life side, it'd be nice if you'd drop the "all or nothing" arrogance. Not everyone shares your theology. So legislating based on that isn't very reasonable. Wouldn't it be wiser to find an argument that should carry weight with the vast majority? How's this: allow abortions up to the point when brain waves can be detected. Fund some studies on that, get some science behind it. Allow people the choice for 2-3 months. That's plenty of time for women to become aware and do something about it.

And pro-choicers, get a clue and stop denying the humanity of the unborn. It's a losing battle. The pro-life viewpoint has been gaining in popularity for decades not because of religious ideology (which has been declining afaict), but because you're wrong. Consciousness, humanity, whatever you want to call it that makes us us doesn't start at birth. And more people get the chance to see that all the time. You can't hide that information from them forever.

Drop the all or nothing, folks.

>> ^The_Dragon:
Actually don't like the Racism in this but.. Actually some of what they are saying is True. If you actually did your homework you'd figure this out by now, but if you want to be brainwashed by the liberal (New World Order) be my guest.


Should I put on my tin foil hat so the aliens in the black helicopters can't read my brain waves?

>> ^Doc_M:
The mother did not intend that the fetus die and she did nothing to cause it

Do you have the results of a criminal investigation to back that up? You are not treating a fetus like a person, accidental deaths of persons require police investigation. Should your sister in law be taken into custody and subject to forensic testing, and psychological evaluation to determine weather she, through negligence or intent, contributed to the death of a fetus?

Also Dgandhi, babies are not parasites, they are offspring.

Fetuses are parasites, you may not like the implication of that fact, but the words have meaning, and my use is in line with that meaning.

Babies are offspring, the distinction, both in language, and law, is birth, I already addressed the consequences of using other criteria.

I've known both adopted men and women and people who have giving children up for adoption. The former and the latter were both thankful and not regretful.

I would be "thankful and not regretful" if you would give me all your money, but preference is completely irrelevant to the point at hand. Just as you seem to want to conflate baby and fetus you are conflating preference and morality.

Some are pro-abortion and some are anti-abortion, don't give me this pro-choise, pro-life BS

If you are seeking a neutral tag, try abortion-criminalization, and abortion-decriminalization. Many, probably most, people who want abortion to remain decriminalized also would prefer if fewer abortions were preformed.

I personally, unlike most folks, don't think a glob of fertilized cells has any rights or value. Even given that fact, I would be happy to reach a compromise of criminalizing abortion when there is brain activity, which starts ~20weeks from conception, because brain activity signifies that something like a person may exist. I would not agree to extend person rights to a 20wk fetus, even with brain waves, on the grounds that it is a parasite, and that it's death should not render the mothers body a crime scene.

I don't disregard you concern, I simply think that you have extended your concern to the point of absurdity by going all the way to conception. It makes no more or less sense to go all the way back to gamete maturation, in which case men end millions of lives a week, and non-pregnant women kill 8-16 "babies" a month, whether they become pregnant or not. It's all life, conception is no different from gamete maturation, or any other biological process.

Life does not begin at conception, life on Earth began once, ~3billion years ago, and hasn't stopped since.

Fetuses = persons means miscarriage = homicide, anybody here supporting that?

The law says not born = not a person, simple criteria, other options for criteria exist, but nobody is really talking about implementing them.

We could go with brain waves, so then we are all legally obliged to be vegans ( I already am, so that's okay with me)

We could go with "sentience", which, as already mentioned humans are not born with.

We could go with chromosome count, in which case folks with downs syndrome don't count.

We could go with conception, thereby resulting in the complete state regulation of all female reproductive systems. Did she ovulate? Did it fertilize? Did it implant? Did she miscarry? These are all facts that the state MUST know in order to protect fetal human life, and the last two are, at least, man-slaughter, so get ready for a massive rise in the female inmate population.

Here's a nice little hypothetical I like to throw out: Let's say I see you in public being and asshole ( don't say not me, we have all done it) and I retaliate by jumping on your back and sucking your blood, which I now use as my only form of sustenance. We are both clearly human, we both clearly have human rights, I am clearly being a parasite, and it has clearly happened as a consequence of something you have done. Do I have the right to parasitize you? Do you have a right to stop me, even if your stopping me causes my death? Do you, in effect, have a right to self defense which over rides my right to enslave you? If so, how can a ball of cells over ride your rights, when an acknowledged person can not?

#36 A duck's quack doesn't echo

#37 A snail breathes through its foot

#38 Fish cough.

#39 An ant's smell is stronger then a dog's

#40 It is possible to lead a cow up stairs but not down

#41 Shrimp can only swim backward

#42 Frogs cannot swallow with their eyes open

#43 A cat's lower jaw cannot move sideways

#44 The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps

#45 Elephants are capable of swimming 20 miles per day

#46 Elephants are the only mammal that cannot jump

#47 Giraffes have no vocal chords

#48 Cats can hear ultrasound

#49 Despite its hump...camels has a straight spine

#50 Mosquitoes have 47 teeth

#51 There is 63,360 inches in a mile

#52 11% of people in the world are left-handed

#53 The average women consumes 6lbs of lipstick in her lifetime

#54 The average smell weighs 760 nanograms *

#55 A human brain weighs about 3lbs

#56 1/4 of the bones in your body are in your feet

#57 You blink over 10,000,000 times a year

#58 A sneeze travels out of your nose at 100mph

#59 Brain waves can be used to power an electric train

#60 The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body

#61 Pigs get sunburn

#62 The lifespan of a taste bud is 10 days

#63 The average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime

#64 Strawberries contain more Vitamin C then oranges

#65 A one-day weather forecast requires about 10 billion math calculations

#66 Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza a day

#67 There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal cracker zoo

#68 The longest one syllable word is "screeched"

#69 No word in the English language rhymes with month

#70 A "jiffy" is actually 1/100 of a second

#71 There is a town called "Big Ugly" in West Virginia

#72 The average person uses 150 gallons of water per day for personal use

#73 The average person spends 2 weeks of its life waiting for a traffic light to change

#74 You share your birthday with 9 million others in the world

#75 The average person makes 1,140 phone calls per year

#76 The average person spends 2 years on the phone in his/her lifetime

#77 No piece of paper can be folded more then 7 times

#78 Alaska is the most eastern and western state in the US

#79 There are 119 grooves on the edge of a quarter

#80 About 18% of Animal owners share their bed with their pet

#81 Alaska has more caribou then people

#82 August has the highest percent of births

#83 Googol is a number (1 followed by 100 zeros)

#84 Oysters can change genders back and forth

#85 The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows

#86 Until the 19th century solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia

#87 A mile on the ocean and a mile on land are not the same distance

#88 A ten gallon hat holds less then one gallon of liquid

#89 The average American walks 18,000 steps a day

#90 The average raindrop falls at 7mph

#91 There are more telephones than people in Washington D.C.

#92 Fish can drown

#93 A Kangaroo can jump 30 feet

#94 Lizards communicate by doing push-ups

#95 Squids can have eyeballs the size of volleyballs

#96 The average American will eat 35,000 cookies in his/her lifetime

#97 A turkey can run at 20mph

#98 When the moon is directly over you, you weigh less

#99 You burn 20 calories an hour chewing gum

#100 In a year, the average person walks 4 miles making their bed

#101 About half of all Americans are on a diet at any given time

#102 A one-minute kiss burns 26 calories

#103 Frowning burns more calories then smiling

#104 There are more then 30,000 diets on public record

#105 You will burn 7% more calories walking on hard dirt then pavement

#106 You way less at the top of a mountain then sea level

#107 You burn more calories sleeping then watching TV

#108 Licking a stamp burns 10 calories

#109 Smelling apples and/or bananas can help you lose weight

#110 Frogs never drink

#111 Only male turkeys gobble

#112 At birth, a Dalmation is always pure white

#113 The fastest recorded speed of a racehorse was over 43 mph

#114 The oldest known animal was a tortoise, which lived to be 152 years old

#115 Bamboo makes up 99% of a panda's diet

#116 The largest fish is the whale shark - It can be over 50 feet long and weigh 2 tons

#117 The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out

#118 Honeybees are the only insects that create a form of food for humans

#119 The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards

#120 The only continent without native reptiles or snakes is Antarctica

#121 The only bird that can swim and not fly is a penguin

#122 A duck can't walk without bobbing its head

#123 Beavers were once the size of bears

#124 Seals sleep only one and a half minutes at a time

>> ^nadabu:
As for "brain waves", there is debate on what really counts as such.

That is analogous to arguing that Evolution by natural selection is debatable. Sure if people who are lying, or simply don't know what they are talking about argue against something you could say there is "debate", but their disagreement with the body of evidence and the understanding of people who work in relevant fields of study in no way undermines the validity of the general scientific consensus.

If your going to make a "brain waves" argument, taking whatever unsupported claim on when that happens you feel like, seriously weakens your argument.

If we agree to use brain-waves as the criteria, and it's well established among non-propagandists that this starts at about 20 weeks, then will you change your time-frame preference, or will you re-define "brain waves" to meet your already established preference?

12 weeks? No thanks. My daughter looked very well-formed to me at half that age. As for "brain waves", there is debate on what really counts as such. The lowest estimates are, to me, the safe and wise ones to base any legislation on. But, if we could even get a 20 week limit, that would be a great start. Currently, it is still legal to kill babies well into the third trimester (thankfully third trimester abortions seem very rare).

As for sucking on tits and ruining bodies and vaginas, you don't seem to have ever had a baby yourself or know anything about it. Incredible ignorance, that. My wife and her friends would laugh at you.

dgandhi, sorry, but nothing you can say will convince me to put animals on the same level as humans. killing humans is murder, killing animals is not. there may be times when killing is legally justified (not morally), such as self-defense, a soldier in war under orders, or even abortion if the pregnancy or birth is very likely to kill the mother, but it's still murder and is almost always traumatic for those involved.

oh, and great call with the vasectomy! i'll be getting mine as soon as my wife says she doesn't want any more kids. if you ask me, the vasectomy is one of the greatest things modern medicine has come up with.