Artificial reincarnation
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It has been suggested that a form of reincarnation could be artificialy created without real death. This idea is one of those used to allay the feeling that vastly extended lifespans would mean boredom.
The principle is quite simple : if the memories of a living being could be partially or totally erased, he would be able to rediscover what he had willingly forgotten, maybe even since birth - and to live a new "life". The technology is currently unavailable, but scientists are already considering pills that would be designed to forget recent experiences (currently, traumatic ones), and studies of current amnesias are progressively unraveling the mechanisms of forgetfulness. In the more futuristic context of mind uploading, erasing selected memories would almost surely be relatively easy.
