Not sure what exactly you mean by the “internal state of the nodes.” If you are referring to inside the individual brain cells, then I think you’re mistaken. We can already peer into the inside of neurons. Transmission electron microscopy is a powerful technology! Combine it with serial sectioning with a diamond knife and you can get quite a lot of detail in quite a large amount of tissue.
For example consider Ragsdale et al’s recent study, to pick the first sstem scopus result. They looked at some sensory neurons in C. elegans, and were able to identify not just internal receptors but also which cells (sheath cells) contain abundant endoplasmic reticulum, secretory granules, and/or lipid globules.
This whole discussion comes down to what level of scale separation you might need to recapitulate the function of the brain and the specific characteristics that make you you. Going down to say the atomic level would probably be very difficult, for instance. But there’s good reason to think that we won’t have to go nearly that far down to reproduce human characteristics. Have you read the pdf roadmap? No reason to form beliefs w/o the relevant knowledge! :)
You are responding to a point somewhat at angles to the one I made. Yes, we can learn a lot about the internal state of brain cells using modern technology. It does not follow that such state survives long-term storage at liquid-nitrogen temperatures.
Not sure what exactly you mean by the “internal state of the nodes.” If you are referring to inside the individual brain cells, then I think you’re mistaken. We can already peer into the inside of neurons. Transmission electron microscopy is a powerful technology! Combine it with serial sectioning with a diamond knife and you can get quite a lot of detail in quite a large amount of tissue.
For example consider Ragsdale et al’s recent study, to pick the first sstem scopus result. They looked at some sensory neurons in C. elegans, and were able to identify not just internal receptors but also which cells (sheath cells) contain abundant endoplasmic reticulum, secretory granules, and/or lipid globules.
This whole discussion comes down to what level of scale separation you might need to recapitulate the function of the brain and the specific characteristics that make you you. Going down to say the atomic level would probably be very difficult, for instance. But there’s good reason to think that we won’t have to go nearly that far down to reproduce human characteristics. Have you read the pdf roadmap? No reason to form beliefs w/o the relevant knowledge! :)
You are responding to a point somewhat at angles to the one I made. Yes, we can learn a lot about the internal state of brain cells using modern technology. It does not follow that such state survives long-term storage at liquid-nitrogen temperatures.
Is it the immediate effects of the freezing process that trouble you or the long-term effects of staying frozen for years / decades / centuries?