Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» When a head is dead how long can it be operated remotely before the stench sets in and the head shrivels and shrinks?
Ewww Rosie that sounds like the plot of a horror film! People have long speculated about whether it is possible to keep the head (or just the brain) of a human or another warm-blooded animal artificially alive once severed from the body - it has been a theme in literature, including a Roald Dahl story and in CS Lewis's dystopic novel, That Hideous Strength. I think it has been tried with a baboon, but it was found possible to keep only the basic brain functions going, not the higher ones, so as yet one cannot preserve consciousness in this way. That's one medical advance I do NOT wish to see become a reality in my lifetime.
Hi there Rev! I remember a story long ago on TV. Not sure what the series was. Maybe LIGHTS OUT. Anyway the story unfolds and is being narrated by an unseen being. I forget it entirely except for the ending which I cannot stop remembering. The camera pans to a liquid-filled jar with a brain suspended therein. That is the narrator! You know in Biology we dissected a frog and it twitched even after it was dead. I guess there are automatic motor responses. It was very weird. So maybe what I recall was by CS Lewis or Roald Dahl? Thank you for your informative reply and Happy Sunday to thee Reverend Muhammadovsky! :)
Reverend Muhammadovsky 