The idea that Poke'Mon would inspire scientist to do anything horrifies me.Mr Pantomime said:Seems pretty cool, and id like it to happen. But you have to realise these thingss dont happen with people saying "Hey, we should make artificial limbs for people", or "Transhumanism is a cool idea, lets work on that". It starts when some roboticist says to some co-workers "You know what would be awesome?, If we could make someone look like fucking Machamp!". Then the do it.
True Story
I think bionic (mechanical) limbs and organs are really only the beginning. Genetherapy and deliberate manipulation of a living person's DNA, along with biomechanical restructuring and organ replacement is really where it's at. Of course, these things are even further away, but they will hold the key to what we all want: being young and strong and beautiful (or whatever) for as long as we want to be alive. Posthumans are almost definitely not going to occur in our lifetimes, extended though they might be, but that's irrelevant to me. I can still look forward to it for my children's children's children and maybe, just maybe, somehow I'll stay alive long enough to take advantage of some of the awesomeness they'll be able to enjoy.AccursedTheory said:Because that's the question that made me realize how quaint the idea of robotic body replacements are. We'll all be old, gray, or dead by the time machines can repair themselves like our bodies can (Nano/Microbots). Who cares if you can run 45 miles an hour when a twisted ankle requires a trip to the shop and a hefty insurance premium?
I don't think we have to discuss biological replacements here. It will take at least 80-100 years to get to a point to where it can be done reliably and stably, another 50 years to get past the FDA (And foreign equivalent), and about 50 years after that until the apocalypse comes.HapexIndustries said:I think bionic (mechanical) limbs and organs are really only the beginning. Genetherapy and deliberate manipulation of a living person's DNA, along with biomechanical restructuring and organ replacement is really where it's at. Of course, these things are even further away, but they will hold the key to what we all want: being young and strong and beautiful (or whatever) for as long as we want to be alive. Posthumans are almost definitely not going to occur in our lifetimes, extended though they might be, but that's irrelevant to me. I can still look forward to it for my children's children's children and maybe, just maybe, somehow I'll stay alive long enough to take advantage of some of the awesomeness they'll be able to enjoy.AccursedTheory said:Because that's the question that made me realize how quaint the idea of robotic body replacements are. We'll all be old, gray, or dead by the time machines can repair themselves like our bodies can (Nano/Microbots). Who cares if you can run 45 miles an hour when a twisted ankle requires a trip to the shop and a hefty insurance premium?
If were are going to relegate the discussion to things that are likely to happen in our lifetime it will get boring fast, but I guess people prefer something more tangible than pipe dreams of biomechanics. Still, we are working on mind-machine interfaces in a number of directions, not the least of which have involved: perceiving what eyes are seeing on a computer screen, moving a computer cursor with ones mind, and hooking a brain up to a robot arm and having it actually do something. Chances are good that the real transhumanist (again, not just replacements for things but NEW things) breakthroughs will result from this research and probably within our lifetimes. I doubt I'll get to access google with my brain but maybe it'll just be a question of having enough money instead of being totally impossible.AccursedTheory said:I don't think we have to discuss biological replacements here. It will take at least 80-100 years to get to a point to where it can be done reliably and stably, another 50 years to get past the FDA (And foreign equivalent), and about 50 years after that until the apocalypse comes.
This exactly word for word...fezzthemonk said:For me, my belief in trance humanism came as more of aggravation with the majority of the population. I feel that we have become to complaisant. That we feel that we have stopped evolving, the "I'm number 1, why try harder" mentality. So because I'm to impatient to wait, I think transhumanism is the next step in human evolution. We need it as a species to move past the ceiling we've hit.
You also make valid points, and I must apologize for my lack of clarity (still) as to what I mean. Perhaps saying that altering our natural state was poor wording. All of the things you listed are indeed modifications to our natural state, but also most of them are a little more medically relevant that just giving yourself a pair of functional wings or extra arms. I absolutely agree that human augmentations could have huge benefits in curing, even eliminating disease, and fixing disabilities and injuries. It's when you get into all the extra modifications, such as adding extra limbs or replacing completely functioning limbs with cybernetics. I hope this makes what I am against a little more clear.Living Contradiction said:-snip-DJDarque said:-snip-