From the monthly archives:
February 2010
Living "Flowers for Algernon": What would *you* do?
This morning, I was exercising my secret sin… browsing political blogs. (Shameful, I know… please don’t spread it around.) An enigmatic, just-posted entry on DailyKos caught my eye: ” A short diary, but a question on life.”
The author (with an intriguing nick of BFSkinner) asked rather eloquently what we would do if diagnosed with a disease that would inevitably rob us of our minds? A disease that would steal our very self, a disease that can be treated to slow but not stop the progression, a disease which, in the end, will win. How would we approach living the tale of Flowers for Algernon - the story of a mouse and a man who, having had their intelligence artificially enhanced, then watch that intelligence fade, along with their life?
Predictably, the question stirred me. I mean, heck… that book probably helped shape my fascination with improving and maintaining the human brain. Instead of contributing a quick comment and moving on, I decided to write here, instead.
Because there’s just no way I can explore this briefly.
Here’s what I hope I would do:
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