Whenever any one needs an organ (or any other body part) replaced, the surgeons should also install some sort of 'interface' which enables future replacements to be just plugged in. Eventually everyone would have a full set of interfaces and you could just swap your organs whenever required. Hell, you might even be able to re-arrange them in new and exciting ways.-- DrBob, Jul 09 2000 Powder Printing http://www.therics.com/tour_n11.htmTo make custom fitted replacement parts for you. [reensure, Apr 17 2002] Plug and play facial parts http://celebritycos...l/Michael%20JacksonScroll down a wee bit. [Ling, Jun 22 2007] Future of the human race... http://www.hasbro.com/images/cs_mph.jpg... this is probably what DrBob actually looks like now and is hoping for a future in which he will be a little less conspicuous. [theleopard, Jun 22 2007] Velcro?
And if Tinylimp worked on them, they'd occasionally fall off, catch on fire, attempt to strangle you, or all three at once...-- StarChaser, Jul 09 2000 Perhaps initial tests could be carried out on volunteers who already had prosthetic limbs. For the DIY enthusiast, a snap-in power drill on the end of the arm would be a boon. Motorised roller skate attachments would be available to those with prosthetic legs.-- Mickey the Fish, Jul 10 2000 Would the interface spec be 'open' or, if you had your operation done in the Microsoft Hospital, would only those prosthetics manufactured by Microsoft take full advantage of all the interface features?-- hippo, Jul 10 2000 I may not be technically minded but even I'm not stupid enough to let Microsoft develop the interface. Can you imagine the chaos there would be before they eventually managed to iron out all the bugs? Everyone would be like Dr Strangelove, with their limbs seemingly having a mind of their own. I daren't think of the consequences for some of the more squishy body parts.-- DrBob, Jul 10 2000 I don't think the poster was refering to external plugs that are accessable. I think that he is considering standard "plug converters." Have you ever put in a car stereo? You tell the company what car you have and they send you a kit that will convert your wiring to a standard "all stereo" plug. So, if you get a kidney out, they don't just sew one on, they first attack some sort of non-rejectable adapter to the new kidney and the old interface. I'm not sure how they should seal. Maybe some special glue that can be disolved with UV light? Well, anyway, when his new kidney fails, just open him up, flash UV light to unseal, unscrew, and then screw on the new one. Apply glue. No mess, no fuss. Well, except the cutting upen the guy. Maybe make some kind of skin zipper? It would allow re-entry.
Microsoft designed organs would be terrible. "Uh, Oh. My heart just stopped. One sec. I have to defrag and reboot... Arrrgh!"-- lockle, Aug 15 2000 I suspect that the best approach is to have a different interface standard for each body part. So, for example, the interface for a replacement finger could be based on a light bulb bayonet socket whilst for internal organs something a little more complex might be required, possibly requiring a qualified electrician to assist during the installation. And of course, once you had your full set of interfaces then surgery, as we know it, wouldn't be required. Just unzip your skin and disassemble, like stripping down a car engine.-- DrBob, Aug 16 2000 Star Trek warned us against such ideas. Woe to the Borg!
I think too many people would cash in on the "Evil Dead" concept of attaching a chainsaw to their arm. Not that this is bad, in moderation (especially handy when fighting demons) but the temptation to wreck mayhem throughout certain southwestern American states would be too great for me to resist.-- lucidish, Aug 19 2000 <grin> Think of the advertising jingle...
U-G-L-Y? Now you got an alibi, NoUgly!-- StarChaser, Sep 01 2000 It looks like Security Camera's just got made redundant.-- DrBob, Sep 01 2000 Replace with low power radar, or high frequency sonar, and read bone structure.-- StarChaser, Sep 02 2000 so how much could you replace and still be you?-- absterge, Sep 05 2000 "This is Abe Lincoln's very own axe. We had to replace the handle twice, and the head once, but it belonged to him..."
Me, as long as my personality is the same, I am me.-- StarChaser, Sep 06 2000 I change my personality every day but still have the same body and Ime still me.-- multiple #6, Nov 28 2000 and here all this time I have been deceived...oooh that aggravates me... I thought we had plug and play body parts....isn't that what we aged so well for ? To become 'plug and play' scientist's ? That's right, I forgot... they're taking that away.... CLONING.. yes, that's it.... we are losing our plug and play intelligence...we're no longer needed. Nanotechnology...ooops..they're multiplying....well, I would think we could still go on with our ritual's... maybe not...reproduce by themselves..wont need us.-- Timslogic, Nov 28 2000 I guess we wont have to worry about them if they don't need us anymore. Rather ungreatful of technology. Also, haveing another me wouldn't be so bad. I'd have someone who would understand my jokes.-- tinamn, Jun 19 2002 There are far too many intricate parts in a body to make such interfaces practical. The intefaces themselves would be very complex and difficult to attach, so much so that you could have your organs replaced several times over the "natural" way and have fewer problems to deal with than you would just getting the "sockets" or whatever installed.
Plus, the whole idea of unzipping your skin is ridiculous. In order for it to be generally effective, your skin would have to basically be detached from the rest of your body, otherwise you'd have a zillion zippers (clever, huh?) all over you to allow access to various locations. Zippers for incisions are really only effective when multiple surgeries in the same area of the body are expected without an end in sight. Although at this point I wouldn't doubt that scientists have found something significantly better than a zipper, like maybe a ziplock ;).-- Size_Mick, Nov 17 2003 I agree Size_Mick, the skin should be the first thing that gets replaced. It just doesn't work with the new interface technology.-- DrBob, Nov 18 2003 Reminds me of the book "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein. It is 2075 and convicts have been shipped to the moon as the ultimate prison, no way out. So they form their own governemnt and begin to export products and I'm losing my point, so; a character named Manuel had lost the lower section of his left arm in a mining incident, so he then had an adapter installed to fit 12 seperate arms, each one could attach when he felt like it, ad they all served a purpose, ex; his #3 arm was equiped with micromanipulators for fine machinery. Suspose it would be cool to have one of these.-- thelambs, Nov 18 2003 well they can already do arms and legs, heart, spray on skin, cornea implants....-- obesemind, Aug 05 2005 Why yes, I AM hung like a mule and I can be hung like a horse if you wait a few minutes...-- Dog, Aug 08 2005 Do many people get their internal organs replaced often enough to warrant this? I should think a person would only need an individual organ replaced once in a lifetime.
If a person's organs are really being replaced often enough for something like this to be necessary, then maybe its a signal for that person to seriously rethink their lifestyle...-- Psudomorph, Jun 22 2007 Link-- Ling, Jun 22 2007 Linkage.-- theleopard, Jun 22 2007 I'll have to write ANSI about this one-- Voice, Oct 07 2007 random, halfbakery