Transhumanism

Fuck yes! Zilla "The Anti-Zionist"

 

I thought I had a grip on game theory, what am I missing?

Not that my post was particularly profound

 

I find it interesting yes and I'm sure there are countless directions we can go like the differences between one snowflake and another. However I don't think we're gonna see any jumps in evolution in our lifetime or my kids lifetime, evolution unfortunately takes a long time.

 

Not really. When we are in control of our own physical change, it won't take that long, couple of hundred to a thousand years maybe.

We can now replace a weak heart with an artificial one, that's got to say something about where and how fast we're going.

 

I don't think so. My body is awesome.

I probably wouldn't be opposed to installing some silicone or whathaveyou in place of damaged limbs and organs, especially as I get older, but only to retain functionality, not to go beyond normal human potential.

As for endless evolutionary potential, I don't know. I can imagine humanity reaching a level where we are so advanced any further progress would be too insignificant to notice, but I think we are a long, long way from that yet. I do think that this is a critical period in human evolution, though, and that we will see a lot of change in the world in the next 10-20 years.

 

See that's just the problem, we have made so such advancement in technology that we can actually stagnate our "progress" instead of accelerating it. To use your example: replacing a weak heart with an artificial one doesn't make the gene pool any better, you just allow someone with a weak heart more years to make babies whom might be prone to having weak hearts. Henceforth with any other illness.

We would have to change the aliments on a molecular level to see any real progress with an acceleration of our evolution, which we do have the tools for atm but only during the embryo-fetal stage and currently that is illegal.

Also the current way we treat medical conditions doesn't help either, we "treat" illnesses instead of curing them. Way more profitable that way.

Also don't forget the advancement in other areas which not only threats our environment but also our health: Food, Transportation, Education, Relationships, Drugs, Packaging, etc.

 

Evolution is a slow and gradual process; it’s only when the population is under stress that evolution adapts to meet the new conditions.

If the conditions are stable or thriving then evolution does a Houdini until needed once again.

Hotwater

 

Bingo!

 

There are always weak links in the gene pool, there always have been. Still, we have found ways to keep them around while still prospering with healthy, normal people. Society has grown more adapt and we're living longer than ever. Treating can be curing, I don't think its so black and white. Depends on the case.

and all these things that you could say disable us from achieving brighter goals are the cause for a push towards new technology. Sure we might be doing damage now, but thats inevitable. We need the push to create new technology and goals. Otherwise, we could respect mother earth and have a slower will to evolve and explore other possibilities of inhabitancy. mean while, a comet comes speeding towards earth....

 

And plunges the earth into perpetual darkness killing off most of the population, but those few men and women who survive emerge from the dust and debris as virtual supermen, opening up a new and wondrous chapter in human evolution and development :cheers2:


Hotwater

 

I think, intentional and conscious evolution can and will happen much faster. Humans have already started to consciously modifying their own DNA, with gene therapy, etc. It won't be long before people start to use genetic modification for improving the species rather then just for correcting disorders, etc. imo

 

hey..

it could happen. :cheers2:

 

Dean since you're in a deep thinking mood and we share the same belief that steady progress has been made in terms of quality of life since humans hit the scene, I thought you might give me your input on some of my philosophical rants. They touch on some of the same topics being discussed here and give a decent background of why I believe humans to be the key to the possibility of a Utopia in the distant future.

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?p=5458570#post5458570 post #7

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?p=5460241#post5460241 post #56

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?p=5641528#post5641528 post #821

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?p=5667850#post5667850 post #33

 

Very cool, Yert my man.

You got it. Its effin late so i'm about to pass out, but I think there is a ton of validity within your statements in each post.

I don't know if we will ever reach a utopia of sorts (and i'm assuming your idea of utopia isn't a land where we're relaxing on a hammock on the beach for eternity, but more like a world that caiters to our needs on a level that is comfortable for most). As a whole, human action is easy to observe but harder to control. As long as we keep pushing our boundries, we will better grasp our own capabilites, even if that means breaking down and rebuilding social structure. It's been our game plan for millions of years, and we're sticking to it.

ugh, my head is foggy. but yea, man. We will prevail!
:cheers2:

 

I'm not saying our advancements are keeping us from advancing even further, just that our advancements are happening too fast for us to manage the long term scope of their negative effects. I just think we have a few dark ages to go through before we start consciously seeing changes in our genetic progress.

 

Or Paris Hilton and her like-minded pinheads are the only ones to survive thanks to their rich daddies and their fallout shelters. Dooooooooooooomed! Money is a net positive but it can create shitty consequences.

Yao Ming anyone? 7'6 Chinaman with decent footwork ...

Yeah I feel there's no use in trying to predict ANYthing more than a few hundred years into the future, as in the long run EVERYthing is subject to change. I depend on the past 10,000 years and the exponential increases in our abilities for my optimism for a better and better future. Basicly some form of cold fusion for nearly limitless energy, robots of various sizes to fix our physical ailments and handle our menial tasks, completely understanding the brain to improve social interactions and logical reasoning etc...

I agree with Bonkai that it's likely some of these areas are progressing too fast for our own good, and I agree with Dean that it's absolutely neccesary to push our limits as we're in a cosmic shooting gallery and are perpetually on the brink of extinction at the hands of natural causes.

I think the Cold War was a good test of whether or not humans are capable of accepting that our interests are more common than we often give ourselves credit for, and I really hope our advancements don't lead to any more dark ages. Science is a language we can all agree won't lead to any backsliding and a global economy helps the entire world's population depend on each other and want to help our neighbors. We have a lot of things going for us as a species and so I maintain my optimism with a steadfast resolve.

 

that's just a bit refreshing