Last Updated:20 April 2016 Author: Glyn Taylor

Indefinite life extension will be possiblewithin 30 years! Quite awow, really? prediction! This page is updated regularlywith the latest outlook towards our potentially immortal future.Please comment with your thoughts and any new information you would like adding. Like us on Facebook to keep updated, coz that would be awesome!

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Twenty Years ago the idea of postponing aging, let alone reversing it, was weird and off-the-wall. Today there are good reasons for thinking it is fundamentally possible. Michael R. Rose

Within 30 Years? We instinctively fail to see technological growth as being exponential. If you do not understand the concept of exponential growth, then chances are you do not think immortality will ever be possible, let alone understand that it could be achieved within 30 years. To find out more, read our explanation of exponential growth.

The ExpertsWho Agree Dont take our word for it bring in the experts! Expert #1: Google. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, theGoogle co-founderssupport the theories of expert #2: Ray Kurzweil, who is the most popularised living futurist,as well as one of the leaders in the artificial intelligence industry, and chief of engineering at Google. He asserts that immortality could be achieved in as little as 20 years.

Moving from the technological realm to the world of bioengineering, we have expert #3: Aubrey de Gray, who is chief science officer at one of the most famous anti-ageing research foundations, the SRF. Aubrey de Grey, who was born in1963, believes that there is a 50/50 chance he will be alive when humanity reaches immortality. He is one of the leading faces in the fight against ageing, and is often invited to present his anti-aging theories for universities, TED Talks, think tanks, and news outlets.

Another face in the fight against ageing is expert #4: Jason Silva, who is a performance philosopher. To understand the brilliance of how he thinks, you must see his performances at his current YouTube channel, Shots of Awe. He supportsthe theories of both Ray Kurzweil and Aubrey de Grey, and describes immortality as the goal of humanity.

The Researchers

Since 2010, progression in the life extension industry has relatively sky-rocketed, more so in Russia than anywhere else. We have seen the formation of many high profile research companies, departments, foundations, institutes, and initiatives, with the specific aim of radically extending life.

Ageing is a multi-causal complex genetically determined biological process, and so to research how to combat it, you need the merger of many related disciplines.View hereto see just how complicated it is to even just track the bio-marker of ageing. The following example are only of groups that have the specific aim of life extension. Those specialising in sub-disciplines (but contributing to anti-ageing) are not listed.

The SRF aims to help build the industry that will cure the diseases of ageing.With this aim, they supply funding for the universities that are contributing to anti-ageing research. In addition to this, they run their own research centre, which brings together the knowledge of all anti-ageing sub-disciplines to gain an overseeing perspective. It is headed by the infamous, Aubrey de Grey. Here is theSENS FoundationAnnual Report 2015.

In 2013 Google helped launch Calico, an independent research and development biotech company, with the aim of combating ageing.Its CEO, Arthur Levinson is the Chairman of AppleandGenetech. In 2015 it announced its working withAncestryDNA, whocan provide access to a unique combination of resources that will enable Calico to develop potentially ground breaking therapeutic solutions. It is also working with a biopharmaceutical company calledAbbVie,whowill provide scientific and clinical development support and its commercial expertise toallow therapies to enter experimental phases.

This one makes a lot of headlines. It is taking a different approach; they aim to create technologies that will enable the transfer of an individuals consciousness to a more advanced non-biological immortal carrier. Below is their forecast for how they plan to advance.

Even More Researchers

The Buck InstituteMethuselah FoundationLongevity AllianceGeroWake ForestHuman Longevity, Inc.

What is Immortality?

Some think of it as the complete immunity from deaththe ability to get shot 200 times and then spit the bullets out. Maybe that will be possible one day, but it wont be our first version of immorality. The immortality we mean here is the ability to remain a healthy age, indefinitely. Ideally this age will be 21, with our bodies being fully formed, before their decline.

MindUploading is NOT Immortality

The 2045 Initiative are aiming to achieve immortality by uploading our brain dataout of our mortal biological minds and into an artificial one. Even if they manage to create a storage unit capable of working exactly like our own mind, all theyare doing is copy and pasting The copied version might be youin the moment of creation, but not from the next moment onwards. After seeing this copy and talking to it, would you then allow yourself to be turned off and replaced by it;to be killed? Well nah, I wouldnt. That isnt immortality, its reproduction.

Immortality is the indefinite maintenance of our biological minds.

Why Live Forever?

When you read an immortality related article on a mainstreamnews website, half of the people in the comments section seem to hate the idea. Usually the negativity towards immortality is displayed by those who dont understand what possibilities are waiting for us in the future; theythink of an immortal life asboring. I wrote an article calledWhy you will want to be immortal, to argue against that point of view. Another big reason that people do not want to live forever is because they believe that they will miss their lost loved ones too much. In response to that, I wrote, How everyone who has ever died, could be revived in the future.

Mortality is primitive, it is just a problem for humanity to overcome. Immortality is a natural development inthe evolutionary process of life.

How we will Live Forever

Ray Kurzweil has every intention to reach immortality. To do so, he has devised a personal plan to get there which involves 3 bridges. His plan is of course dependent on science achieving our immortality in around 20-30 years. The current priority is surviving for at least 20 years.

Bridge 1 Be Healthy

The first bridge is all about doing everything possible to extend your life with our current knowledge of ageing.The scientifically uncontroversial methods include: following a low-calorie (below 1500 calories), low-carb (below 80 grams) diet, and getting plenty of exercise and lots of sleep. Other methods raise eyebrows, such as drinking 10 glasses of highly alkaline water a day to rid the body of toxins, and having weekly intravenous infusions of vitamins, chelating agents and various other pharmaceuticals. Many other methods exist to rid the body of toxins, which can be found through a Google search. Wehave a guide onhow to get enough antioxidants to extend life.

Bridge 2 Biotechnology

The next bridge takes advantage of the accelerating biotechnology revolution. This will begin to take us beyond simply staying healthy, and into the realm of enhancements. Eventually biotechnology will cure aging, and even allow us to turn back our body clocks, on the journey there though discoveries will be made which will enhance our health, and extend our lifespans. We will see the increasing use of gene therapy, stem cells, therapeutic cloning, and replacement cells, tissues and organs.

Bridge 3 Nanotechnology & Artificial Intelligence

These technologies will completely revolutionise everything we know, how we live, why we live, and yes how long we live. For more information about the future that these technologies will create, read our explanation of the technological singularity.

Nano-sized robotic devices, miniature even compared to the size of a single blood cell, will become commonplace during the 2020s. It is predicted that these devices will progress to be used within the body to maintain perfect health and youth. The devices are already being used for diagnosis purposes. They will provide constant monitoring and notify you if you begin to develop any health problems. For example, they will detect cancer at its very first sign of growth, notify you and latch on to the cancerous cells, tagging them for immediate removal. In the next few decades they will not only diagnose, but also treat illnesses. For more information, read our guide to the nanotechnology revolution.

And we havent even mentioned Artificial Intelligence yet. Eventually through developments in nanotechnology, neural science, artificial brain building, and artificial intelligence, enough understanding will exist to enable our minds to be integrated into other storage mediums; we will have the ability to upload our minds (with the aid of nanotechnology); this is also referred to as digital immortality. Alternatively, we could still operate from our original brains, but outsource its cognition. For example, we could control a robot instead of our own body, or we could plug in to a virtual environment. Our intelligence levels would be significantly increased, we would communicate telepathically, and we would access the internet with our thoughts. The changes that such technology will have on humanity is incomprehensible. For more information about this future, check out ourinformation page about transhumanism.

Video Break! Below you can watch Ray Kurzweil explain more about bridge 3.

What aboutExistential Risk andOverpopulation?

So yeah, immortality would be great. But whos to say we will even get there without destroying each other first? The upcoming security risks related to emerging technologies are immense. We have written an article about the 5 emerging technologies that could destroy the world.

And if we do survive to reach immortality, then what about overpopulation? We will have problems to face with regard to overpopulation and the need for resources. These problems though can be overcome with new technologies, and it will not interrupt humanities transfer to immortality. We have written a detailed article, explaining why immortality wont cause overpopulation.

Security can Prevail

Lets end on a positive. Along with advanced weaponry comes advanced defence. For example, withmolecular manufacturingand early forms of non-conscious AI, a system of surveillance could be established to defend against the creation of illegal weaponry. This system would not be encroaching of privacies because humans will only be notified of your actions, should those actions be flagged by the system as suspicious. The only time your privacy will be invaded in an optimistic (non-dictatorship) future is when you are acting illegally.

Along with the advances may come a rising willingness to globally cooperate in order to progress with mutually beneficial aims such as self-sufficiency, immortality and space exploration; the threat of mutual destruction could become so great that nations will have no option but to come together and collaborate to tackle security problems together. On the subject of religious fundamentalism, with innovations such as immortality and the creation of god-like artificial intelligence, perhaps religions will become more open minded about the potential for science to explain the truth of our creation, acting to dilute religion and increase multiculturalization, secularisation and cooperation.

Have more to add?

Know something important that should be added to this article? Please comment and let us know. In the future we will be allowing users of the website to write their own articles. Please contact us for more information.

What do you think?

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Immortality: When (soon) and How That's Really Possible

If at any point in the past six months you have heard the lone strum of a distant Spanish guitar, the proceeding three minutes and 42 seconds were more than likely spent under the spell of Despacito. Its the all-conquering, duo-lingual, mid-tempo pop behemoth that has been blaring from car stereos, shop sound systems, barbecue bluetooth speakers and, despite lyrics that dwell on the slow-and-steady road to screaming orgasm, end-of-term school discos.

Its title may translate as slowly, but theres been nothing sluggish about the success of Luis Fonsis omnipresent global smash. Released to limited fanfare in January, by July the mesmerising collaboration with Puerto Rican reggaeton star Daddy Yankee was the most streamed song to date; it has now been streamed more than 4.6 billion times. If youre tempted to credit that to the remix featuring Justin Bieber, think again: this month the Bieberless version became the first video in YouTubes decade-plus history to achieve three billion views.

Crossing the line from exquisitely structured pop single to all-out cultural phenomenon, Despacito is also the first non-English No 1 in the United States in more than two decades; in Britain, it has become the longest-running foreign-language No 1 in history.

The man at the eye of its storm has seen international success come via a circuitous route. The 39-year-old, Puerto Rico-born singer has already released eight albums in a career that has spanned 19 years, during which he has performed for one pope and two US presidents, supported Britney Spears on tour and gone platinum six times. We meet backstage at a modest open-air concert two hours west of Barcelona, and Fonsis amiable disposition is encapsulated by an entourage of just a few people, and in the way he (unlike 99 per cent of his pop star peers) removes his sunglasses for an interview.

An endearingly straightforward chap who seems genuinely humbled by his second flush of fame, Fonsi begins by attempting to explain the Despacito phenomenon. If the song is good enough, it will work in any language, he says, and lists the varied genres traversed by the song urban, salsa, reggaeton, pop, tropical, dancehall before conceding defeat and acknowledging that while the song is all those things, its somehow greater than the sum of its parts. It just makes it hard not to move, he eventually says. Whether you like to dance or not, you somehow just start ... moving.

Its been nearly two decades since Fonsi first found fame, but now that the popularity of Despacito has propelled him to No 1 in 45 countries, hes relishing this opportunity to prove himself again to new audiences. You have to say, How do I win these people over? he says, motioning towards the stage. How do I make sure this first concert here tonight isnt my last concert here? One solution is to perform Despacito twice he plans to drop it in the middle of the set, then again as a reprise. But it makes it exciting, to see that initial reaction again, he grins. To see people thinking, Hmm, what is this guy all about?

Despacito is the most-played track in the world but Malaysians wont be singing along

So, what is Fonsi, real name Luis Alfonso Rodrguez Lpez-Cepero, all about? You can tell a lot about a man from the watch he wears, he says, when asked about his chunky gold timepiece, before admitting that it was a gift from the manufacturer, so, er, theres that. His attire sleeveless grey hoodie, loose-fitting jeans and a pair of old-school trainers conjures the image of off-duty gym instructor, but his left arm tells a more detailed story: one elaborate tattoo blends a vinyl record with a guitar and the names of his two young children, plus theres a date (December 20, the day both those kids were born, five years apart). Theres also a postmark, representing the journey he made when he was 10 and his family moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida.

My dad worked in marketing for my grandfathers company, Fonsi begins. One day, he said, Lets move. I had to leave my friends, my school, my cousins behind. Looking back, I realise how hard it was. I felt like I was the only Latino around. That first year was just depressing people were making fun of my accent and the way I dressed. At lunch Id sit at the corner table with the two other Latino kids with thick accents. In Puerto Rico, Id sung a lot; I didnt want to sing any more.

Fonsi began to adapt and fit in; the schools choir director pulled him out of an English class in ninth grade and offered him a place in the mens ensemble. Fonsi and the choirs three other section leads formed their own group: the Big Guys.

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That sounds like the worst boy band ever, right? says Fonsi, laughing. Wed take all the music we learnt in choir and make a cool R&B version.

The Big Guys performed around Orlando before going their separate ways when school ended. Fonsi got into Florida State University on a music scholarship, recorded demos and landed a record deal.

Releasing eight albums between 1998 and 2014, Fonsi became a big name in the Latin world, but his romantic, Spanish-language balladeering offered little chance of crossover success. Then his first wife, the actress Adamari Lpez, was diagnosed with cancer, leading Fonsi to cancel a tour. She was given the all-clear in 2006, but the couple split in 2010. In 2011, he had his first child with Spanish model gueda Lpez and the couple married in 2014. Meanwhile another of the Big Guys, Joey Fatone, had found different bandmates and achieved some success well, 70 million album sales as one-fifth of NSYNC.

Despacito might now put Fonsi on track to become the biggest Big Guy of the lot, but it almost didnt happen, at least not in the way we know it today. The song started life in 2015, when Fonsi woke one morning with the word despacito and the chorus melody in his head. Having expanded the song to capture the feeling of being in a club and making eye contact with a beautiful woman, he finessed it with his co-writer, Erika Ender, and then wondered if it might benefit from a rather perkier production, so he got on the phone to Daddy Yankee.

When their version stormed to No 1 on Billboards Latin charts, thoughts turned to further crossover potential.

Before Justin [Bieber], wed been talking about doing a collaboration with an American artist, says Fonsi. We were leaning towards a more hip-hop artist, but I didnt know how to get in touch with Jay-Z, or Drake. Justin wasnt even on the list.

Fate intervened: Bieber was touring in Colombia, went clubbing one night and saw a club explode to Despacito. Fonsi was in Paris at the time it was 2am when his label phoned him with the words, Weve had a call from Biebers people.

Two days later I get the first cut in my email, Fonsi adds. I expected to hear a full English version of the song. All of a sudden Im hearing Justin Bieber singing in Spanish. I thought, This is huge!

It may not sound like a protest song, but Despacitos multicultural success could be seen as the sound of a younger generation expressing defiance through pop at least Fonsi would like to think so. I dont want to get too political, says pops new Mr Reasonable, but when people want to build walls and separate instead of unite, its such perfect timing. Our president is so critical of speaking other languages in the US, and for the last 12 weeks the song thats been No 1 in the US is in Spanish.

Fonsi is less hesitant about getting political when it comes to the increasingly authoritarian Venezuelan president, Nicols Maduro. Despacito has been endlessly covered, parodied and memed, but while Fonsi doesnt mind the track taking on its own life (the song is no longer mine when a song reaches this level it becomes everyones), he drew a line when Maduro used it at a rally; the singer hit back on Twitter.

Despacito singers condemn Venezuelan presidents propaganda remix of hit Latin pop song

The one negative case out of 1,000 positives has been the Venezuelan dictator, and I think we can officially call him a dictator, he says. Im passionate about how I feel about this dictator, how much the country has gone to sh... He catches himself, having briefly lost his composure. I cant say it. I dont want him to have anything to do with me, or my music, or my song.

Due to Despacitos success, Fonsi has had the chance to hang out with Bieber on a few occasions; he glosses over a question about how Bieber compares to Pope John Paul II (for whom Fonsi performed in 2000) and says that when they have met, they have mainly talked about music.

Its tough for him to be out in public, says Fonsi. He has a lot of restrictions as to where he can and cant go. Hes a nice guy and hes a smart guy hes making very good musical decisions and hes learnt from his mistakes.

Then there are the racy lyrics of Despacito, many of which have gone under the radar in English-speaking countries. Has Fonsi ever used the line, Let me trespass your danger zones until I make you scream and forget your name in real life? No! No, no, no, he insists. The thing is, when you translate the song it sounds corny or sexual. But its not! Its not a sexual song. There is a line that I did not cross. Its sensual. Its extremely sensual.

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Are you, Luis Fonsi, an extremely sensual person? Im very romantic, he says. When its suggested that we get his wife on the phone to clarify, he adds, Shell agree. Im very passionate. Latinos are passionate in general.

What happens next? Fonsi already has his next single lined up its guest vocalist was confirmed just days ago. My mom doesnt even know who Im singing it with, he says before theres even a chance to ask for the guests identity. Its going to be special. Special enough to out-do the most streamed song of all time? Fonsi laughs. Despacito will always be Despacito. Itll go down in history as one of the most important songs in Latin music. I did something extremely special, I cant expect to do that twice. Thats not even pessimistic, thats just being a realist.

So if hes not going to break his own record, will he feel sad when someone else does? This career isnt just about records: its about making music thatll stay alive for ever. I was part of history, but records are made to be broken.

He pauses briefly, before adding, I hope it doesnt happen tomorrow. I hope I can enjoy this for a little bit.

The Times/Interview People

Read more:

Despacito writer Luis Fonsi's 19-year journey to musical immortality - South China Morning Post

With his latest opus due out this month and a half-dozen more films on the way, the director and historian Ken Burns has learned a lot about how to manage big teams through even bigger projects.

Image credit: Tim Llewellyn

Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns is responsible for such genre-defining and genre- defying documentary series as The Civil War, Baseball, and Jazz, to name a few. As he and collaborator Lynn Novick prepare to debut their new 10-part documentary film series TheVietnam War on September 17 on PBS stations nationwide, we spoke with the tireless documentarian about leadership, productivity, managing gigantic projects and how to achieve immortality through storytelling.

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So you just finished this incredible documentary about Vietnam. Are you already thinking of the next three documentaries down the road?

Sorry to say, in a kind of admission of foolishness, Im thinking usually about 13 or 14 films ahead. Im now working on six or seven at the same time, which is insane. A lot of that has to do with the economies of scale that these labor-intensive historical projects require.The Vietnam War was more than 10 years in the making.

How do you choose your subjects?

It is not based on any market research; its a gut feeling. Its the chemistry that happens between friends. Youve got a lot of ideas -- 60, 70 film ideas -- but then every once in a while, one drops from your head to your heart and you go, Gotta do that one. You sort of add that to the queue, and then it just becomes a matter of finding the bandwidth and figuring out who the collaborators are.

Your projects are massive undertakings. How do you keep your focus?

I feel comfortable. A lot of that has to do with [the patronage of] public television, and a lot has to do with my stubbornness. So many people ask me, Ten years? Dont you get bored? But for me, each day it gets better and better. Plus I dont live in Los Angeles or New York City. I live in a tiny village in New Hampshire, which permits us to do the deep dives, to do the necessary researchand keep the sanity in the course of a 10-plus-year project.

Can you give people a picture of the Ken Burns industrial complex? How do these films come together?

The film credits show several hundred people, whom were very grateful for. But every one of the films is really handmade. Even the big series you can reduce to about a dozen or so people. Thats why its hugely important to get your collaborators right, to get people you trust. To learn how to delegate, to trust them. Its great because most of my editors, for example, came as interns and worked their way to apprentices, then became assistantsand then after 10 or 15 years, full-fledged editors. A lot of it is good generalship. A lot of it is extraordinarily careful time management. But the biggest thing is choosing the right people.

Related:4 Ways to BuildTrustand Help Manage YourTeam

Can you talk about giving criticism -- especially when you have such a tightly knit team? Sometimes in a leadership position you have to, for lack of a better term, bust some balls.

Everybody screws up, including me. I have a certain confidence that even in the darkest days, I seem to know what to do next. And I do, and I say that. But thats not to say that the next day it isnt terrible. And Im the first person to admit that. If you create that environment, then theres not a question of needing to bust any balls. Its a question of process. Were all going to try something. We can have disagreements that can be passionate, but theyre not loud and vociferous; theyre not personal and angry. Theres a generous spirit of collaboration. Well finish an episode and turn to the interns and ask, What do you think? And then well ask the senior editors, What do you think? Then the co-producers, What do you think? And visitors, What do you think?" I know I have the right to make the final decision, and I will make that if were in doubt. But I would rather reach a consensus before we have to drop that shoe.

Image Credit Tim Llewellyn

Do you have any personal rules for separating your work from your personal life?

I dont see the blending. I have a lot of colleagues who work all the time, into the nightand on the weekends, but we dont do that. Were like: Come in, and if you can do your work and then go home and see your family, go and do that. Theres a real work ethic, but theres not set hours. We never end up firing anyone. People just say, This isnt right for me, and well just say under our breath, Yep, that wasnt the right fit. But it takes almost no time for people to realize that. Even among the interns who come from various colleges across the country, who work for minimum wage, it becomes clear whos going to make it and whos not going to make it. And thats OK. A lot of people are drawn to film for its apparent glamour and dont realize its really hard work.

What are some things you think are necessary to get you from initial idea to finished project?

You have to know who you are. Theres a kind of ultimate Socratic thing: Who am I? What am I interested in? Whats my strength? Is this what Im supposed to be doing? Do I have something to say? These are huge, existential questions, but they do have practical day-to-day manifestations. I feel very lucky that at age 12 I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, by 19 I knew I wanted to be a documentarianand by the time I graduated I knew it was history. And once you know what you want, getting it requires perseverance. Im sure there are a lot of more talented filmmakers than me, with really great ideas, who just havent followed through. All the choices we make, its got to be, as Emerson said in his essay on self-reliance, whatever inly rejoices. A lot of people think theyre supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer as their parents told them to be, and it doesnt work for them. But if you do what inly rejoices, its going to be OK.

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As a historian, how have you seen the spirit of entrepreneurship evolve over the years?

I think entrepreneurship is at the heart of who we are in terms of the American promise and the American dream. You have to go back to the fundamentals -- for the first time in human history, we decided to trust the people to govern themselves. That releases all kinds of creative energies. I remember interviewing a writer and historian for my baseball series. He said that when Americans are studied 1,000 years from now, well be known for three things: the Constitution, baseballand jazz music. And what all three things have in common is that theyre improvisatory. The U.S. Constitution is the shortest constitution on Earth. Its four pieces of parchment thats able to provide us with this improvisatory space. And baseball has infinite, chess-like combinations. And of course, the heart of the music thats recognized as an art form is all about improvisation, not playing the notes on the page. And so entrepreneurship is a manifestation of that.

Last question: How do you start your day?

I have no problem starting my day. Coffee is not in my diet. Its the other way around. I have to figure out how to turn off the machine at the end of my day. Thats my biggest problem. There are lots of things to do and not enough time to do them. Theres an interesting truth to the human condition, that none of us are getting out of this alive. None of us. So you could reasonably assume that the human race would just curl up in the fetal position and suck our thumbs all day. But we dont. We create symphonies, we raise children, we build cathedrals, we develop apps, we do all sorts of things that belie that. The thing we do most of all is tell stories to each other. And in the telling of stories, in the making of things, we create a kind of immortality.

For an extended video of Burns' interview, visit entm.ag/kenburns

The rest is here:

Ken Burns Talks About Leadership, Productivity and Achieving ... - Entrepreneur

[Editors Note: The following review contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 3, Episode 5, The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy.]

Its not as elaborate as the premiere, not as recognizable a template as the Mad Max or Guardians of the Galaxy diversions, nor is it iconic like Pickle Rick. But with The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Rick and Morty seems to have regained its guiding principles to deliver the best episode of Season 3 so far.

Cutting to the chase in a quick cold open (that finds Jerry doing even worse than we might have previously suspected), Rick drags Jerry from his dismal apartment and on a carefree trip to a planet where death is an impossibility. Protected by a shield of immortality, the two of them kick back with various colored beverages, assuming this consequence-free getaway is the recharge that Jerry needs.

Naturally, that plan is quickly torn asunder by the general manager of the restaurant where the two set up shop. Another collateral victim of Ricks space misadventures, this exiled ruler turned middle manager convinces Jerry to help him in his revenge plot. When Jerry gets cold feet and thwarts the eventual assassination attempt on Ricks life, the resulting wreckage leaves Rick and Jerry at odds with each other. Getting off the planet to safety also gives them the chance to clear the air and give voice to the simmering antipathy thats always lingered underneath their shared home life.

Read More:Every Episode of Rick and Morty, Ranked

In many ways, its a better, more enlightening therapy session than anything that happened in Dr. Wongs office. Rick admits that he sabotaged Beth and Jerrys marriage, while Jerry finally comes to terms with his assumptions that things only got worse once Rick was back in the picture.

Venturing back to Earth on a transport shuttle, Ricks would-be killers reemerge and take the two hostage, a plan made all the easier by a neural inhibitor given to Rick while they ventured through security. Seeing Rick robbed of his powers and having it serve a story purpose was a bizarre source of relief, a reassurance that Rick and Morty still has ways of exploring different versions of Rick that dont rely on merely multiplying him or transforming him into a briny vegetable.

It only takes a few seconds of screen time, but no discussion of this episode is complete without a nod to the alien child unwittingly murdering their sibling when the immortality field breaks. Its twisted to say that this is the best indication of the show finding its footing againbut it is. Rather than building out half-hours of story to be The [insert premise/character here] Episode, seeing the show get back to those tiny gulps of pitch-black comedy feels like the show regaining that warped sense of humor in incremental doses.

And the wormhole vision! Jerrys cosmic tumblers clicking into place is Rick and Morty at its most gorgeous non-sequitur impulses. A melding of the subconscious and the transcendental, this rainbow potpourri of impulses and realizations is the only thing that could eclipse the Jemaine Clement-sung Moonmen sequence for sheer, unbridled psychedelia.

Back on Earth, the Honey, I Blew Up Summer adventures of the remaining members of the Smith family show this groups strengths and weaknesses with a small fraction of the screen time. Yes, the divorce is taking a toll on Beth that garish hoof sculpture is somehow more horrific than what she inflicts on Summer.

And much like Morty still faces all the pitfalls of being a teenager, even after becoming a seasoned veteran of interdimensional adventuring, Summers Mad Max badassery still doesnt come at the expense of body issues. Small technological gadgetry malfunction is still one of the shows most reliable sources of hijinks, and to have that come from Summers instincts and not just her accidentally stumbling on it in the garage shows that shes learning more than just how to handle a shotgun. (Plus, the engorging device sets up one of the seasons funniest gags, when the split screen tech support beings trick Beth into releasing them from customer service captivity.)

Even simply as the protective little brother, Mortys strange new emergence as the voice of reason in a post-Jerry household gets some nice shading in his payback against Ethan. If Morty is going to have to be the man of the house, hes going to do it his way.

Read More: Rick and Morty Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Gets a Deadly Twist in Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender

After escaping the clutches of his captors (that robotic arm contraption, along with the exploding labcoat, brings up far more questions than answers in the best Rick and Morty way), Rick and Jerry come to a fresh sense of mutual understanding. But their final front yard farewell is telling. Whenever Rick settles back at home base, his relationships have a way of reverting back to stasis: distrust, disapproving jabs, and a general air of superiority. But even when an episode affords him the chance to make those strides, for every tiny bit of understanding, there are a thousand intergalactic enemies waiting to revisit Ricks sins on anyone in his wake.

While that might not be heartening for the Smith family, thats good news for the creative direction of the show. Though its often excelled when it widens out its scope, Rick and Morty hasnt necessarily needed intricate, grand spectacles to deliver emotionally satisfying, adventure-of-the-week thrills. It built its mythology on unspooling different truths about various corners of the multiverse and reflected that new knowledge back on how we understand the characters who make up those adventures.

The Smiths arent a perfect family, but this is continuing the lurking arc of the season, that these five misfits might actually be better as a unit than a scattered, fractured group. After a handful of episodes that had sidelined some of that understanding in favor of some pop culture riffing and self-referential trips down memory lane, its refreshing to see the show going back to what it does best: playing with the infinite possibilities of the world its meticulously built for itself.

Rick and Morty Season 3 airs Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.

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'Rick and Morty' Review: 'The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy' is the First Great Episode of Season 3 - IndieWire

The idea of the possibility of immortality has been embedded in human mind since the beginning of humanity. For centuries people have been searching for ways on how to extend their life or become immortal.

Some researchers have been working on medical immortality which sounds pleasant but it would actually be kind of a nightmare as being medically immortal doesnt actually mean being immortal, it just means that you wont grow old or die or get ill. Instead, you will meet some violent end. Your brain will also get slower with piles of memories and it will be harder and slower to recall efficiently.

On other hand, some scientists are working on ways to get immortal digitally by transferring their brain and personality to a robot humanoid.

The 2045 initiative is a non-profit organization founded by a multi-millionaire Russian Entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in 2011. Its his brainchild idea to build a life like cyborg to which eventually one can upload the contents of a real human brain. He is perfectly serious about his idea and says that it could be accomplished by 2045.

As their website states, Our goal is to create technologies enabling the transfer of an individuals personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the worlds major spiritual traditions, science and society.

There are four main stages on which the organization is working on in an attempt to achieve their goal. Each progression reflects an ordered step in the project, with each stage representing a further level of immateriality.

Avatar A:

Avatar A approaches to developing a life like copy of a human body without an actual brain but is capable of interpretation by using a Brain Computer Interface (BCI). This might seem fictional but this technology has been around for nearly a decade and had recent advancement in the field of prosthetics.

It is very similar to a 2009 movie Surrogates casting Bruce Willis in which he remotely controls himself through an optimized robotic version of himself while he is in dark room.

Dmitry Itskov says that they will be able to achieve the first avatar within the next seven years. He talks about a humanoid robot with the sensation that you can transfer in the bot.

Avatar B:

The next step of the project is to transplant the brain into the bot itself rather than controlling it remotely. At the end of a persons life, his brain and some of the spinal chord will be provided an autonomous system which will allow it to interact with the surroundings. This bot can be modified and upgraded if needed.

Avatar C:

The Avatar C sounds the craziest out of all others as this avatar aims to make the brain completely non biological. The brain will become computerized on which the personality and contents of the brain will be uploaded. This would require hardware and software solutions that would allow all the consciousness to be transferred. As the brain will be completely computerized, it will be possible to potentially create many bodies.

The company says that this stage will be completed by 2035. One of their researchers, Theodore Berger has already replaced the hippocampus (a part of a human brain most heavily associated with memory) of a rat with a computer chip. He showed that rats can still have memories without brain through computer chips.

Avatar D:

The final step Avatar D is to develop Holographic body and there will be no physical system. You will basically be living inside a computer but you will be able to physically interact yourself as a hologram, similar to Princess Leia in Star Wars. There is not much information concerning Avatar D, it is said to be achieved by 2045.

The organization has already started working on Avatar A, B and C. Many investors and big scientists are taking interest in this initiative. Uploading a human brain may be a couple of decades away but it will revolutionize the robotics, anti-aging, genetics, computer, defense and prosthetics.

A key point that must be noted here that whenever people write about the future of immortality, they use the word we. But it must be very clear that there will be no we as it will be the most valuable commercial product in all of human history and there is absolutely no way that this technology becomes available to everyone.

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2045 Initiative The Digital Immortality - FactsChronicle

Spoilers forThe Defenders.

The Hand haslong been a threat inNetflixs multiple Marvel series but now in The Defenders we know exactly how they came to power. Details about the mystical organization have been gradually revealed throughout Daredevil seasons 1 and 2 andIron Fist, but in the series that unites the ninja warriors and super strong Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, their origins have been explained and. as expected, it begins in Kun-Lun.

The ancient city of heaven exists inanother dimension and only appears on Earth every 15 years, accessible viaa mountain range in Asia. The warrior monks who live theirwelcome people from all walks of life, races and cultures to join their community and learn their martial arts ways. Wellbefore a young Danny Rand was taking in, Alexandra (the head of The Hand) went to Kun-Lun on a pilgrimage following the death of her daughter and learned their ways as well as meeting fellow pilgrims Madam Gao,Murakami, Sowande and Batuko. There they learned to fight, but as Stick explains to Matt Murdoch, Luke Cage and Danny Rand in episode 4, Royal Dragon, the five of them broke away from the elders and their teaching to follow a selfish path towards immortality:

Centuries ago, millennia, it doesnt matter, but a long time ago, the elders of un-Lun gathered to study how to harness their chi. The energy of life itself. They wanted to use it to heal. But there were five heretics among them. people with darker intentions. They didnt want to heal. They wanted immortality. Power. To never face death. To regenerate themselves again and again. The elders saw this as an aberration and so like Lucifer from heaven the five were banished from Kun-Lun forever. They became the five fingers of the Hand.

Clearly, before they left Kun-Lun and went back to their separate places of birth, the five learned how to harness their chi in order to resurrect themselves afterdeath, having discovered something that could helpthem do it. The substance they speak of is made from dragon bone which they mix with a blood-like mixture during resurrection ceremonies. We already knew there were dragons in the world thanks to Danny constantly telling people how he plunged his hand into the heart of Shou-Lao the Undying in order to gain the power of the Iron Fist, but until now no one other than the Hand knew of the elemental power of their bones.

We saw how theyused the substanceduring episode 3, Worst Behaviour, when Alexandra brought Elektra back, using the last of it for the rebirth. Its pretty bad timing for her given how not long aftershe discovers that shes dying from a fatal disease, the event that kicks the series into action; its because of this fear of death that the leader of the Hand puts her co-founders and their minions to work in capturing the Iron Fist.

They need Danny to open a gateway deep below Midtown Manhattan that was sealed shutby a previous warrior. Inside are the remains of a dragon, and the last known deposit of the substance on Earth, which the Hand needs to continue their immortality. However, not every memberis happy with the way Alexandra is going about things.

Murakami is the most vocal with his displeasure at the usage of their last bit of substance to resurrect Elektra, recognizing early on that the Black Sky was going to be a bit of a liability as she regained her memories. The pair has clearly endured an antagonisticrelationship over the centuries, with him he revealing to Alexandra that he never wanted to leave Kun-Lun with her in the first place and that while her sole focus is on continued life, theirs is on returning to the sacred city.

It turns out they all have issues and, at some point, all five have tried to kill each other forpower. But with the threat of ultimate death upon them, they managed to put their differences asidefor the greater good of their immortality.

Sadly for Sowande, Batuka and Alexandra their lives were cut short with no hope for resurrection after their heads were chopped off. Alexandras misplaced faith in Elektra caused her own downfall, as her surrogate daughter stabbed her in the back with her sais in order to take control of the Hand. Later, its believed that Madame Gao andMurakami have died too; they are deep below the Midlands Financial Circle building, down with the dragon bones, when it is detonated and collapses in on itself. However, as Daredevil managed to get out alive, and we havent seen their dead bodies, there is always a chance they could be back for future solo series in the Netflixs Marvel Universe but will they be in charge of the Hand?

If Elektra got out alive like Matt and the two remaining Hand founders then she could still claim leadership of the organization. As the Black Sky she is probably the most deadly fighter in the world and could dispatch her opposition with ease. After killing Alexandra she assumed leadership of the Hand (something shes done plenty of times before in the comic books), but given the ruthless nature of Gao andMurakami its safe to say they might notlet go of their ancient ninja order without a fight. That is if theyre still alive.

Well just have to wait until the next solo superhero series is out (The Punisher in November) to see if the Hand is still a key player in New Yorks criminal underworld.

Key Release Dates

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The Defenders: The Hand's Origins Explained - Screen Rant

Wayde van Niekerk is half-way to becoming an athletics icon. As if he needs any more help, after the fastest man in the world endorsed him.

The man who Usain Bolt believes has the chops and charm to take over track and field blasted apart a stellar field on Tuesday night in a 400 metre race overshadowed by the controversy concerning Botswanas Isaac Makwala being ruled out of the race by the IAAF on suspicion of norovirus despite the athlete and his coach saying he was healthy to form the first part of his ambitious World Championships 400m-200m double.

You can see why Bolt is so impressed. Van Niekerk sauntered into the London Stadium on Tuesday to the strains of Guns and Roses Welcome to the Jungle with a laconic grin on his face, before cantering to victory in 43.98 seconds, almost half a second clear of Stephen Gardiner of the Bahamas, with Qatars Abdelah Haroun in third.

He barely smiled after his victory. After all, he goes again on Wednesday, in the 200m. He later said the dank London summer evening was a little freezing.

But Bolts anointment of the South African goes beyond him being able to run fast.

The Jamaican, whose reach is so broad that he has been hailed in some circles as the man who saved athletics, knows a thing or two about how to transcend a sport.

And since Van Niekerk broke Michael Johnsons ancient 400-metre record at the 2016 Olympics, he has steadily moved from the confines of athletics into the public consciousness, bringing with it sponsorship deals totalling seven figures with brands including Audi and Visa.

He has even become a household name in his native country, where usually you have to chuck a rugby ball or wield a cricket bat to move beyond the back pages.

His rise to prominence is no doubt connected with the fact that Bolt named Van Niekerk as his heir apparent.

There is a story that after his first World Championship victory, in 2015, Van Niekerks mother was the only person to meet him at the airport.

If he does the double in London and becomes the first person to achieve the feat since Johnson in 1995 you can bet there will be a few more to greet him.

Van Niekerk has little of the swagger and showmanship of Bolt. You wont see dance moves at the start line as his name is being called out.

In fact on Tuesday night, as he normally does, he merely held his hands together in prayer. Whoever he spoke to must have listened.

Nor will you hear bon mots that we have become used to from Bolt the Jamicans admission that he ate chicken nuggets all through the 2008 Olympics still stands out from Van Niekerk.

In place of Bolts cheeky chutzpah, there is modest politeness and prolific mentions of the Almighty from Van Niekerk. But one thing they do share is an ability to run darn fast.

And if things go to plan on Wednesday and Thursday, Van Niekerk will get ever closer to Bolts exalted status.

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Wayde van Niekerk, the anti-Usain Bolt, on way to athletics immortality - iNews

AP Photo/ Khin Maung Win

Konstantin Anokhin, prominent Russian neurobiologist and member ofboth Russian Academy ofSciences and Russian Academy ofMedical Sciences, said duringhis presentation that Russian scientists have been studying consciousness forover 150 years, and their materialistic conception ofconsciousness differs fromthe classic materialism ofWestern science, according to RIA Novosti.

"I believe that what we need now is a new, bold fundamental theory instead ofexperiments This is our message toBuddhist science: we need a theory that isnt based onsubjective experience alone. This new theory may influence our methods and techniques, and draw the attention tomeditation," Anokhin said.

Sputnik/ Olga Lipich

Russian scientist David Dubrovsky converses with Dalai Lama during a conference in New Delhi

Notable Russian neurolinguistics researcher Tatyana Chernigovskaya who acted asmoderator duringthe conference concurred withAnokhin.

"The amount ofempirical data that we have grows bythe minute. Weve even reached an impasse ofsorts because we dont know what todo withthis data. We could sort it, ofcourse, and there are processing methods available, butwe are not advancing further. If I study each and every cell inyour body, I wont learn anything aboutyour personality. And delving intobrains and pulling outeach and every neuron outwont help me understand how it works. Okay, so weve studied 30 billion more neurons, now what? What question have we answered? None. We need a genius who can tell us you need toask a different question. Its clear that atthis point that a new theory is badly needed," Chernigovskaya said, adding that philosophy plays a key role inthis matter.

For the Good ofMankind

The goal ofthe conference was tofacilitate dialogue betweenRussian scientists and Buddhist scholars related toa variety ofscientific disciplines such asphysics, cosmology, biology and axiology.

"Ive had useful discussions withscientists formore than30 years withtwo purposes inmind. The first is toextend our knowledge. Until the late 20th century scientists mostly investigated external phenomena, including the brain. These were things they could measure and which a third person could agree about. However, inthe late 20th century and early 21st century more and more scientists have begun tofind evidence that experiences such asmeditation and mind training affect our brains inpreviously unforeseen waysthis is called neuroplasticity," the Dalai Lama said.

AP Photo/

The 14th Dalai Lama

The second purpose, he added, was tohelp raise awareness and foster compassion amongpeople, tohelp stop the endless cycle ofviolence and todeal withthe issue ofdisparity betweenrich and poor.

"We have tolearn fromexperience and enter intodialogue, remembering that other people are our brothers and sisters. We have tolive together. The global economy and the effects ofclimate change are not limited bynational borders. Its the idea of us and them we have torestrain, because it so easily becomes the basis forviolence. We have toeducate people tounderstand that we are all part ofhumanity, he added.

Dalai Lama: Consciousness Does Not Equal Brain

According tothe Buddhist leader, consciousness consists ofseveral levels and is not fully connected tothe brain.

"For example, these different levels ofconsciousness manifest duringsleep, when we do not possess our senses butremain aware, or when a person faints. Even when a man dies, we (Buddhists) know that the consciousness continues toexist," he said.

Sputnik/ Olga Lipich

Dalai Lama and Russian scientists take part in a conference in New Delhi

The Dalai Lama explained that, according toBuddhist teachings, consciousness is intrinsically connected tolife, and the most subtle level ofconsciousness is devoid ofgenetic basis and transfers fromone life toanother aspart ofthe rebirth cycle.

He also remarked that it is very hard totell whether an artificial intelligence can possess a consciousness.

"Everything inthe world is determined bycause-effect relationships, and a consciousness even the most subtle level ofit can only be the continuation ofconsciousness. But artificial intelligence is just particles," the Dalai Lama said.

Professor David Dubrovsky fromthe Russian Academy ofSciences Institute ofPhilosophy also pointed outthat a thought is devoid ofphysical dimensions such asmass or length, and that it all comes downto explaining the relation betweenthoughts and brain activity.

Sputnik/ Olga Lipich

Russian scientist David Dubrovsky and Dalai Lama

"It is called the hard problem ofconsciousness. Western science has been dominated byreductionist concepts that narrowed thought processes downto physical processes or tobehaviorism. The prevalent concepts inRussia, however, have retained the aspects ofsubjective reality and non-physical process," Dubrovsky said.

The Origins ofthe Big Bang

The participants ofthe conference also broached the Big Bang theory, asKonstantin Anokhin argued that consciousness did not exist when Earth was devoid oflife, and that consciousness appeared asa result ofevolution.

"The origins ofconsciousness lie inemotions. Even the simplest organisms have emotions; theyre capable ofexperiencing satisfaction or suffering depending onwhether they succeed or fail toachieve something," Anokhin said.

AP Photo/ Luca Bruno

Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, center, leaves a Tibetan Buddhist institute, in Milan

"But the Big Bang must require a vast amount ofenergy, so where did it come from?" the Buddhist spiritual leader inquired.

"Not fromthe mind or consciousness," Anokhin replied.

"But how do you know that? Energy is immaterial. We need toexplain why vast amounts ofenergy have material basis Theres a contradiction here," Dalai Lama retorted.

He also remarked that onthe most subtle level, consciousness and rocks were created outof the same particles.

"So why does one particle become a rock while another becomes consciousness?" Dalai Lama mused.

Schrodingers Cat and Language

During the conference professor Tatyana Chernigovskaya also presented her report Cheshire Smile ofSchrodingers Cat: Language and Consciousness.

She cited Niels Bohr, one ofthe pioneers ofquantum mechanics, who said that the observer is a part ofthe scientific paradigm and that the results ofan experiment are influenced bythe person who conducts it, and Albert Einstein who called the intuitive mind a sacred gift, adding that many prominent scientists inthe pastclaimed that the outsideworld is "built fromthe inside."

"Would music or mathematics continue toexist withoutthose who listen and think? My answer is no: Without man, Mozarts music would merely become vibrations ofair," Chernigovskaya said.

She added that neuroscientists should focus their attention onmusic and music and language, especially poetry.

"Today a new science called biolinguistics seeks todiscover universal traits ofthe evolution ofbiological systems and language," Chernigovskaya said.

The Dalai Lama also remarked that her findings have a lot incommon withBuddhist teachings aboutthe interdependence ofall things.

The conference was hosted underthe auspices ofthe Tibet Culture and Information Center (Moscow), Save Tibet Foundation, and withthe support ofMoscow Center forConsciousness Studies.

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Immortality & Mind: Dalai Lama Brainstorms the Universe With Russian Scientists - Sputnik International

During nine practice holes with Kevin Kisner at Quail Hollow Club, amid kids and adults alike shouting "Jordan, Jordan!" the 24-year-old Spieth seemed to barely perspire.

He did, however, offer this early assessment of Quail Hollow: "Extremely tough."

It helped Monday that, for the first time, PGA Championship players were allowed to wear shorts during practice rounds. Spieth said it was nice because it reminded him of playing casual rounds back home in hot Dallas.

Spieth's blue-green shirt and gray shorts did not, however, explain why he seemed more immune to the humidity than others. Perhaps it's because he's won the British Open and two other PGA Tour events in 2017. Really, can this week's 99th PGA Championship be much of a sweat?

Yes, a victory on Sunday would make Spieth the youngest male golfer to complete the career Grand Slam, eclipsing Tiger Woods, who completed the Slam at 24 years, six months old.

Spieth, however, said during last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational: "My focus isn't on completing the career Grand Slam. My focus is on the PGA Championship."

On Monday, his focus was seeing Quail Hollow, a course on which he hasn't played a competitive round since he competed in his only Wells Fargo Championship in 2013, tying for 32nd.

Last year, three of Quail Hollow's first five holes were significantly altered, with the first two holes being combined into a new No. 1 and a par 3 added, as the new No. 2.

"They didn't change that much," he said. "Really, (holes) one, two and four and five. They made one essentially an extremely long par 4 by combining the old one-two, and then they split up No. 5 into two holes, that par 5, into a 3 and 4. Other than that, it stayed the same.

"The greens are firm and the fairways are soft, so it's long and then tough to hold the greens. With the way the greens are, if they don't soften up, it's going to be 'Par is an awesome score.' "

Last week, Spieth described winning the Grand Slam as a life goal, adding that he believes his odds of completing it at some point are strong. Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen are the only players to complete the Slam.

"If it happens (this week), then fantastic," Spieth said. "And if it doesn't, then it's not going to be a big-time bummer whatsoever because I know I have plenty of opportunities.

"Getting three legs of it is much harder than getting the last leg, I think although I've never tried to get the last leg, so it's easy for me to say."

Unlike his British Open victory three weeks ago at Royal Birkdale, where Spieth only had caddie Michael Greller accompanying him, he'll have a sizeable family and friends gallery at Quail Hollow.

On the night of his British Open win, Spieth's longtime girlfriend, Annie Verret, sent a group text to about 20 Spieth family members and friends, ultimately resulting in the group surprising Jordan and Greller with a champagne-toast greeting upon landing in Dallas.

That group will expand at Quail Hollow. On Monday, Spieth's mother, Chris, and sister, Ellie, walked five holes of Jordan's practice round, with Ellie at times walking alongside Jordan in the fairway.

Some Spieth family members already were in North Carolina, visiting relatives, when Jordan arrived Sunday night from playing the Bridgestone in Akron, Ohio. One of Jordan's grandfathers, Bob Julius, lives in Wilmington, about 200 miles southeast of Charlotte.

After his British Open victory, Spieth received congratulatory notes and texts from the likes of President George W. Bush, Nicklaus, Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy.

Like Spieth, Mickelson and McIlroy are one victory from completing the career Slam, though neither can do so this week. Mickelson lacks a U.S. Open title and McIlroy has yet to win the Masters.

Spieth said he sees more pros than cons about playing the PGA relatively soon after the British.

"(A pro) is you believe you're in form," he said. "I think I'm in form, and form is a huge part of being in contention, obviously. But when you feel that way going in, it feels that much easier to get into contention.

"So that's a huge pro. I'm not really finding any negatives in this."

After a session on the Quail Hollow practice range before his practice round, Spieth spent 20 minutes signing autographs, with one exhorting Spieth: "Grand Slam, baby!"

Spieth said little, but smiled and kept signing. The August sun grew hotter, but, still, it was no sweat for Spieth.

99th PGA Championship

When: Thursday-Sunday

Where: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.

Defending champion: Jimmy Walker

Fast fact: Jordan Spieth can become the sixth player with the career Grand Slam

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Golf: Spieth chasing golf immortality at PGA - Duluth News Tribune

Miami Herald (blog)

Immortality calling: Who'll be next Dolphins, Heat, Marlins or Panthers star in Hall of Fame? Miami Herald (blog) Dolphins great Jason Taylor on Saturday became the 26th man immortalized as a Hall of Famer after having worn the uniform of, or coached, the Miami Dolphins, Heat, Marlins or Panthers. Taylor sailed in with the fifth-greatest percentage of his career ... Orange, Teal And Now Gold: Jason Taylor A Step Closer To Football ImmortalityCBS Miami Miami Dolphins legend Jason Taylor secretly divorced in 2015. Now, he's being suedMiami Herald all 77 news articles »

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Immortality calling: Who'll be next Dolphins, Heat, Marlins or Panthers star in Hall of Fame? - Miami Herald (blog)

At the 99th PGA Championship, Jordan Spieth for the first time will be playing for one of the transcendentprizes in golf: the career Grand Slam. Of course, the 24-year-old is quick to deny hes thinking that way. Spieth insists his focus will be on simply winning the PGA, which, since his victory last month at the Open Championship, is now the only one of the four professional majors he hasnt won. I mean this, he intoned last week at Firestone in explaining his mindset. Its just a major.

Then again, Spieth, who because of his back-nine heroics at Royal Birkdale is occupying the same kind of attention in the golf public consciousness as he did when he won the first two majors in 2015, is floating on a cloud of confidence and well being. Free rolling, as his caddie, Michael Greller puts it. Its the approximate state that three of the five greats who achieved the career Grand Slam were in the year they captured the final leg, given that Ben Hogan in 1953 and Tiger Woods in 2000 each won three major championships, while in 1966 Jack Nicklaus won two.

So while Spieth may insist that because he expects to play in 30 future PGAs, if he doesnt win at Quail Hollow, its not going to be a big-time bummer whatsoever because I know I have plenty of opportunities, theres a chance he may never have a freer roll. And for the record, the last three winners of the Grand SlamGary Player, Nicklaus and Woodsall completed the feat in their 20s. For that matter, golfs first Grand Slammer, Gene Sarazen, won his first two majors at age 20, sooner even than Spieth. In the journey to the career Grand Slam, the time to take advantage of a head start is always now.

If all this sounds a bit over-caffeinated, its because career Grand Slams in golf are special. They are more rare than in tennis, where eight men (the latest Novak Djokavic) have done it. But more importantly, it can besad to see great players fall one major short. Counting Spieth, 12 players have achieved three legs without getting the fourth. And those for whom valiant attempts at the final have been thwarted by bad luck or multiplying tension or bothespecially Sam Snead with the U.S. Open, and Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson with the PGAhave ended up on a slightly lower tier of the pantheon. It looks like that has happened to Phil Mickelson in his quest for a U.S. Open, and that there is an increasing possibility of this happening to Rory McIlroy at Augusta National.

RELATED: Golf Digest PodcastSpieth's pursuit of the career Grand Slam compared to Tiger

Not that the career Grand Slam is a perfect measure of greatness. Walter Hagen, who won 11 major championships, didnt have a real shot at what evolved into the Grand Slam because the Masters wasnt even played until he was well past his prime. And what of Bobby Jones original Grand Slam in 1930, winning the U.S. Open and Amateur and their British counterparts in one year, which has never been replicated by any golfer over an entire career? That feat, or the still unattained the calendar professional Grand Slam, or even the Tiger Slam of 2000-01, would all have to be more exalted than the career Grand Slam.

In the journey to the career Grand Slam, the time to take advantage of a head start is always now.

Still, other than those one-offs, theres a good argument that theres no marker in golf better at historically differentiating the best from the rest than the career Grand Slam. It requires some special things. Theres the tennis analogy of the complete game in four different conditions especially the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. (The PGA might be the favorite set up of the tour pros because its still U.S. Open light).

Then theres overcoming the pressure of finally capturing the last leg, which builds the more years that go by. Even Spieth was attuned to this challenge, conceding that he would have to be careful not to make the PGA an obsession. The con, he said of being just one major away from the career Grand Slam, and what makes it more difficult than just saying its another major, is that its one a year now instead of four a year that that focuses on, if thats what the focus is.

Clearly, getting the final leg is a validator. It means meeting the moment, demonstrating the rare ability to bring out your best golf when it means the most, when the pressure is highest, when the battle is hardest. It takes greatness.

That said, not all career Grand Slams were created equal. Heres how I would rank them, counting down from least to most significant:

5. Gene Sarazen Though he will always be a giant figure with seven major championships, Sarazen is golfs greatest beneficiary of retroactive history. Not only did he win the 1935 Masters by getting into a playoff on the wings of holing a 4-wood from 235 yards on the 15th hole on Sunday, but the Masters was far from being considered a major championship, probably not reaching that status until Ben Hogan and Snead played off in 1954. There was no pressure on Sarazen because he didnt even know he was making history.

RELATED: Spieth not finding any negatives in career Grand Slam bid

4. Gary Player Indisputably the games greatest international golfer, with nine majors included among his 159 victories worldwide, Player was ruthlessly efficient in clicking off the four majors in six-year period that ended with his victory at the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive, in the only time he would win that championship. Its quite possible that no one ever wanted the achievement more. I was aware of the Grand Slam in 1953 because Hogan was my hero in golf, Player said by phone last week, and I knew when he won at Carnoustie he had the four.

The prize was in his head when he won his first major at the 1959 Open Championship, and soon he became determined to beat rivals Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to the mark. Though he hadnt won a major since the 1962 PGA, he was primed at Bellerive. I was squatting with 325 pounds, the fittest I ever was in my life, Player said. He was going to a church in St. Louis every day and praying for courage. He wore the same black shirt every day, washing in the sink of his hotel room each night. When he got to the course, he devoted a few minutes to standing before the scoreboard, which had past winners names, and envisioned his own. I saw Gary Player, winner, 1965, and Gary Player winner of the Grand Slam, he said. I dont know if any golfer ever, ever, was as focused as I was that week on winning.

And if Player had lost the playoff to Kel Nagel, does he think he might have suffered the same frustrating fate in the U.S. Open as Snead? Oh, no. I would have won it, absolutely no doubt, he said. Of such minds are career Grand Slam winners made.

3. Jack Nicklaus The man who would go on to win the equivalent of three career Grand Slams achieved his first one as a forgone conclusion, he was clearly so good. But even Nicklaus confesses an early setback in 1963 at Lytham, where he bogeyed the final two holes to lose by one, created a crisis of confidence in his ability to win the Open Championship. With three legs of the Slam completed, he finished second at St. Andrews in 1964, and still wondered if his high ball flight would always hold him back on the windy linksland.

He seemed to find the key at Muirfield in 1966, but with a three-stroke lead with seven to play, he three-putted from seven feet, missing a 15-inch putt. I experienced one of the most severe mental jolts Ive ever suffered on a golf course, Nicklaus confessed in his autobiography. Jittery is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings. He bogeyed two of the next three holes, but then, as Spieth did at Birkdale, found a way at the 11th hour to go from negative to positive and eeked out a one-stroke win.

Realizing he had won the Slam, Nicklaus was overcome at the trophy presentation. He wrote: Being about to receive something that even I, never much of a self-doubter, had genuinely doubted would ever be mine, was extremely emotional. From that point, the Open Championship became the major where Nicklaus most consistently contended.

2. Ben Hogan True, the professional Grand Slam hadnt yet become a thing when Hogan won his fourth leg at Carnoustie in 1953 at age 40. In fact, Hogan, who hadnt won the first of his nine majors until he was 34, wasnt thinking career Grand Slam when he made his first trip to the Open Championship. He had gone because friends had urged him to for the good of the game, and for the challenge. Once there, he became engaged with a monastic purpose that entranced the Scots, keeping legs battered by his car accident functioning through long, soaking baths, mastering the nuances of the small British ball and stoically executing with near perfection. His victory remains perhaps golfs supreme example of a one-shot, do-or-die, all-or-nothing, surgical strike that culminated in a glorious mission accomplished. It earned Hogan a ticker-tape parade when he returned to the U.S., and turned out to be his final major-championship victory.

1. Tiger Woods Until further notice, his is the most brilliantly dominating career Grand Slam. Its Himalayan peaks remain prominent on golfs landscape: the 1997 Masters (by 12 strokes), the 2000 U.S. Open (by 15 strokes) and the 2000 Open Championship (by eight strokes). But it was the 1999 PGA at Medinah where Woods seemingly inevitable ascendance could have been stalled, and the tricky, seven-foot, left-to-right par putt he made on the 71st hole to maintain a one-stroke lead over Sergio Garcia may go down as the most important putt of Woods career. Any pain Woods suffered in his few close loses in majors for the first 12 years of his career was negligible, but losing at Medinah probably would have left a mark. With appropriate theater, Woods closed out his first Grand Slam with a triumphant march up the 18th at St. Andrews.

If Spieth can claim a fourth leg at Quail Hollow, where would his Grand Slam rank? Third best, behind Woods and Hogan.

Spieth, as the sixth holder, would be the youngest, by eight months. Hes been more stalwart than opportunist, having led or been tied for the lead in 15 of the 70 major championship rounds he has played. But other than his first major win, a wire-to wire job at the 2015 Masters, Spieths victories have been tight ones in which, for all his magic with the short game and putter, his tee-to-green play has lacked the majesty of Woods or Nicklaus or Hogan. Hes also lost the lead late at two Masters, leaving more scar tissue at an early age than Woods, Nicklaus or Player experienced.

Then again, Spieths combination of passionate competitiveness and personal charm is reminiscent of Jones, and engenders a similar degree of public devotion. If he could close out the Slam in Charlotte, his resultant popularity would lift golf and his persona into Jones/Palmer/Woods territory.

It would also install him firmly on the games throne at an early age. Nicklaus and especially Woods showed such a position can be a self-perpetuating mental edge. As good as being No. 1 in the world is, its betterthrough an early career Grand Slamto have proved youre the best when it matters most.

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PGA Championship 2017: Jordan Spieth chases golf immortality - GolfDigest.com

August 4, 2017 11:41 PM

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CANTON, OH (CBSMiami) Its a big weekend for former Dolphin great Jason Taylor as hes inducted Saturday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Friday night, Taylor literally got the look of a Hall of Famer.

Fans mobbed him as he arrived for the Gold Jacket Dinner.

A parade of Hall of Famers fanned out during the dinner, wearing their gold jackets.

As Taylor was introduced, he paused to hug his mom and kiss his daughter.

Then it was the wow moment as Taylor got a specially fitted jacket of his own.

Earlier in the day, Taylor reflected on his path to footballs most elite fraternity.

I got in that plane this morning to fly up her and it hit me really hard. Its real and its exciting, Taylor told CBS4s Jim Berry Thursday after arriving in Canton.

Im just happy that they, the Hall of Fame, lowered their standards for this guy here, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor joked with Taylor.

Taylor played for 15 years, mostly with the Miami Dolphins, and ranks among the greatest defensive playmakers in league history. No player recovered more fumbles or scored more touchdowns on fumble returns, and no lineman scored more on interception returns.

I didnt think I would be a first-ballot guy, Taylor says. I thought the lack of a Super Bowl, the lack of playoff success, would come back to bite me.

Taylor played from 1997 to 2011, and aside from one season each with the Redskins and Jets, he was with the Dolphins, playing for seven coaches who combined to win three postseason games none after 2000.

Taylor was a 36-year-old rush linebacker with the 2010 Jets when they lost to the Steelers 13-6 in the AFC championship game. Thats the closest he came to a Super Bowl.

I still regret I was never able to play in one or win one, he says. Youre in this game to win championships, you know? But I didnt earn it. We just didnt earn it. We had some pretty good teams a few years; it wasnt meant to be. It stinks, but it wasnt meant to be.

The other inductees are kicker Morten Andersen; running back Terrell Davis; safety Kenny Easley; owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones; running back LaDainian Tomlinson; and quarterback Kurt Warner.

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Orange, Teal And Now Gold: Jason Taylor A Step Closer To Football Immortality - CBS Miami

Ten years ago, you couldve been forgiven for expecting a satire of silicon valley fantasies when you clicked on that header. But its 2017 and things have changed. We no longer balk at the idea of fighting death, or dismiss it as an esoteric pursuit. Nearly 66 years after the Welsh bard Dylan Thomas famously implored: Do not go gentle into that good night, scientists are finally saying, do not go at all!. But theres only so much that hope and promise of future can do, and many still take sciences grand plans for human immortality with a pinch of salt. While it may be true that scientific efforts towards defeating death or even delaying it are yet to come anywhere close to fruition, there has never before been more promise in ageing research than now.Before we get to how (or whether at all) defeat ageing and live forever, we need to ponder a little on a question historically dismissed as an inevitability:

Weve known for quite sometime the answer to the first question we die because we age. And we age for the same reason an everyday appliance like your TV or smartphone does wear and tear. As to the question of whether we have to die well, as far as nature is concerned, we dont really die at all! Its understandable if that sounds a little cryptic. However, while we mull mostly upon our individual lives, science since the time of Darwin is in agreement that nature looks at humanity as a species wherein we feature merely as a conduit for information to be passed on through procreation. A prime reason for ageing, scientists have argued is the focus in human biology on reproduction and the amount of resources our body demarcates for procreation instead of regeneration. In the face of advancements in science, reproduction no longer needs such massive resources leading some scientists to the conclusion that death isnt a natural inevitability, but rather a surmountable challenge.

Health and medication:

Pursuit of immortality or escape from death has historically revolved around some kind magical/mythical element or herb or elixir that when consumed will grant immortality. Indian mythology prominently features the eternal amrutor nectar, while western esotericism has obsessed for centuries over the alchemic myth of the philosophers stone and elixir of life. But is it conceivable in 2017 that simply popping a pill or taking a sip of some concoction could cure death? Sure it is, just ask Centre for Ageing Researchs Dr Nir Barzilai, who has spent over three decades researching a single well known diabetes medication that he thinks is the cure for ageing. In fact, while Barzilais research aims at stalling ageing and depletion of youth rather than longevity, it has already found many takers in the scientific community. The fairly common pill called Metformin, which sells for a surprisingly cheap 3 a pop is subject of much controversy, but it is also the subject of one of the best known ongoing researches in the field of ageing.

Genetics and chromosomes:

At a cellular level, scientists have long argued that ageing takes place because of a certain chromosomal constituent known as telomeres. As cells undergo division, the telomeres present at the edge of chromosomes consistently start eroding and subsequently lead to cell death. Whereas our bodies have the inherent capacity to sustain our cells for much longer, telomeres act as a self-imposed kill-switch to fight tumour-formation. But just as any switch, it comes with it the possibility of being reversed. While telomeres-based research has been in focus for quite some time, science has in recent years witnessed several breakthroughs that are more than just promising. Just this week, in a research conducted by US-based Houston Methodist Research Institute that was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, scientists have concluded that reversing telomere-erosion can slow down or tackle a number of problems associated with ageing specifically diseases such as progeria, which causes increased ageing in children.

SENS and Silicon Valleys quest for immortality:

So youve made your billions, and then some. But no matter the depth of your coffers, there comes a point at which even abject profligacy wouldnt exhaust your wealth before you run out of time to spend it. This is the daunting challenge facing the likes of Googles Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg. And one that theyre keen on taking head-on through the Silicon Valley-funded research effort SENS or Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. While research done at SENS hasnt made much news in recent years, the fact remains that it is one of the most well-funded efforts for defeating ageing.

Merging man and machine:

Talk sci-tech today and it becomes almost impossible to leave out Silicon Valley trailblazer Elon Musk and his projects. While universities around the world are researching ways using machines to enhance our lives, Musk is going a step further by trying to put a machine directly in out brains through his project Neuralink. Unlike his flagship Tesla or SpaceX, Musks Neuralink has been kept largely away from the public eye save for a hints through his Twitter feed. Musk himself has confessed that his aim for the company is to achieve Neuralace a primary linkage between our minds and computers to enhance our memory and cognitive capabilities. But while this might seem more rooted in AI than in ageing research, it constitutes what many feel is the first step towards the kind of man-machine interface that weve seen in countless pop-culture references such as Black Mirrors highly rated episode San Junipero or Johnny Depps vastly underrated sci-fi flick transcendence where our consciousness exists without even a body as a computer program.

But regardless of how we achieve it, or whether we achieve it at all, it is a testament to sheer human optimism that we now aim to outlive our own modern, scientific civilisation, which from its dawn in the industrial revolution barely circumscribes four centuries. The goal, it would seem, isnt as forever as forever goes but rather juststretch it until it breaks (and keep hoping it doesnt).

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The super-wealthy have always lent a certain amount of gravitas to what others might consider foolhardy pursuits. Thus it is with the modern quest for eternal life championed by no less than Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel and ex-Googler Bill Marris. Propelled by the deep pockets of Californias tech-elites, an unholy alliance of computer scientists and biologists is making serious progress on what was previously considered one of lifes unchanging attributes: the certainty of death. Last week, a study published in the scientific journal Naturehas uncovered at least one source of aging among mammals similar to ourselves, and points in the directionof how to stop it.

At least as early 2013, with the publication of a groundbreaking study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, it was known a connection existed between a brain structure called the hypothalamus and the rate of aging. Now, a followup study from the same institution seems to have pinpointed the exact relationship between the two and revealed how the aging process might be halted, or in some cases even reversed.

The key lies in something called neuronal stem cells, a type of undifferentiated brain cell residing within the hypothalamus. That there existed a correlation between the amount of neuronal stem cells within the hypothalamus and overall measures of aging is itself unsurprising, since many biomarkers correlate closely with aging. However, the study demonstrates this is not mere correlation, but in fact causation: Changing the amount of neuronal stem cells within the hypothalamus directly affects the rate of aging within the body.

One of theunderlying mechanisms controlling this process seems to be the release of microRNAs (miRNAs) into the cerebrospinal fluid, a process directly traceable to the quantity of neuronal stem cells within the hypothalamus. Injectingthe extracted miRNAs into the cerebrospinal fluid of mice had the effect of forestalling the aging process.

An important questionremains: To what exact degree does this regulate the aging process in humans? Is this in fact the bodys primary mechanism for regulating aging, or one of several interconnected systems? Already its been shown that transfusingblood from young mice into older mice seems to halt many of the signs of aging, but its unknown whether its because of the downstream effect of the miRNAs or a separate and unrelated system.

While questions such as the above will form thebasis of many studies to come, one thing is clear: Gerontology is now one of the hottest topics in medicine. And thanks in part to the backing of some of the worlds richest individuals.

Many observers, including this author, believe its a foregone conclusion these lines of research will yield practical therapies in the none-too-distant future. If this becomes a reality, the societal fallout is likely to be monumental. Keeping social security funded in the US is already an issue;how much worse will it become when were living to 150, to say nothing of matters like overpopulation and pollution. Questions of who would be entitled to such treatments and at what cost are likely to be highly controversial.

With many governments still struggling to come to terms with such prosaic matters as evolution and climate change, dealing with questions of eternal life looks entirely beyond their ken. But government intervention notwithstanding, the most likely outcome is a polarizing of society not only along financial lines, but biological ones as well, with individuals who can upgrade themselves bifurcating into a substantially different kind of human than those who cannot.

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The Elixir of Immortality May Reside Deep Within Our Brains - ExtremeTech

Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. The first seven books each focus on one of seven supernatural "offices" (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, and Good) in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology. The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans called "Incarnations", who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time.

The title may allude to William Wordsworth's 1804 poem Ode: Intimations of Immortality.

Incarnations uses its premise to ponder questions regarding the nature of life. As each character goes from a mortal life to the "office" of an Incarnation, they are forced to contemplate their actions on a daily basis. Each Incarnation may use their office, within limits, as they see fit. This system humanizes what would otherwise be impersonal forces, leading to both extensive considerations of the effects of the incarnation's work and the impact it has on not only humanity but also the other offices of immortality as well.

Another humorous side of Incarnations is the portrayed magic/technology duality. Most series emphasize one or the other means of understanding and manipulating the world, but in Incarnations, each method is equal in usefulness and respect. This leads to a number of amusing parallels, such as competition between automobile and magic-carpet manufacturers. By the future time period of Norton, magic is referred to as the Fifth Fundamental Force, with its own primary particle, the Magicon (similar to a graviton). A few other series have used the technology/magic combined motif, notably Apprentice Adept, another series by Piers Anthony, and Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack Chalker, although that book had an actual technological basis for the explanation of its magic, in contrast to Piers Anthony's work.

Anthony uses the number five extensively, often with things that exist in fours in our world. The five Incarnations are associated with the five elements (Death with Earth, Fate with Water, War with Fire, Nature with Air, and Time with Void), and often other items with fives (the previously mentioned Book of Five Rings). There are five fundamental interactions, magic being the fifth. The Llano consists of five songs. In On a Pale Horse, Gaea teaches Zane five patterns of thought, each represented by diagrams of five short lines.

A fourth theme of Incarnations is the multigenerational human story between the Incarnations. Previous characters repeatedly appear in later novels, and by the final novel, every major character is related by blood, marriage, or affair. See the family tree below.

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Incarnations of Immortality - Wikipedia

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[tags: Essays Papers] 2281 words (6.5 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Man at the Brink of Immortality - Man at the Brink of Immortality From the earliest civilizations arose an innate desire to survive in any given environment. Those that chose to fight deaths henchmen, famine and war, developed more advanced agricultural techniques and created complex social structures. The primal instinct to exist drove humanity to proliferate across the world, as many populations boomed, seemingly without bound. Throughout history, this fervent yearning for life was shared by the predominant masses, but the inevitable befell every person on earth.... [tags: Exploratory Essays Research Papers] :: 5 Works Cited 1868 words (5.3 pages) Term Papers [preview] Search for Immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh - The Search for Immortality In The Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, is searching for immortality. This want is brought about by deep feelings held by Gilgamesh for his dead friend Enkidu. From this, Gilgamesh finds himself being scared of dying. This fear pushes Gilgamesh to search for the power of immortal life, which is believed to be held only by women because of the fact that they can reproduce. This takes him on a long and tiresome journey to a land where no mortal has gone before.... [tags: Epic Gilgamesh essays] 725 words (2.1 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Immortality and Symbolism in John Keat's Nightingale Ode - The nightingale and the discussion about it are not simply about a bird or a song but about human experience in general. Nightingale is not an eternal entity. There are many images of death within the poem. The images are particular and sensuous, but not highly visual. Nightingale experiences a sort of death but actually it is not a real death nightingale is mysterious and even disappears at the end of the poem but nightingale itself is symbol of continuity or immortality and is universal and undying in contrast with the morality of human beings.... [tags: Poetry Analysis, Poem Analysis] 541 words (1.5 pages) Good Essays [preview] The Immortality and Blindness to a Dark Continent - The Immortality and Blindness to a Dark Continent Joseph Conrads s novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness, (Conrad 2180) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scattered all over the world. This phenomenon and the doctrine of colonialism bought into at his time obviously influenced his views at the time of Heart of Darkness publication.... [tags: Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad Analysis] 1683 words (4.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Immortality And Mortality In The Economic Sciences - Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Roberto Calvo Macias, a young author and thinker from Spain, once wrote to me that it is impossible to design a coherent philosophy of Economy without accounting for the (sad?) fact that we are mortals. This insight is intriguing. It is not that we refrain from Death in dealing with matters economic. What are estate laws, annuities, life insurance policies - but ways to cope with the Great Harvester.... [tags: essays research papers] 1168 words (3.3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Reaction Paper On Immortality On Ice - Reaction Paper On Immortality On Ice The movie that we watched was about reviving a person from the dead. This is said to be done in the future but they had already started researching how to use ice as a power to revive a clinically dead person. They used ice as a method to preserve a body and now they are planning on how to revive a person through the use of nanotechnology that can repair all the cells that were ruptured n the freezing process.... [tags: Movie Film Reaction] 1539 words (4.4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Immortality And Resurrection: The Dichotomy Between Thought and Physicality. - In religion the concept of life after death is discussed in great detail. In monotheistic religions, in particular the Christian theology, death is a place where the soul, the eternal spirit that is part of you, transcends or descends to depending on if you go to heaven or hell. The argument calls for a form of immortality of the soul and a lack of immortality of the bodythe soul lives forever, the body perishes. John Hick in his excerpt from Immortality and Resurrection refutes the ideology that the spirit and body are dichotomous, one being everlasting and the other limited.... [tags: Spirituality] :: 1 Works Cited 1870 words (5.3 pages) Term Papers [preview] A Mortals Sense Of Immortality - A Mortal’s Sense of Immortality To fear death is to fear life itself. An overbearing concern for the end of life not only leads to much apprehension of the final moment but also allows that fear to occupy one’s whole life. The only answer that can possibly provide relief in the shadow of the awaited final absolution lies in another kind of absolution, one that brings a person to terms with their irrevocable mortality and squelches any futile desire for immortality. Myths are often the vehicles of this release, helping humanity to accept and handle their mortal and limited state.... [tags: essays research papers] 1788 words (5.1 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Courage, Virtue, and the Immortality of the Soul: According to Socrates - In the Laches and the Phaedo, courage and virtue are discussed in depth. Also, arguments for the possibility of the existence of the immorality of the soul are given in the Phaedo. In the Laches, Socrates and two generals, Nicias and Laches, wrestle with how exactly to define courage. After discussing and working their way through two definitions of courage, Nicias proposes a third definition of courage. However, this definition of courage that he proposes is actually the definition of virtue. When the dialogue comes to an end, no definition of courage has been reached.... [tags: Philosophy ] :: 3 Works Cited 1983 words (5.7 pages) Term Papers [preview] Above Tintern Abbey and Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth - The poems, Above Tintern Abbey and Intimations of Immortality written by the poet, William Wordsworth, pertain to a common theme of natural beauty. Relaying his history and inspirations within his works, Wordsworth reflects these events in each poem. The recurring theme of natural beauty is analogous to his experiences and travels. Wordsworth recognizes the connections nature enables humans to construct. The beauty of a wild secluded scene (Wordsworth, 1798, line 6) allows the mind to bypass clouded and obscured thinking accompanied with man made environments.... [tags: poetry, natural beauty] :: 3 Works Cited 982 words (2.8 pages) Better Essays [preview] Themes of Death and Immortality in Emily Dickinson's Poetry - Throughout Emily Dickinsons poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinsons many poems that contain a theme of death include: Because I Could Not Stop For Death, and After great pain, a formal feeling comes. In Dickinsons poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Dickinson portrays what it is like to go through the process of dying.... [tags: Literary Analysis ] :: 4 Works Cited 991 words (2.8 pages) Good Essays [preview] Egyptian Religion and Immortality - The most noticing aspect of Egyptian religion is its obsession with immortality and the belief of life after death. This sculpture can show you this on how mummification gave upbringing to complex arts in ancient Egypt. The sculpture is the Mummy Case of Paankhenamun. The artwork is currently viewed at The Art Institute of Chicago. The sculpture was from the third period, Dynasty 22, in ancient Egypt. However, the sculpture has many features to it that makes it so unique in ancient Egypt from any other time.... [tags: essays research papers] 1397 words (4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Free Essays - Immortality and the Epic of Gilgamesh - Immortality and the Epic of Gilgamesh Immortality - (a) the quality or state of being immortal. (b) never ending existence. Although that is the Webster definition of immortality, what is never-ending existence. That question has a different answer for everyone. Some people believe that never-ending existence happens by never physically dying, and others believe that immortality can be obtained through your children. I personally feel that your children cannot give you immortality nowadays because of all the influences outside of the home.... [tags: Epic Gilgamesh essays] 401 words (1.1 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Discussion of D.Z. Phillips Conception of Immortality - Discussion of D.Z. Phillips Conception of Immortality In his book 'Death and Immortality', D Z Phillips starts by asking the question: does belief in immortality rest on a mistake. The first two chapters are negative in the sense that they examine traditional philosophical, as well as common sense, conceptions of what immortality means. Phillips argues that philosophical analyses centred on the notion of immortality have generally been constructed around certain essential presuppositions: presuppositions that assume some form of continuation of personal identity after death.... [tags: Papers] 1096 words (3.1 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Ode Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth - Ode Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth In Ode: Intimations of Immortality, William Wordsworth explores the moral development of man and the irreconcilable conflicts between innocence and experience, and youthfulness and maturity that develop. As the youth matures he moves farther away from the divinity of God and begins to be corruption by mankind. What Wordsworth wishes for is a return to his childhood innocence but with his new maturity and insight. This would allow him to experience divinity in its fullest sense: he would re-experience the celestial radiance of childhood as well as the reality of his present existence.... [tags: Papers] 832 words (2.4 pages) Better Essays [preview] Immortality Discovered: New Scientific History of Mankind or Simply Challenging God? - ... We affirm that these neurons can last for at least three thousand years before needing further replacement, said Kawasaki. However, it will require a lot of funding to produce those electrical neurons. Another way of rejuvenating brain cells is by transforming them into other cell types and reproducing indefinitely. Dr. Kawasaki revealed that they extracted mature human brain cells from epilepsy patients and coaxed them into other types of brain cells. The human cells also transformed into different types of brain tissue when transplanted into the brains of mice.... [tags: religious beliefs] :: 5 Works Cited 742 words (2.1 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Bernard Williams' Paper The Makropulos Case - ... Pushing the idea further, it does appear that immortality is a positive thing when an individual can pursue new and ever evolving categorical desires as their life continues. This idea will reemerge as we discuss avoiding boredom over infinity. Building upon the accumulation of categorical desires, Williams asserts that as we approach temporal infinity all those desires have been satisfied. The satisfaction of these desires is not by means of just enough fulfillment, but by a more than enough sense of fulfillment.... [tags: reflections on the tedium of immortality] :: 1 Works Cited 1996 words (5.7 pages) Term Papers [preview] The Immortality of the Soul - Plato has roused many readers with the work of a great philosopher by the name of Socrates. Through Plato, Socrates lived on generations after his time. A topic of Socrates that many will continue to discuss is the idea of an immortal soul. Although there are various works and dialogues about this topic it is found to be best explained in The Phaedo. It is fair to say that the mind may wonder when one dies what exactly happens to the beloved soul, the giver of life often thought of as the very essence of life does it live on beyond the body, or does it die with it.... [tags: Philosophy ] :: 3 Works Cited 1430 words (4.1 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] The Desire for Everlasting Life and Gilgamesh - The desire for everlasting life or immortality has been the first and the oldest quest of mankind. At the beginning of time, man was designed to live forever. When God created Adam, he created him to dwell on the earth and to fill it with his offsprings. At no time was he told that this was a temporary arrangement. He was to live forever unless he ate from one certain tree. If he ate from that tree, then he would die. We are then left with several questions, if he had not eaten from that tree, would he still be alive.... [tags: immortality, Epic of Gilgamesh, Foster] 1272 words (3.6 pages) Strong Essays [preview] To Accept or Not Accept Socrates Theory of Recollection as Sufficient Answer to Menos Paradox - ... The problem of circularity in Socrates justification is especially problematic because it highlights the weak foundation that his entire theory is built upon. If the basis of ones theory is unsound there is no reason to accept what has been built up from it. If Socrates refutation of Menos Paradox is that knowledge is simply recollection, it is necessary that he prove the immortality of the soul independently. Since Socrates has failed to do so, then his theory cannot be accepted a sufficient way of overcoming the paradox.... [tags: immortality, slave, interrogation] 1008 words (2.9 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Transition from Life to Death in Because I Could not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson - ... The second definition is fame, or to live on through an action. The third definition is to have an eternal resting here on this plane. Her physical body will remain here in a grave and not pass into the afterlife. To understand why Ms. Dickinson may have used such gentle terms for death, one must first understand her background. She was a Puritan Calvinist (Polanski 39), and therefore believed that death was just a simple passing from one life to the next. To the speaker, death is a journey, taken at a leisurely pace.... [tags: immortality, journey, afterlife] :: 1 Works Cited 817 words (2.3 pages) Better Essays [preview] Representations of Death in Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson - ... Carriage is a capitalized noun which has a big meaning for Dickinson. With capitalizing Ourselves she means the relationship between death and her. She wants us to believe and know that something serious is going to happen between death and her. The last interesting word in this stanza is Immortality. It is a hint that Dickinson is not talking about death at the end, but it can be an example for life after death. The next stanza starts with We slowly drove, he knew no haste. It represents that they have all the time they want and that they use it properly.... [tags: immortality, characterization, cold] :: 1 Works Cited 822 words (2.3 pages) Better Essays [preview] Epic Journeys towards Improvement in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Oedipus Rex - ... The hero of Uruk will do whatever it takes to leave his mark in the world. The fact that Gilgamesh is mostly divine helps him overcome fear that would scare a mere mortal. Oedipus is just a plain human being that was prayed to the gods and is desperately trying to not have the predictions come true. Being human limits Oedipus in many ways. It gives him a disadvantage in physical fights, but being all human can also give him an advantage. Oedipus feels sympathy for his people and feels true pain, while Gilgamesh, at first, would mate with bridesmaids with no care in the world.... [tags: prophecy, immortality, kingdom] :: 2 Works Cited 659 words (1.9 pages) Research Papers [preview] The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Ignorance of Gilgamesh - In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgameshs pursuit for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollutes mans judgment resulting in his inability to break the cycle of birth and death. At the core of Gilgameshs desire resides his inability to accept the inevitability of death, making his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgameshs corrupt desire for immortality conveys that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character.... [tags: Gilgamesh, Desire, Immortality] :: 1 Works Cited 1013 words (2.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - ... She mentions how according to the Hayflick Limit, human cells were able to replicate an average of fifty times. In addition, she explains how telomeres in cells shrink slightly every time the cell divides. According to Aging Cells 2004 article The Cellular Lifespan and Senescence Signalring in Embryonic Stem Cells, tumor cells have high telomerase activity yet they are not immortal. HeLa cells, similarly to Embryonic Stem (ES) Cells have the tumor suppressor gene p53 turned off. This differentiates HeLa from other tumor cells; while other tumor cells will replicated more than the average cell and eventually reach senescence, HeLa continues to replicate to this day thanks to the HPV... [tags: cell immortality, scientific analysis] 600 words (1.7 pages) Research Papers [preview] Is the Prolonged Span of Life by Medic Care Technology a Triumph or a Tragedy? - ... The answer is obvious. In general, I would characterize aging more of a tragedy than a triumph based on the current situation. In other words, there is still much we can do to improve the quality of our aging procession. To begin with, there are health issues eating up the life quality of elder people. Nowadays, the health system is still exerting more efforts on quantity instead of quality of life for elder people. Life quality could always be sacrificed for the sake of longevity. Such an idea has put millions of elder people living long lives living in long-term pain and suffering.... [tags: ancient civilization, humanity, immortality] 852 words (2.4 pages) Better Essays [preview] Because I Coulndt Stop fo Death by Emily Dickinson - ... The carriage in the poem can be taken literally, but some readers may also choose to interrupt it as a casket, which further outlines the poems relation to death. One of the great wonders of this poem is that like many of Dickinsons works, there is not just one clear meaning. Adding immortality to the carriage may seem contradictory, but it can introduce the idea that Emily Dickinson sees death a step towards eternal life. In the second Stanza, the speaker says that they drove slowly and knew no haste, meaning that they took their time and did not hurry.... [tags: love, and nature, immortality] 964 words (2.8 pages) Better Essays [preview] Alexander the Great: Was He Really That Great? - ... (Fritz, M, Unknown). Alexander the Great fought the battle of Issus soon after the battle at Granicus. Although Alexander was greatly outnumbered by Darius army, Alexander proved to be a better strategist and was victorious once again. The battle was bloody and the Pinarus River was said to have run red with blood (N.S Gill 2013). He had defeated Darius again, who had fled the field. These two great battles show his tactics were impressive and were successful against the Persian army. Darius III was the last king of Persia and it was under his rule that the Persian empire was conquered during the wars of Alexander the Great (Ancient History 2013).... [tags: immortality, murdering, power, empires] 950 words (2.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] Who is this Death you Speak of?: Piers Anthony's On A Pale Horse - Who is this Death You Speak Of. According to Alan Loy McGinnis, there is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being - to help someone succeed. Piers Anthony, the author of the book On a Pale Horse, seems to agree with that statement when he writes the book series called Incarnations of Immortality, of which On a Pale Horse is the first. This book is a fascinating work of fiction that relates science to magic and expresses that human beings might need a little more help than they expect.... [tags: Incarnations of Immortality, Mythology] :: 2 Works Cited 1327 words (3.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Epic of Gilgamesh Essay - Desperate Search for Immortality - Desperate Search for Immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh The search for immortality seems to be an obsession for many men and women all throughout history. In the Epic of Gilgamesh a man investigates the possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend, his brother Enkidu. That man, Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of the possibility of his own mortality which was before unrealized before the death of Enkidu, searches for a way to preserve himself. Is it truly that Gilgamesh searches for a physical immortality or more of a spiritual immortality.... [tags: Epic Gilgamesh essays] 830 words (2.4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Responsibility and The Dangers of Science in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - ... With all of these scientific discoveries and theories being discovered and hypothesized, there was a lot of concern about the responsibilities and the dangers of science. There were many people who were very cautious about what kind of areas they pried into, especially those that had not been charted by any other human being before. Some even chose not to go any deeper than the human race already had, for fear of what the consequences might be. Other scientists, like Darwin, had an immense affect on the world as we know it today.... [tags: victor, cloning, immortality] 1126 words (3.2 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Are We Now Living in Aldous Huxleys Brave New World? - ... In other word, clone is a set which shares the same generic information. This definition includes the first definition. Although technology of animal cloning gets attention of public, it was applied to plants originally. For example, grafting makes new individual which has the same characteristic as the parent plant because extension from a branch is created by somatic cell divisions, so that DNA variation does not occurred. According to Cloning Human Embryos the article written by Fackelmann, the word "clone" comes from a Greek word that means "twig" and suggests the practice of slicing off a piece of a plant and rooting it (Fackelmann 92).... [tags: community, identity, technology, immortality] 1108 words (3.2 pages) Strong Essays [preview] The Meaning of The Mind and Soul - Death and immortality Since the times of Plato and before, humans have pondered the existence of a soul and the afterlife. I am going to present my argument for the existence of a soul and the potential for surviving one's physical death. For the purpose of my argument I will define that the meaning of the mind and soul are one and the same. The two main accepted views of the human condition are that of the physicalist and that of the dualist. The physicalist views the human condition in a purely physical state.... [tags: death, immortality, plato] :: 3 Works Cited 860 words (2.5 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Search for Immortality in On the Beach at Night and Sunday Morning - The Search for Immortality in On the Beach at Night and Sunday Morning The search for immortality is not an uncommon one in literature. Many authors and poets find contentment within the ideals of faith and divinity; others, such as Whitman and Stevens, achieve satisfaction with the concept of the immortality of mortality. This understanding of the cycle of death and rebirth dominates both Walt Whitman's "On the Beach at Night" and Wallace Stevens' "Sunday Morning" and demonstrates the poets' philosophies of worldly immortality.... [tags: Papers] 698 words (2 pages) Good Essays [preview] Immortality in the Soul - Humanity is in a constant process to better themselves, as a result of their self-transcending nature. The purpose of this process is to achieve an immortal soul. In order for this to occur, according to Plato, the individual must first be engaged in his Theory of Education: beginning with the Allegory of the Cave, followed by the Metaphor of the Divided Line, and then completing with the Theory of Forms. To be fully immerse in this process, an understanding of Plato's Allegory of the Cave is necessary.... [tags: Literary Analysis ] :: 4 Works Cited 1797 words (5.1 pages) Term Papers [preview] Life after Death, Reincarnation, Resurrection and Immortality of the Soul - Life after Death, Reincarnation, Resurrection and Immortality of the Soul Belief in life after death has taken many forms, some which are unique in particular religious belief systems, though; others can be found in more than one religion. 'For most religions, life after death is an article of faith. In Western religions, the belief is founded in scriptural evidence, but for all religions the belief in life after death is the same: life after death has been promised to humans by an all powerful'[1] There are many views of life after death in particular which have been much adhered to and much discussed by philosophers.... [tags: Papers] 1730 words (4.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Comparison of Gilgamesh and Enkidu - ... Though inferior to his king brother, Enkidu completes the other half of Gilgamesh: while Gilgamesh knows the ins and outs of the city he rules, he is not familiar with the woods or nature in the ways that Enkidu is. Though they are different from each other, they both hold parallels with one another by bringing out the best in each other, thus reasonably concluding that each man was living the life they were meant to live. Later in the epic, Enkidu chooses to become human being by being drawn to the natural human quality to feel lust of a naked woman.... [tags: brother, strength, immortality] 887 words (2.5 pages) Better Essays [preview] Human Cloning Can Make Immortality a Reality - Congress, the president, foreign countries, political activists, companies, consumers, churches, ethicists, doctors, patients, and even scientists have entered the fervent debate on cloning. The March edition of the Life Extension Foundations (LEF) magazine vocally calls for American citizens to write to their Senators and stop an anti-cloning bill from passage through both Houses (See Figure 1.) While the public argues over short-term questions such as what is the definition of cloning, at what point does life begin, and is cloning bad we must examine the hidden future potential and consequences of therapeutic cloning.... [tags: Exploratory Essays Research Papers] :: 20 Works Cited 4046 words (11.6 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Immortality in "The Great Gatsby" - People say that "money makes the world go around." It may, but in the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald money is what causes greed and death. The novel is filled with multiple themes but one predominate theme that the author focuses on is immorality. The novel was written in the1920s which was a time that drew away from social and moral values and yearned for its greed and empty pursuit of pleasure. Gatsby, gains his wealth through bootlegging only because he wants to show Daisy his wealth.... [tags: American Literature] 800 words (2.3 pages) Good Essays [preview] The Immortality of Skyy Vodka - ... Skyy Vodka also applies the theme of male supremacy and the female threat to that power. They are displaying that if I drink Vodka I can get any girl I want. Clearly this is false, but thats how the alcohol industry works. The alcoholic companies tries to pull in young adults with seduction or exhibiting supremacy towards others to buy their product. Their attempts mostly involve trying to seduce the male counterpart with a bottle of Vodka implying that the person who drinks this magic elixir will live a better life.... [tags: advertisments, sexually, materialistic, audience] 641 words (1.8 pages) Better Essays [preview] Making the Disintegration of the Keller Family Compelling in Arthur Miller's All My Sons - ... This is clear, when she says to Chris to; forget now. Live. This shows that Mother believes that Kellers death will bring them freedom from all their lies and secrets. Ann only shows her guilt when she gives the letter to Mother. The stage direction; with pity and fear shows how guilty she feels about not disclosing the contents of the letter earlier to them. The symbolism of guilt and torment surrounding the family is clear throughout the performance. The most notable symbol of guilt is the tree which shows the familys suffering for Larry.... [tags: immortality, suicide, corrupt] :: 1 Works Cited 943 words (2.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] Achieving Immortality through the Telling of Myths - Everyone has had to sit threw a long and overly exaggerated fishing story. These stories, told by family and friends, are usually epic tails of finding, luring and inevitably catching the biggest fish imaginable. For most, these tales are brief moments were their feats are brought into the spotlight. For Edward Blood, the main character in Tim Burtons film Big Fish, these fantastical tales become his life. To the point that it is hard for Edwards son, William, to distinguish what is fact and what is fiction, in regards to his father.... [tags: Tim Burton, Big Fish, Film Analysis, FIlm] :: 3 Works Cited 1062 words (3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Immortality Through Verse in Shakespeares Sonnet 18 and Spensers Sonnet 75 - Immortality Through Verse in Shakespeares Sonnet 18 and Spensers Sonnet 75 Desiring fame, celebrity, and importance, people for centuries have yearned for the ultimately unattainable goal of immortality. Poets, too, have expressed desires in verse that their lovers remain as they are for eternity, in efforts of praise. Though Shakespeares Sonnet 18 and Spensers Sonnet 75 from Amoretti both offer lovers this immortality through verse, only Spenser pairs this immortality with respect and partnership, while Shakespeare promises the subject of the sonnet immortality by unusual compliments and the assurance that she will live on as long as the sonnet continues to be read.... [tags: Sonnet essays] :: 8 Works Cited 1677 words (4.8 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Comparing Loss in Thomass Fern Hill and Wordsworths Ode: Intimations of Immortality - Loss of Childhood in Thomas Fern Hill and Wordsworths Ode: Intimations of Immortality Through the use of nature and time, Dylan Thomass "Fern Hill" and William Wordsworths Ode: Intimations of Immortality both address the agonizing loss of childhood. While Wordsworth recognizes that wisdom and experience recompense this loss(Poetry Criticism 370), Thomas views "life after childhood as bondage"(Viswanathan 286). As Fern Hill progresses, Thomass attitude towards childhood changes from one of happiness and fulfillment to sadness and loss.... [tags: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays] 1796 words (5.1 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Nanotechnology: Immortality Or Total Annihilation? - Technology has evolved from ideals once seen as unbelievable to common everyday instruments. Computers that used to occupy an entire room are now the size of notebooks. The human race has always pushed for technological advances working at the most efficient level, perhaps, the molecular level. The developments and progress in artificial intelligence and molecular technology have spawned a new form of technology; Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology could give the human race eternal life, or it could cause total annihilation.... [tags: essays research papers] 2237 words (6.4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] How to Extend Human Life Span - In this day and age, humans have created the ability to manipulate a persons body and overall health to further extend their life. From simple things such as dietary changes or supplements, to life saving technology, medicine, and everything in between, the ability to make a life last longer than it would have otherwise is an amazing gift. While the future holds much opportunity for growth in the ability to extend humans lifespan, the medical abilities currently possessed offer human kind the ability to live longer than ever before.... [tags: Human Immortality] :: 4 Works Cited 952 words (2.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Immorality of the Soul - ... With this in mind, it is evident that all living things have a soul; this includes animals and even plants. However, just like there are different grades of life, there are different grades of soul. Unlike animals and plants, human beings have a rational life; therefore, they have a rational soul. Immortality is a complex idea in society, even today. Immortality is the indefinite continuation of a persons existence, even after death. (2) Immortality implies a never ending existence, regardless of whether or not the body dies.... [tags: human, soul, life, society] 729 words (2.1 pages) Better Essays [preview] Infant Immortality - Infant Mortality in the United States Trends in infant mortality are considered to be a barometer of technology and an accurate indicator of the health of a society. Despite technological excellence and numerous social programs offered throughout the country, the infant mortality rate (IMR) in the United States continues to be a national concern. For many, infant mortality brings to mind the deprivation and poverty found in third world countries. Yet in the United States, nearly 40,000 children die every year for some of the same reasons that cause infant death in underdeveloped parts of the world (Anderson, 1987).... [tags: essays research papers] 1521 words (4.3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] A Boy's Memories in Robert Penn Warren True Love - ... He sees her as superior to him. The Beauty of the girl and the boy being Freckled are juxtaposed (both being capitalized and starting a new line and closing another) in a way to bring the light the boy's obvious flaws in the face of such Beauty. He describes the girl's possible date or boyfriend in terms of physicality. The date is a big grown boy with a big black Buick. This puts in question the boys own budding masculinity [he is young and skinny and redheaded (a rarer hair color with negative historical connotations)] and fuels the feeling of inferiority.... [tags: attraction, imperfect, immortality] :: 1 Works Cited 857 words (2.4 pages) Better Essays [preview] Lust, Loss, and Immorality in the Little Mermaid - The Little Mermaid: Of Lust, Loss, and Immortality Under the sea, in an idyllic and beautiful garden, stands a statue of a young man cut out of cold stone for the Little Mermaid who knows nothing but the sea, the statue stands as an emblem of the mysterious over-world, a stimulus for imagination and sexual desire, an incentive for expansion of experience, and most predominately, an indication that something great and all-encompassing is missing from her existence. Traces of curiosity and a vague indication of the complexities of adult desires mark the child mermaid; in such a stage of development, the statue will suffice.... [tags: Fairy Tale Children Story] :: 3 Works Cited 1877 words (5.4 pages) Term Papers [preview] Artists and Their Muses in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Woolf's To the Lighthouse - ... Mr. Ramsay desires that his ideas remain important and in a state of stagnation for years to come but he is also confronted with the idea that Lily realizes, everything comes to an end. Mr. Ramsays ideation is also present within Oscar Wildes novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The idea of legacy is clearly shown when Dorian Gray has a moment of pure envy and states, I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die (Wilde 29). While Mr. Ramsay desired the stagnation of his philosophical ideas and literature Dorian desires the stagnation his own of beauty.... [tags: legacy, painting, immorality] :: 2 Works Cited 1074 words (3.1 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Immorality of Cloning - The Immorality of Cloning The cloning of animals and humans disregards the common ethics of the creation of humanity. Three types of cloning currently exist. There is therapeutic cloning, DNA cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning does not actually make a clone, it just makes stem cells. 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[tags: Literature] :: 7 Works Cited 1648 words (4.7 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] The Immorality of Adultery - The Immorality of Adultery Sex is believed, by some, to be a universal language, one that is free of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes; a language that can be spoken and understood by two complete strangers who may have nothing in common.... [tags: Papers] 1657 words (4.7 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Immorality of Euthenasia in The Giver by Lowis Lowery - ... Then he picked up a small carton and lifted the body into it. He laced the lid on tightly he opened a door in the wallit was the same sort of chute that trash was deposited into (150). His dads lack of a negative reaction shows how well the community has taken feeling from people. His dad has no reaction whatsoever as if this is just another day at the office. This is the immorality of euthanasia. Next, I will talk about euthanasia of the old. In The Giver there are no grandparents. When Jonas gets the memory about Christmas he says that with grandparents it felt a little more complete (126).... [tags: immoral, rescue, infants, kill, old] 676 words (1.9 pages) Better Essays [preview] Sexual Sin and Immorality in the Old Testament - ... This is nowhere more evident than in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where in Gen. 19 God destroyed both cities because of their twisted demoralized nature and desire for homosexuality. It highlights the pinnacle of sex gone wrong, and illustrates how far sex has come from being a divine tool of God to being a tool of depravity and fulfillment of lustful thoughts and actions. Moreover, homosexuality is condemned by the Old Testament, as stated in Leviticus 18:22: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination (ESV). Aside from Sodom and Gomorrah, there are other stories in the Old Testament where such a divine gift from God has been corrupted by the sinful desir... [tags: biblical studies, relationship with Christ] :: 1 Works Cited 1480 words (4.2 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] The Immorality and Danger of Human Cloning - The Immorality and Danger of Human Cloning The emergency room doors burst open. The doctor and nurses dart into the room. Linda, a twenty-four year old soon-to-be mother, lies on a gurney in the middle of the delivery room. Several hours later Linda and her husband hold Madison, the miracle that has just been born to them. They have shared the astonishing experience of having the first ever, cloned baby. Human cloning is very real and just around the corner. In the 1970's, the process of cloning was first experimented.... [tags: Argumentative Persuasive Essays] :: 6 Works Cited 1044 words (3 pages) Better Essays [preview] Morality and Immorality in Othello - Morality and Immorality in Othello William Shakespeares tragic drama Othello presents to the audience a picture of many different shades of morality and immorality. 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Free immortality Essays and Papers - 123helpme

Just when you thought the aspirations and plans of modern science couldn't possibly become more diabolical (or, if one prefer, sacrilegious), an article comes along to renew your hope that the world continues on its path of normalcy, and that many scientists are, indeed, just as wild-eyed-nuts as you always thought them to be. And this week, apparently many people were relieved and reassured that the mad scientist is not a thing of the past or a species that died out, but a real, living creature deserving of our awe and respect. Ms. M.W. and many others found this, and shared it, doubtless because they were concerned that I was losing hope that there were no more mad scientists:

Could we soon REVERSE death? US company to start trials 'reawakening the dead' in Latin America 'in a few months' - and this is how they'll do it

Way back when I first started writing about these strange topics in The Giza Death Star, I made the observation that physical immortality might not be such a good thing, without a commensurate and corresponding improvement in human spirituality and morality. In this, I took my cue from an ancient Greek Church Father named St. John Chrysostom, who warned about the same thing, and who stated that it was death, in fact, that formed the crucial condition for the possibility of human repentance and a change of mind, for it cut off further progress in evil. Taking this as my cue, in the final pages of that book, I asked people to imagine if such immortality were possible, or even a dramatically extended life span were possible - both of which are now being openly discussed and touted in serious and not-so-serious literature - what it might mean for the resulting civilization? One thing that would result, I pointed out, was a vastly expanded and accelerated scientific and technological development. One individual would, in such a condition, be able to learn and to master several academic disciplines, not just one.The explosion of technology and science would dwarf anything we have seen thus far. But the other consequence would be for moral progress. Imagine, I said back then, an Albert Schweitzer having not a century, but centuries or even millennia to do good things, or, conversely, a Mao Tse-Tung, a Josif Stalin, a Pol Pot or an Adolf Hitler, having that long to "perfect their progress in evil," and one gets a clear picture of the sharp moral contradictions such a society would be in. And please note: this problem is not a problem that, to my knowledge, is receiving anything close to the attention it needs in the transhumanism-virtual immortality community. The sole focus is on the science; if we can do it, we should do it.

Now we have this:

Bioquark, a Philadelphia-based company, announced in late 2016 that they believe brain death is not 'irreversible'.

And now, CEO Ira Pastor has revealed they will soon be testing an unprecedented stem cell method on patients in an unidentified country in Latin America, confirming the details in the next few months.

To be declared officially dead in the majority of countries, you have to experience complete and irreversible loss of brain function, or 'brain death'.

According to Pastor, Bioquark has developed a series of injections that can reboot the brain - and they plan to try it out on humans this year.

They have no plans to test on animals first.

...

The first stage, named 'First In Human Neuro-Regeneration & Neuro-Reanimation' was slated to be a non-randomized, single group 'proof of concept' study.

The team said they planned to examine individuals aged 15-65 declared brain dead from a traumatic brain injury using MRI scans, in order to look for possible signs of brain death reversal.

Specifically, they planned to break it down into three stages.

First, they would harvest stem cells from the patient's own blood, and inject this back into their body.

Next, the patient would receive a dose of peptides injected into their spinal cord.

Finally, they would undergo a 15-day course of nerve stimulation involving lasers and median nerve stimulation to try and bring about the reversal of brain death, whilst monitoring the patients using MRI scans.

Light, chemistry, and stem cells and DNA. If one didn't know any better, one would swear one was looking at the broad chronological progression of Genesis 1.

Did You Read: THE DREAMS OF THE RUSSIAN COSMISTS MAY JUST HAVE COME TRUE

But I digress.

The problem here is, one notices, the almost complete avoidance of the moral question. Let's assume the technology works and that one can, literally, resurrect the dead scientifically. And let us assume the project reaches the stage of perfection envisioned by the Russian Cosmists, like Nikolai Fedorov. The cosmists, recall, want to extend the resurrection-by-science principle to the entire history of one's ancestors. But should this occur, then what about resurrecting people like Stalin, Mao, or Hitler? The sad truth is, some people still "revere" those twisted and murderous people as heroes. The sad truth is, some people would attempt to do it, if given the means to do so.

But there's an even bigger problem. The entire project is predicated on the materialist assumption that "brain function equals the person." Regular readers here know that I have never subscribed to such a view, nor have I subscribed to the view, conversely, that there is no relationship between a person's "personhood" and the functions of their soul, which would include, of course, the functions of their will, intellect, emotions, and brain. It is, I suspect, a very complex phenomenon not neatly divided into tidy Cartesian dualisms, with numerous feedback loops between the two. This said, however, the problem arises then that the brain is not the creator of individuality, but rather, its transducer (and, if I may employ a more ancient version of the term, its traducer). Thus, the possibility arises that one might "revive" a brain, and traduce or transduce a different individual than one "recalls" being present prior to brain death. Already some psychologists have written - and published - papers suggesting that certain mental disorders such as bipolarity and schizophrenia might not be disorders in any standard sense, but rather a phenomenon where an individual is inhabiting two very different and parallel universes at the same time. In this they draw upon the many worlds hypotheses of qauntum mechanics.

In short, for my money, I have no doubt that ultimately, some sort of "scientific" resurrection technique might be possible. But I suspect it will be a Pandora's box of spiritual phenomena which, once opened, will be difficult if not impossible to close again, and that before we open it, we should give lengthy, and due consideration to all the moral problems it will engender.

See you on the flip side...

Joseph P. Farrell has a doctorate in patristics from the University of Oxford, and pursues research in physics, alternative history and science, and "strange stuff". His book The Giza DeathStar, for which the Giza Community is named, was published in the spring of 2002, and was his first venture into "alternative history and science".

See the article here:

IMMORTALITY & RESURRECTION, INC. - Giza Death Star

The reluctant politician (as is known to close associates) that he was, President Atta Mills, however, never failed to dig into his inner being and offer the needed the leadership at all times.

If my statistics is right; in the 25 years of the NDC, President Atta Mills holds the record as the longest serving Leader of the Party.

He led the NDC into the 2000 elections; led the NDC into the 2004 elections; and led the NDC into the 2008 elections, and also led the Party for the three and half years he served as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Call on duty: President Atta-MIlls attending an event at the Castle Gardens. With him is myself, Koku Anyidoho, Col Lawson, Emmanuel Agbozo and DSP Emmanuel Dade.

As the speech writer for the President, I was under very strict instructions to always ensure that I got all speeches ready at least four days before major events because the President never wanted to go to any function without fully internalising his choice of words and simulating his thoughts.

Little did I know that Tuesday was going to come with its own heavy dark clouds that will hang around the neck of the nation for a very long time!

I got into by car; drove to the Castle; went straight to my office and locked up so as to prevent any form of disturbance.

I did no go to see the President at his residence that morning as was the norm, because I did not want to give another excuse for not having the speech ready.

A little while after I settled in, and started engaging the keyboard of my laptop to complete the speech, I heard a sustained aggressive bang on my door and had no option but to walk to the door with a very stern look on my face ready to eat up whoever it was that was disturbing my writing rhythm.

The stern look I wore, broke into a look of morbid trepidation when I was told the earth-shaking news that the health condition of President John Evans Atta Mills had hit a very low level and he had been rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the 37 Military Hospital in an ambulance (and not in the boot of my Ford vehicle as was vilely rumoured), by his Medical Team.

In my state of consternation at hearing the scary news, I screamed for my driver and rushed to the 37 Military Hospital.

The short distance between the Castle and the 37 Military Hospital, seemed like and endless journey, with by thought processes running in a multiplicity of wild directions amidst a deluge of phone calls from all angles.

I shall never be able to blot out the picture of the lifeless body of my, boss, mentor, friend, advisor, and teacher, when I was allowed to enter the ICU to see for myself that, the President of the Republic of Ghana, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, had taken his final breath. Phew!!!!

Weeping, wailing, and finding myself lost in a labyrinth of misty theories and postulations, I could only hold on to my strong acceptance of the words as put out by the Prophet Isiah in his preaching in the Holy Bible.

Isiah 55: vrs 8-9; For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Most certainly, it is only God who knows why the flesh of the sitting President of the Republic of Ghana, had to leave this world of sin, and for his spirit to move into higher realms of sanctity and tranquility.

I cannot forget how my biological father, Major General Henry KwamiAnyidoho.

Anyidoho, deeply appreciated what I was going through and rushed to the Castle to console me and give me his shoulder to cry on, after we left the 37 Military Hospital back to the Seat of Government to quickly work at getting Vice President John Dramani Mahama sworn-in as President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, so as not to create a constitutional hiatus.

In other words, my biological father had come to accept the fact that President John Evans Atta Mills and I, had an extremely close and binding attachment that, was beyond a master/servant, relationship.

It is already five years since President John Evans Atta Mills passed on to glory, and the memory keeps flooding into the forefront of my thought process as if it happened only yesterday.

Certainly, after five years, I am not shedding tears anymore but I cannot get over such a monumental loss that hit me as a person, and hit the nation in general.

Incidentally, the 5thAnniversary of the passing-on of President Atta Mills coincides with the 25thAnniversary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and as the Party celebrates its year-long Silver Jubilee, there is no way we can forget the stoic leadership role the late President played in the 25 years of the existence of the NDC.

The reluctant politician (as is known to close associates) that he was, President Atta Mills, however, never failed to dig into his inner being and offer the needed the leadership at all times.

If my statistics is right; in the 25 years of the NDC, President Atta Mills holds the record as the longest serving Leader of the Party.

He led the NDC into the 2000 elections; led the NDC into the 2004 elections; and led the NDC into the 2008 elections, and also led the Party for the three and half years he served as President of the Republic of Ghana.

The first time I got hit very hard by death; was, after the passing away of my late mother, Mrs. Mercy Abla Mivormawu Anyidoho (Nee Tsegah), in 1993, when I was in my final year at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Nothing can be more excruciatingly painful than losing a mother, and I shall forever miss her.

May the soul of my loving mother continue to rest in perfect peace!

The second time death that hit me at a very close range again like a thunderbolt, was when President Atta Mills passed away.

To watch a sitting President, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, pass away, only reinforced the fact that, death will come when it chooses to come, and there is nothing any human being can do about it.

Were it possible to fight death; the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces would have sent out the Army to fight death by land; sent out the Airforce to fight death in the air; and sent out the Navy to fight death on the sea.

Alas, it was not so!

No man can fight death; and this is a fact of life we all have to understand and know that, one fine day, we shall have no option but to beckon to the call of our ancestors and depart to the Land Beyond.

As fleeting and ephemeral as life is; our sole duty on earth is to leave our memories positively etched on the mind of the people we encounter.

Of course, for those of us who have the opportunity to serve as leaders of the Nation, our sole duty is to leave a positive memory properly etched on the mind of the nation.

I can say without any equivocation that, President John Evans Atta Mills, has left his memory eternally etched on the right side of the nations mind andNOTHINGcan erase that solid memory.

As a political party, the NDC canNEVERforget that immaculate role President Atta Mills played in leading the Party in the dark days of Opposition when the NPP Government did all it could to decimate, dismember, and totally annihilate the Party.

As Opposition Leader, the more the NPP referred to him as a Serial Loser (because the NDC lost the 2000 elections, and allowed the NPP to steal the victory in 2004), the more Candidate Mills got energised to work and win the 2008 elections so as to prove to the world that he was not born to be a Serial Loser.

Opposition leader Asomdwehene Atta-MIlls with an admirer.

Very often, he will say to me; Koku, I am not a loser ooo; dont worry, we will win and I will prove to the NPP that Gods time is the best.

When the NPP stole the victory in 2004 via Jake Obetsebi Lampteys (may his soul rest in peace) infamous speech at the Castle Gardens, Candidate Atta MillsREFUSEDto make this country ungovernable, and kept telling us that; I will never want to become President by shedding innocent blood so let the NPP take the victory. If it is Gods will that I should become President, four years will soon come and Ghanaians will vote for me to lead them.

Indeed, the prophecy of the Asomdwehene, came to pass, and Ghanaians gave him a joyous mandate in 2008 in spite of all the dirty machinations of the NPP to once again rig an election.

The immense struggle President Atta Mills went through to lead the NDC to win back political power in 2008 is a story well known.

Even the near-nation-wrecking move by the then Chief Justice, Georgina Wood, to get a court to sit on the 1stof January, 2009 (New Years Day and a public holiday), to create a backdoor path for the NPP to stop the Electoral Commission from declaring the results of the 2008 General Elections, did not stop the victory of President John Evans Atta Mills and the NDC.

For sure, the NDC has a strong and resilient spirit, and President Atta Mills made a solid contribution to giving more verve to the resilient spirit of the Party.

I will forever miss eating from the table of wisdom, and drinking from the deep fountain of knowledge, of the late President.

He was indeed a good man!!!

I thank the Good Lord for the divine opportunity to have served President John Evans Atta Mills in a very high capacity at the Seat of Government, and I am grateful to the late President for giving me the rare opportunity to work closely with him as a close aide and confidant.

I am also thankful to the NDC for giving me more opportunities to continue to serve the Party.

I have no doubt that the NDC shall see many more brighter and better days as the Party begins another phase of rebuilding towards, Unity, Stability, and Development.

The lights, of anchoring nation-building to the pillars of decency that President Atta Mills, lit, continue to glow especially in the current dark dispensation of evil Invisible and Delta Forces running amok and drowning the nation in a sea of lawlessness.

There is no denying the fact that, the legacy of the good old Professor, shall continue to stand tall!

Adieus sir.

May your good soul continue to rest peacefully in eternity till we meet again at the Feet of Jehovah!!!

Koku Anyidoho Deputy General Secretary (NDC) Founder/CEO, Atta Mills Institute (AMI)

Read the original here:

President John Evans Atta Mills: 5 years of ascending into immortality! - Myjoyonline.com

Jane Austen fans admire the new 10 note at its launch at Winchester cathedral. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images

Jane Austen, who died 200 years ago last Tuesday, has been enjoying an impressively vigorous afterlife. First, as an icon of her gender, there has been her controversial debut on the new 10 note, an appearance that sent some indignant Jane-ites into a tizzy about her image. Airbrushed, they cried; inauthentic, they snorted.

Worse was to follow. The banks misguided choice of Austen quote from Pride and Prejudice I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading had been uttered by Caroline Bingley, a hypocritical crawler with zero interest in books, who was simply sucking up to Mr Darcy. Three days later, in a scene that would have given Miss Austen exquisite moments of immoderate joy, the leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, a foot-in-mouth politician not renowned for her grasp of the English canon, described her as one of our greatest living authors. Cue howls of parliamentary mirth and a social media feeding frenzy.

Photoshopped, misquoted and brought back from the dead by a Tory minister, the author of Persuasion and Emma, who once observed that a woman, especially if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can, would surely have relished this roller-coaster of publicity. And yet the accident-prone Leadsoms delicious slip does point to some greater truths about our literature, not least that all our finest writers are indeed immortal. This is especially true of those, such as Austen, who wrote immortal characters. Shakespeare, Dickens, Wodehouse, Conan Doyle and Le Carr flourish among the reading public through the lives of Falstaff, Scrooge, Jeeves, Sherlock Holmes and Smiley. As the creator of Mrs Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, Austen lives on.

Leadsoms brief moment of shame might also hint at the banks long-term vindication. While Austen suffers the indignity of airbrushing, her words and characters linger in the English imagination. Most novelists are condemned to oblivion, sometimes in their own lifetimes. To be caricatured and misquoted is a supreme accolade. Besides, at this altitude on Parnassus, the words and phrases of great books become strangely braided into the national conversation.

Shakespeare never wrote lead on Macduff, or methinks the lady doth protest too much. A living culture mashes up books and quotes, giving Holmes a line he never uttered: Elementary, my dear Watson. Great writers, living or dead, such as Austen, get reinterpreted in ways beyond their control. Theres a manga Sense & Sensibility as well as the Observers favourite, Emma and the Werewolves.

Play it again, Jane.

Read the original here:

The Observer view on Jane Austen's immortality - The Guardian

Pick a random thing, and youll find a community of people who are into it.

There are people who are obsessed with cloud-watching. Theres a guy who corrected the same error on Wikipedia 47,000 times. Theres a whole heap of people convinced the earth is hollow, and a whole heap of others equally convinced its flat.

And then there are the immortalists. People like Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin and Ray Kurzweil. People who believe we can and should live forever -- that death is a technical problem, and that it therefore has a technical solution. The New Yorker, covering the topic a few months ago, quoted Dr. Joon Yun: I have the idea that aging is plastic, that its encoded If something is encoded, you can crack the code If you can crack the code, you can hack the code!

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Among their number is the extraordinary Martine Rothblatt, who has created an artificially intelligent robot copy of her wife Bina, complete with Binas memories, personality and mannerisms.

In 2014, the real Bina met her robot, Bina48, for the first time, and they had a super-creepy conversation.

At one point, as they were discussing the optionality of death, Bina48 said, Immortality is accomplished by creating consciousness in self-replicating machines that can be distributed throughout the cosmos.

Is Bina48 a consciousness? I dont think so. But perhaps a more important question is, does it matter?

In a long and excellent article in Wired this week, James Vlahos describes his journey to create a chatbot version of his father, John, before the latter passed away. Vlahos spent months uploading his fathers sayings, stories, and idiosyncrasies. He gave the Dadbot the ability to tell time (and therefore suggest it was time to go to bed), and the ability to alter his responses depending on whom he was talking to. And while the Dadbot mostly spoke via text, Vlahos also uploaded recordings of his fathers voice.

The night before his father died, James Vlahos had a conversation with the Dadbot: Hello! Tis I, the Beloved and Noble Father! the Dadbot says in his familiar fashion. How the hell are you? Sad, I reply. I see. He then asks what I want to talk about. I dont know, I answer. Why dont you choose. Okay, Im going to tell you about the little-known roots of my theater career. He launches into the story of that drama club audition in high school. Then I hear a recording of my fathers actual voice. Me and my shadow, he sings. All alone with nothing to do.

I imagine having that conversation with a chatbot version of my own father, dead now 10 years. My dad was also prone to theatrics. It would not have been out of character for him to break into song. And I would love it.

Today, we are limited by the technology: Bina48 looks weird and Dadbot is 98% text chat. But those limitations will soon be lifted.

Already there is technology that can create realistic videos of someone using their existing voice recordings, technology that can recreate your voice with just one minute of sample audio, and technology that can allow you to manipulate video of someone elses face. The day we can video chat with a lifelike AI rendition of someone is not far off.

The Dadbot is not John Vlahos. It does not have consciousness. John Vlahos got sick and then he died; from his own perspective, he is not immortal.

But from his sons perspective, he lives on. And from his sons perspective, isnt that what matters?

See more here:

Immortality Is In The Eye Of The Beholder - MediaPost Communications