Straggler writes:
Without any physical brains with which to have thoughts do ideas exist?
No. If every human brain on the planet ceased to exist so too would all novel ideas. However the ideas stored in literature and on computers would still exist until such a time as the media/medium is destroyed.imo.
If Cephalopods someday inherited the Earth and became literate,or if some alien culture found our stored ideas then they would once again exist.
Straggler writes:
Does the idea still exist? Or did the idea kick the bucket along with my physical brain?
The idea ceases to exist along with the brain that processes and stores it.imo.