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Transhumanism

I like transhumanism. It's my best friend in the whole wide world. The life extension is something that I would[n't literally] die for. Not dying would be so awesome because of all the super cool things I could do with an extra hundred years or so.

I'm all for transhumanism.
 
I unfortunately cannot accept this idea. It wreaks too much havoc with my idea of being a human is. It feels too unnatural. I of course would love the idea of more power, more abilities, and being able to live longer and stronger, but it just doesn't sound quite right.
 
Vyraura said:
I unfortunately cannot accept this idea. It wreaks too much havoc with my idea of being a human is. It feels too unnatural. I of course would love the idea of more power, more abilities, and being able to live longer and stronger, but it just doesn't sound quite right.
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Humans have been evolving for thousands of years. Now that we've hit the technological age, I'm pretty sure that we'll actually start de-evolving back into a sad, pathetic, stupid, homo erectus. I'm all for anything that could allow us to evolve and NOT experience what would be the evolution to pre-evolution.
 
That is, if you consider the human brain capable of fathoming the entire path of evolution and what is 'supposed' to happen.

It didn't work with Hitler's master race, now, did it?

also people being lazy fatasses is just as fucking irritating.
 
I say it's unnatural, but then, so is Wonder Bread.

I wouldn't want it, and I don't think it should be avaliable, but it's probably going to happen. :/
 
You can't "go backwards" when talking about evolution. It simply doesn't work because evolution doesn't have a direction - it just happens. Evolution serves to allow an animal to survive in an environment that it's adapted to. There's no question of "backwards" or "forwards" - do you think that whales and dolphins went "backwards" when they returned to the water?
 
Harlequin said:
You can't "go backwards" when talking about evolution. It simply doesn't work because evolution doesn't have a direction - it just happens. Evolution serves to allow an animal to survive in an environment that it's adapted to. There's no question of "backwards" or "forwards" - do you think that whales and dolphins went "backwards" when they returned to the water?
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Evolution is fueled by the sole need to survive. What happens when there is no longer a need to survive, because humans already have all these advanced weapons? We probably won't even need to get up anymore to go out and buy food! Then what happens? Humans start to degrade, into more pitiful creatures. If Transhumanism can prevent us from becomming lazy, whether it prevents large amounts of KCalories to be stored as energy, or to simply increase the human chemistry to have a larger metabolism, I'm all for it. Also, being able to hear better, see better, feel better, and even move faster, would be extremely AWESOME!
 
Evolution still doesn't work like that. What makes you think that it does? Our genes are going to stay the same - they won't degrade, we'll just be ... the same. That's assuming we're not evolving any more, anyway.
 
Well I suppose, if technology allowed it so that we didn't even have to get out of bed anymore, then humans might evolve not to have legs or something. :P And I suppose you might consider that pitiful.
 
Mirry said:
Well I suppose, if technology allowed it so that we didn't even have to get out of bed anymore, then humans might evolve not to have legs or something. :P And I suppose you might consider that pitiful.
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Evolution does not work that way. If it is not noticeably harmful, it is not likely to get bred out. There is no competition that would require limbs to be useful.
 
Hai Keta!! Guess who I am!!

About the evolution thing.. We were discussing that at a camp I went to this summer..

True, there's no going 'backwards' or 'forwards'; with Harlequin's dolphin/whale example, once the amphibians that became reptiles lost their gills, there was no getting them back. For us and this transhumanism thingy, maybe we'll just evolve to become fat, lazy organisms who depend completely on outside forces to exist.. like, we'll evolve crappy immune systems b/c we're taking so many unnecessary antibiotics and crap and we ourselves are evolving new and deadlier diseases.

TO SUM IT UP Transhumanism is both good and bad. :] But on my side of the fence I'd rather not go with it. :P
 
surskitty said:
Evolution does not work that way. If it is not noticeably harmful, it is not likely to get bred out. There is no competition that would require limbs to be useful.
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There was some species of dolphin in... the Yangtze River I think, that became blind because the water it lived in became so dirty that vision was no longer useful. As far as I know, it wasn't noticeably harmful, though.
 
Growing functional eyes when you do not need them expends energy. If there are noticeable environmental pressures, then this could cause problems for the dolphin and so they'll evolve to be sightless.
 
Growing functional limbs when they have been obsoleted would also expend needless energy.

Though if we ever manage to obsolete limbs, they'll be... obsolete so who cares if we lose them o.O
 
Point. Either way, "who cares if we lose them if they're obsolete" was the point I wanted to make more. 8)
 
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