ROBERT WADDILOVE

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That human head/body transplant story

"Someone needs to go further where no one has been before. The first spaceman was afraid, I’m sure"

Vice posted an interesting Q&A with Valery Spiridonov, who is putting himself forward to be the first human to have his head transplanted. Strange how it is referred to as a 'head transplant' when it is in fact his body being 'replaced'. A strange quirk. But obviously it's a stickier headline.

It's a scary story which has got a lot of traction and the mental and physical ramifications, let alone the 'how?', are genuinely frightening. There is a morbid curiosity with these kind of stories, alongside a sadness that to one man, this gamble is seemingly his only option at extending his life, or even miraculously offering him an improved quality of life. 

To now completely boil this down to a cultural reference (one of my super powers) I can't help but feel the operation is comparable to the famous Indiana Jones 'swapping scene' in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Let's hope for Valery's sake the attempt is more successful than Indy's.