Cryonics

I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that Walt Disney was cryonically frozen.  Apparently this is an urban legend that is not true.  Am I the only one that was still under this assumption?  It was a huge blow.  I honestly thought the man was frozen somewhere waiting for his comeback.  Well, anywho.  This brought me to doing a bit of research on the subject of being cryonically frozen.

Sometime during the 1990s, people were amazed that victims who had undergone cardiac arrest had been brought back to life.  Zombies? No.  Although that would have been rather interesting (see Fido).  Thus, enters the thought of information-theoretic death, which states that if the structures in the brain responsible for important functions such as memory or personality, are substantially disrupted, then the person is considered dead.  In other words, if important parts of your brain are destroyed, then you're dead.  This is pretty obvious, isn't it?  Well, in terms of cryonics, they attempt to preserve these important structures of the brain by freezing them.  

The body is cooled to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.  On a side note, speaking of liquid nitrogen, last night on the Top Chef finale, Richard used it to make bacon ice cream and the judges loved it.  I question any judge's palate who praises a dessert that consists of bacon, ice cream, and liquid nitrogen.  Really?  

Back to cryonics.  The biggest problem in keeping the body preserved this way is that ice may form between the cells which damages them extensively.  Ischemia is another problem.  If the brain is without blood circulation for a long period of time before the process is done, then it may also be extensively destroyed.  Then the biggest problem is of course, the revival part.  As of today, it is impossible.  I suspect that perhaps in about 500 millions years we'll have it.  But by then there will most likely be no purpose since according to many models that is the time limit given for Earth's inhabitability.  Apparently the oceans will disappear due to accelerated carbon dioxide cycles caused by the sun's increase of luminosity because of higher helium ash in its core.  So much for these immortality seekers.  Or maybe they can also figure out to to invade the sun's core.  Now there's an idea...

Well, I found a paper that basically gives the recipe to a good cryonic resuscitation (in case you're interested).  Here it is: working on atoms by atoms (nanotechnology), ribosomes (for your proteins), some sort of assembler, a computer that can instruct the assemblers, and positional chemistry among a few other glitches.  Oh yes, and I almost forgot the most important one: money.  Well, in any case, this is all theoretical but this guy believes that if they were able to keep the brain well enough by using liquid nitrogen to freeze it, all these other things would come into play to bring the brain back to life.

A much better, realistic, and interesting approach to cryonics is the fact that some scientists have been able to keep certain isolated tissues cooled with liquid nitrogen only to have them re-warm successfully.  Now there's an interesting path!  Other than that, I still consider cryonics a good premise for a science fiction book/film and only that.  That would be one chaotic world.  You add some mind-uploading there and you have got yourself the perfect dystopia.  For those who have never heard of mind-uploading, it is the theory of transferring the human mind to some sort of simulation computer.  Sometimes I think my laptop has a mind of its own.  Does that count?

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, ooof, not only has a rather long name but was actually very long itself.  I went into the film without having seen any of the previous Jones.  In fact, the only scene I know from the previous films is the one where there is some sort of immense, rolling stone trailing Indiana Jones, who of course, manages to escape it.  So, as you have probably guessed by now, I have nothing to compare it to.  That being said, here's my take on this new adventure flick.

I am under the assumption that the old Indiana films were very popular for their action and adventure scenes (and probably their fantastical stories).  I'm also guessing that the action scenes, such as the ones seen in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, were, well, awesome?  Fast forward to 2008, and they come out as goofy but nonetheless entertaining.  

I have to admit that I was constantly laughing at the fact that Dr. Jones must have pushed people off from cars and surfaces on more than a dozen occasions.  I mean, this man was an excellent pusher!  Also, many of his escapes and defeats were purely based on luck.  He would some how land on the perfect place, at the perfect time, to find the perfect weapon and deliver a perfect blow.  Wow, if I had half of his luck I would play the lottery and win it every time. He also managed to survive a nuclear bombing by hiding inside a 1960s, green refrigerator, tumbling and turning quite a few times only to come out from it without a single scratch.  All I kept thinking of was that Mythbusters episode on the Discovery Channel where they proved that refrigerators only serve for refrigerating purposes and not for life-saving ones.  But then again, it's Dr. Jones and I still think that there is a slim possibility that refrigerators can save lives.  

The story was a bit difficult to follow and I think I've come to the conclusion that the reason is that it's also a bit silly.  Extraterrestrials and Mayans were buddies?  Umm, well, okay.  I did, however, find the last bit all too amusing and fascinating:  Cate Blanchett's character (who by the way was sporting a rather intimidating wig) literally combusted because of all the knowledge she received from the non-talking alien.  I knew it all along; you can't know it all without having your head explode.  

So in a nutshell:  it was silly but amusing.