While I feel for you, I would like you not to do something that cause cryonics to be banned.
What Alzheimer’s does seems to be unknown, but at least it the late stages it seems implausible that it wouldn’t destroy information, it shrinks the support too much.
The stage at which you have to maybe-die seems less determined by how much of your personality has been destroyed by the disease, and more by how much people stop deeming you competent for choosing it. Moderate dementia doesn’t seem to be anywhere near enough to kill you but can definitely be used against your choice to e.g. starve.
I will keep the whole “don’t get it banned for other people” thing in mind should this ever actually come up, but as I can’t predict ultimate outcomes I can’t make any promises.
Choosing not to eat or drink doesn’t seem likely to provoke that response, especially if I only explain it as “I don’t want to live through [whatever]”.
I would make such a choice long before I was considered legally incompetent; the Russian roulette of “any day a fond memory could disappear” is to horrible for me; unlike other people in this thread, I consider my memories a central part of who I am.
Of course, but I can help preserve the memories I choose by remembering them, reinforcing the connections. I dunno about Alzheimer’s, but with, say, CJD, anything could disappear at any time, reinforced or not. It’s not the same, to me.
While I feel for you, I would like you not to do something that cause cryonics to be banned.
What Alzheimer’s does seems to be unknown, but at least it the late stages it seems implausible that it wouldn’t destroy information, it shrinks the support too much.
The stage at which you have to maybe-die seems less determined by how much of your personality has been destroyed by the disease, and more by how much people stop deeming you competent for choosing it. Moderate dementia doesn’t seem to be anywhere near enough to kill you but can definitely be used against your choice to e.g. starve.
I will keep the whole “don’t get it banned for other people” thing in mind should this ever actually come up, but as I can’t predict ultimate outcomes I can’t make any promises.
Choosing not to eat or drink doesn’t seem likely to provoke that response, especially if I only explain it as “I don’t want to live through [whatever]”.
I would make such a choice long before I was considered legally incompetent; the Russian roulette of “any day a fond memory could disappear” is to horrible for me; unlike other people in this thread, I consider my memories a central part of who I am.
You do realize this is true to a surprisingly large degree even for perfectly healthy human brains right?
I’m pretty sure I used to know that.
Of course, but I can help preserve the memories I choose by remembering them, reinforcing the connections. I dunno about Alzheimer’s, but with, say, CJD, anything could disappear at any time, reinforced or not. It’s not the same, to me.
-Robin