# Key Points from the IRC Discussion

• Bitcoin was discussed as a transformative technology beyond just digital currency, with maaku describing it as a "radically socially transformative democratizing technology" that could replace contract arbitration, aspects of governance, and financial intermediaries.

• Kanzure shared research on dopamine fluctuations in human striatum that encode both actual and counterfactual reward signals, linking to a PNAS paper that explores the neurological basis of decision-making and reward processing.

• The group debated survival strategies for humanity, comparing underground habitats powered by enhanced geothermal energy to Mars colonies, with some arguing subterranean options are more cost-effective while emphasizing the importance of developing off-planet manufacturing infrastructure.

• Participants explored philosophical questions about consciousness and identity in mind uploading scenarios, debating whether a brain scan could be considered a continuation of the original person or merely a copy.

• The conversation touched on preservation strategies, comparing cryonics versus brain plastination, with some participants preferring transitional uploading via artificial neurons over brain scanning and emulation approaches.

• An innovative application of blockchain technology was shared through Medicinal Genomics' "Kannapedia" project, which creates an open-source genetic registry of cannabis strains, demonstrating how Bitcoin's underlying technology can be applied to scientific authentication.

• The discussion speculated about the theoretical possibility of recovering extinct species or deceased individuals by computationally processing the reflected electromagnetism of our light cone, suggesting extinction might not be permanent with sufficiently advanced technology.