I once read in “Transhumanism Inc.” by Pelevin a concept he’s been using across many of his books. It’s about how, in the future, people will still be mortal, but they’ll be able to save up for a “jar” — and after death, have their brain transplanted into a liquid solution that sustains it. This could potentially allow for eternal life. A Level 1 contract gives you 100 years, and higher levels come with some additional perks — I don’t quite remember the details.

It seems to me this concept has some contradictions with reality.

The first contradiction is that the brain, like the rest of the body, ages and deteriorates. A human body dies in parts, and the brain can be one of those parts. For some people it’s the kidneys, for others — the heart, or the brain. Statistically, it’s usually the heart or cancer. We still haven’t figured out how to beat Alzheimer’s. The older a person is, the higher their risk — after age 90, it’s around 70%. And in a “jar,” that probability might be even higher, though we still don’t really understand what causes it — there are at least four competing hypotheses at the moment.

The second contradiction is that it’s difficult to move the brain as “just brain cells” — for example, there are ions floating around the neurons, and these ions enter the brain in a specific way from the outside, governed by laws we still don’t fully understand.

On the plus side, the concept of “life in a jar” assumes that neurons themselves can live indefinitely, provided the surrounding environment functions well and properly — and that’s indeed mentioned.

The third, and biggest contradiction is this: if humanity were to conquer age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, and if the brain could live forever, then there’d be no point in moving it to a “jar.” The person could simply take medication and continue living in their own body. Reading about the experiences of amputees — how difficult it is for them to adapt to new limbs that don’t function like real ones, or those who get donor limbs and face even more challenges — I’d say depriving the brain of everything related to its physical experience would be a major shock. It would likely lead to high rates of rejection — suicides, depression, and so on.

Plus, in reality, our body is incredibly valuable. Try to price out every part! A living heart costs about $200,000 (its bionic equivalent — from $120,000), a forearm — $20,000. If you add everything up, it comes to a huge sum.

To me, living your real life is the greatest happiness, and these “jars” are just crutches for when there’s no way to live “as you are.”

——Translated with ChatGPT from original version—–