Possessing a mere modicum of real-deal intelligence, I'm clearly in no position to evaluate whether Ray Kurzweil is ahead of the AI curve here, or instead just reading too much sci-fi literature.

But Isaac Asimov had uber-oodles of intellect (as well as a seeming bottomless pit of a knowledge base), and he addressed this science-assisted immortality question in one of his thousands of terrific essays.

Now, I can't recall the title of that particular one, or even which collection of his pieces it appeared in. But I CERTAINLY recall his bottom line.

And Asimov argued that the most wonderful aspect of human life was the the DNA deck-shuffling which occurs every time a XX-chromosome type finds some XY-chromosome type* irresistible. And he concluded the essay by declaring his eventual death was, clearly, inevitable. And he cheerfully wrapped by insisting, "And that's just fine by me".

(But for MY thoroughly-inconsequential part, I'd like to venture that humanity would have hugely better off had Asimov managed to attain three or even four additional decades, instead of expiring from an AIDS-tainted transfusion at only 72 on Monday, April 6, 1992.**)

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
-------------------------------------
* Presume the alphabet-idiocy snowflakes won't get triggered by that phraseology, as the sentence is free of pronouns, preferred or otherwise.
** Sam Walton, who also happened to die the same date, may have HURT*** certain aspects of our society--small-town Main Street commerce, most notably--nearly as much as Asimov did his intellectual best to AUGMENT civilization..
*** But I determined the location of Walton's gravesite in 2019--but only after some 90 minutes of diligently asking clueless [!] managerial-types at nearby Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas--and then quite respectfully visited the cemetery anyway.
============================================https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11911975/Humans-achieve-immortality-eight-YEARS-says-former-Google-engineer.html

(I actually expected a reflection on "Death be not proud..."
when I saw that headline).

radioacti...@gmail.com <radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote:
> Possessing a mere modicum of real-deal intelligence, I'm clearly in no
> position to evaluate whether Ray Kurzweil is ahead of the AI curve here, or
> instead just reading too much sci-fi literature.
>
> But Isaac Asimov had uber-oodles of intellect (as well as a seeming
> bottomless pit of a knowledge base), and he addressed this science-assisted
> immortality question in one of his thousands of terrific essays.
>
> Now, I can't recall the title of that particular one, or even which
> collection of his pieces it appeared in. But I CERTAINLY recall his bottom
> line.
>
> And Asimov argued that the most wonderful aspect of human life was the the
> DNA deck-shuffling which occurs every time a XX-chromosome type finds some
> XY-chromosome type* irresistible. And he concluded the essay by declaring
> his eventual death was, clearly, inevitable. And he cheerfully wrapped by
> insisting, "And that's just fine by me".
>
> (But for MY thoroughly-inconsequential part, I'd like to venture that
> humanity would have hugely better off had Asimov managed to attain three or
> even four additional decades, instead of expiring from an AIDS-tainted
> transfusion at only 72 on Monday, April 6, 1992.**)

I miss him flawed though he was.

In his honor I herewith include a file I created (updated and
reposted here sporadically)
that was inspired by something he wrote:
-=-=-=-

In his volumes of autobiography,Isaac Asimov,in contemplation of
when he first realized he was older than his editor,wrote that if he
lived long enough he would become "older than the President of the United
States;older than the Pope..." (as he put it in IN JOY STILL FELT),
and then in I.ASIMOV,years later,that he WAS then older than the President
of the USA and than the Pope,looking back on the same incident.

Obviously the class of people "older than the XXX" grows whenever someone
younger becomes XXX,and then dwindles as long as that person remains XXX.

For the various XXXes on this list,I am leaving out the president of
the USA,as the office changes hands too frequently,and too often
goes to someone older(both Harrisons,Taylor,Buchanan,both Johnsons,
Arthur,Taft,Wilson,Reagan,GW Bush[barely],Trump,Biden).Likewise I don't
include frequently-changing, hard-to-track things like oldest living Cardinal
or British peer or member of Congress,though I have tracked these at
times(mainly recent periods).
I include:

the Pope...office has not gone to someone older in centuries.
the Chief Justice of the United States...dependably passes to
younger hands,incumbents have been older than Presidents in the
period I cover except 1946-53(Truman older than Vinson),1953-61
(Eisenhower older than Warren) 1986-93(Reagan,by years,and
Bush,by months,older than Rehnquist),and from the appointment
of the anomalously young Roberts to the inauguration of Obama.
The president of the LDS (Mormon) Church...dependably held by someone
old,once the founders had gotten old,thanks to strict succession
by seniority.
the British monarch...age can vary,but they stay for life and
successors are always younger....none has ever lived to be 82.
the matriarch of the British royal family...just taking advantage
of the fact that Victoria got rather old and her successors have
usually not been orphans.

I begin arbitrarily with the election of Pope Pius IX.
Periods of vacancy in vacatable offices are ignored.

1846...Chief Justice,Roger B. Taney(born 1777)
British matriarch,Victoire Duchess of Kent(1786)
[or,Queen Adelaide until 1849?]
Pope,Pius IX(1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
British monarch,Victoria(1819)

1861...Chief Justice,Roger B. Taney(born 1777)
Pope,Pius IX(1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1864...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
Chief Justice,Salmon P. Chase(1808)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1874...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

Chase actually died in 1873,it took a while to appoint Waite.

1877...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,John Taylor(1808)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

Taylor led the LDS in an interim title until 1880,but being most senior
leader is automatic.

1878...LDS president,John Taylor(born 1808)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1887...LDS president,Wilford Woodruff(born 1807)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

The first of only three LDS successions to an OLDER man,this shows the
establishment of gerontocracy there,and since the beginning of the
period under survey Victoria has remained the youngest on the list...
it has become entirely old people,those older than any of them,
let alone those older than all of them,have dwindled to a select few.
(Victoria's age of 68 at this point was much older relative to
expectancy that that age would be now).

1888...LDS president,Wilford Woodruff(born 1807)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)

1898...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
LDS president,Lorenzo Snow(born 1814)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)

Woodruff died at 91,his living seniors few indeed and probably hardly any
remaining in positions of influence.

Jan 1901...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
LDS president,Lorenzo Snow(1814)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

Oct 1901...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

Two quick successions made the "older than the..." crowd much larger for
the moment.The oldest reliably recorded Pope ever had two more years...

1903...Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(born 1833)
Pope,St. Pius X(1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

At last all were in a narrow,not extremely old but well on,band...and
their seniors shrank quietly for seven years...

May 1910...Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(born 1833)
Pope,St. Pius X(1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Dec 1910...Pope,St. Pius X(born 1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Fuller had actually died in July.

1914...LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(born 1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
British monarch,George V(1865)

1918...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Grant was the last man near so young to take the LDS leadership.

1921...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)

1922...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(Sept 1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)

1925...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(Sept 1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)

The very last time a mere 70-year-old could claim to be older than the
occupants of all of these positions...the LDS leader,after 7 years,returns
to the top.

1930...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British monarch,George V(1865)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)

Jan 1936...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)
British monarch,Edward VIII(1894)