Transhumanism

[PrimeCutDiggityDog]

The values of items depreciate as the resources required to produce them inevitably shrink. Immortality the best, nay perfection? Perhaps so, but the nanobots (just as an example) that may halt or even reverse the aging process will be improved upon still.

 

[Picklepower]

Immortality would drive me nuts, but wait isn't the sun gonna explode in like a billion years? (I just through out a big number, cuz I don't know the real one) so I don't see how anyone could be "immortal". And about the population problem I'm confused like, if we master space colonization, people will be given tug boats and everything will just be fine? huh? people would HAVE to be sacrificed just to keep resources from running out, wouldn't they? This just sounds so crazy, I doubt your average white trash would be allowed access to this future technology. Does anyone think this future earth government, would be that gracious? or would there be some kind of eugenics at play? Look at the messed up condition of Earth now, and in the past and tell me with a straight face that this Jetsons utopia is actually possible. All organisms die eventually, people have chased the dream of immortality since they learned to think. Prolonging life is great, but why would you even want to be immortal? some of your best memories would fade out, and the way you experience time will change, to where a day will feel like an hour etc. People really wouldn't be human anymore, if this stuff actually got off the ground. And what about all the litter, and emissions? we are already fucking up Earth, are we gonna do the same to Mars, and then what? I don't believe in utopias, or perfection in general.

 

[Watcher]

There's a really good Star Trek episode about Transhumanism called "What are little girls made of"

The gist of the episode is that Kirk meets a doctor who has been experimenting with androids and... you know what just watch the episode. You won't regret it.

 

[Smokedaddy]

Immortality would drive me nuts, but wait isn't the sun gonna explode in like a billion years? (I just through out a big number, cuz I don't know the real one)

Four billion, and no, it's not going to explode. It will cool and expand, veeery slowly becoming a red giant. Mercury + Venus + Earth (and maybe even + Mars) will be engulfed ('cause their aphelia would be < the Sun's radius). It'll eventually spew off its outer layers, forming a a planetary nebula, and collapse into a white dwarf. To explode, It would have to mass several times what it does.

so I don't see how anyone could be "immortal".

Go outside at night and look up. Those little bright points are a long way away and there's a speed limit, so it won't be easy. But they are out there, and we have a few billion years to work the problem.

Then there's the whole "heat death of the Universe thing" but we'd have lots of time to figure that one out.

As far as transhumanism is concerned, it is widely known that my body secretes nothing that you cannot eat like candy, or drink like wine.

 

[Holdek]

Immortality would drive me nuts, but wait isn't the sun gonna explode in like a billion years? (I just through out a big number, cuz I don't know the real one) so I don't see how anyone could be "immortal". And about the population problem I'm confused like, if we master space colonization, people will be given tug boats and everything will just be fine? huh? people would HAVE to be sacrificed just to keep resources from running out, wouldn't they? This just sounds so crazy, I doubt your average white trash would be allowed access to this future technology. Does anyone think this future earth government, would be that gracious? or would there be some kind of eugenics at play? Look at the messed up condition of Earth now, and in the past and tell me with a straight face that this Jetsons utopia is actually possible. All organisms die eventually, people have chased the dream of immortality since they learned to think. Prolonging life is great, but why would you even want to be immortal? some of your best memories would fade out, and the way you experience time will change, to where a day will feel like an hour etc. People really wouldn't be human anymore, if this stuff actually got off the ground. And what about all the litter, and emissions? we are already fucking up Earth, are we gonna do the same to Mars, and then what? I don't believe in utopias, or perfection in general.

Pickle that's a lot of questions/issues you've raised...

Probably the quintessential tome on all of this is The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil. You may not agree with everything he writes but he's a serious figure in the scientific community and his book addresses a lot of these concerns from the transhumanist standpoint.

 

[Picklepower]

Immortality would drive me nuts, but wait isn't the sun gonna explode in like a billion years? (I just through out a big number, cuz I don't know the real one) so I don't see how anyone could be "immortal". And about the population problem I'm confused like, if we master space colonization, people will be given tug boats and everything will just be fine? huh? people would HAVE to be sacrificed just to keep resources from running out, wouldn't they? This just sounds so crazy, I doubt your average white trash would be allowed access to this future technology. Does anyone think this future earth government, would be that gracious? or would there be some kind of eugenics at play? Look at the messed up condition of Earth now, and in the past and tell me with a straight face that this Jetsons utopia is actually possible. All organisms die eventually, people have chased the dream of immortality since they learned to think. Prolonging life is great, but why would you even want to be immortal? some of your best memories would fade out, and the way you experience time will change, to where a day will feel like an hour etc. People really wouldn't be human anymore, if this stuff actually got off the ground. And what about all the litter, and emissions? we are already fucking up Earth, are we gonna do the same to Mars, and then what? I don't believe in utopias, or perfection in general.

Pickle that's a lot of questions/issues you've raised...

Probably the quintessential tome on all of this is The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil. You may not agree with everything he writes but he's a serious figure in the scientific community and his book addresses a lot of these concerns from the transhumanist standpoint.

LOL oh god your right. I'll see if that book is at the library, cuz I'm going tomorrow anyway.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Ya know something, brother? There was already a singularity. On March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, there was an epic battle between two forces. Those forces being 7'4, 550 lb Andre the Giant and the awesome power of Hulkamania. When the Hulkster was down and out, summoning up the power of the little Hulksters was all that was needed. The Hulkster picked up the giant and slammed him into the mat, man. And you know something else, brother? The impact was so powerful it created a point of infinite density, a singularity... The result was a black hole, man. Thank God that all the Hulkamaniacs trained, said their prayers and ate their vitamins, man. They're survivors, man. The Hulkster saw the damage that was occurring to the stadium, so the Hulkster went against the ropes and dropped a big leg drop on the black hole, man. The black hole immediately vaporized upon impact from the Hulkster's 6'8 303 lb frame, and the Hulkster covered the giant for the three-count.

 

[Holdek]

Ya know something, brother? There was already a singularity. On March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, there was an epic battle between two forces. Those forces being 7'4, 550 lb Andre the Giant and the awesome power of Hulkamania. When the Hulkster was down and out, summoning up the power of the little Hulksters was all that was needed. The Hulkster picked up the giant and slammed him into the mat, man. And you know something else, brother? The impact was so powerful it created a point of infinite density, a singularity... The result was a black hole, man. Thank God that all the Hulkamaniacs trained, said their prayers and ate their vitamins, man. They're survivors, man. The Hulkster saw the damage that was occurring to the stadium, so the Hulkster went against the ropes and dropped a big leg drop on the black hole, man. The black hole immediately vaporized upon impact from the Hulkster's 6'8 303 lb frame, and the Hulkster covered the giant for the three-count.

Thank you Hulkster, that black hole would have eventually swallowed us all, man, including a five-year-old little Hulkster named Holdek!

 

[Zim]

My argument for why we don't need immortality can be summed up in one word.

Politicians.

 

[Watcher]

My argument for why we don't need immortality can be summed up in one three words.

Politicians Christian Weston Chandler.

Fix'd that for you.

 

[SlowInTheMinds]

My argument for why we don't need immortality can be summed up in one three words.

Politicians Christian Weston Chandler.

Fix'd that for you.

 

[LordCustos3]

Fair enough, but unfortunately I'd imagine the cessation of aging would be happening long before any viable form of interplanetary travel. The resources required just to put a man on the moon were mind-boggling.

Also, personally,I don't want to live forever. Growing old and feeble doesn't appeal to me, but never aging would drive me insane.

Another facet of defeating death is that you don't die against your will. You can defeat death, and still partake of it, when you feel it is your time to go.

Notice I say when YOU feel it is your time to go. Not when your failing organs and foreshortened telomeres feel it is time to go.

My argument for why we don't need immortality can be summed up in one word.
Politicians.

I think -- as part of an overall policy of total cultural improvement -- we should implement the same system the ancient Celts had. They had a great idea for Term Limits: you have a seven year term. At the end of the seven years, they build a huge funeral pyre and you voluntarily walk into it.

Ah, but enough retro-stuff....lets look forward instead....back to transhumanism.
Sure, with technologies like "brain downloading" you would, hypothetically, have to put up with Louis Gohmert or Newt Gingrich until the end of time.......
except if you had /root_superuser access and just delete gohmert.iso and gingrich.iso
Ding! Problem solved!

 

[ToroidalBoat]

They tried mind uploading in "Total Annihilation" and look how well that turned out...

Seriously though, putting aside the ethical, technological, and biological difficulties (for example: are you killed in the uploading process and a copy of you is simulated on machine?), the idea of uploading mind to machine is a little unsettling to say the least.

 

[ASoulMan]

I'd imagine humanity trying to create cyborgs before dumping people's brains into computers.

Like you know, replacing failing organs and body parts with mechanical parts and components in order to increase lifespan? Either way, it's all at the expense of your humanity.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Either way, it's all at the expense of your humanity.

There's this one book for this famous scifi series about a war in the stars where these monks on Skywalker's desert planet have their brains in domes on robotic spiders. I don't think I'd enjoy that much.

Cyborgs are also reminiscent of the Borg, which is probably why transhumanism isn't too appealing to at least some.

That being said, there are some good aspects to what could be regarded as transhumanism. We already have the technology to control machines with our minds via special sensors. The technology could be used to bypass injured spinal cords and aid quadriplegics and paraplegics, for example.

 

[A Hotdog]

I think as a species we should strive for colonization of other worlds sooner rather than later.
Even though this planet is still within its threshold of humans it can hold, Getting it up to the point of no return would benefit no one.

However, I only see it happen when money can be made from it.
As a species we are greedy and terribly lazy.
And even in the scenario of us finally running out of resources which humanity needs to continue we still wouldn't suddenly decide to pack our proverbial bags and gtfo.

That's why I think this has to be done in a pro-profit manner, Either for colonization of planets that can be exploited like we do with Earth.
Just in a way more widescale way. Because if we can colonize one planet, We can colonize all of them (in due time).

Maybe in 120 years when we are all cyberbrains, hanging out on the Kiwifarm Neural Hub Nexus, While Null is pushing more black ICE to fend of dang dirty trolls, we can finally get our asses to mars.

I hope so, For our sake.

 

[KingGeedorah]

Y'all got way deeper into Elysium then I did.

 

[Yog-Spergoth]

I think as a species we should strive for colonization of other worlds sooner rather than later.
Even though this planet is still within its threshold of humans it can hold, Getting it up to the point of no return would benefit no one.

However, I only see it happen when money can be made from it.
As a species we are greedy and terribly lazy.
And even in the scenario of us finally running out of resources which humanity needs to continue we still wouldn't suddenly decide to pack our proverbial bags and gtfo.

That's why I think this has to be done in a pro-profit manner, Either for colonization of planets that can be exploited like we do with Earth.
Just in a way more widescale way. Because if we can colonize one planet, We can colonize all of them (in due time).

Maybe in 120 years when we are all cyberbrains, hanging out on the Kiwifarm Neural Hub Nexus, While Null is pushing more black ICE to fend of dang dirty trolls, we can finally get our asses to mars.

I hope so, For our sake.

I am gonna be so impressed if this is a Shadowrun reference

 

[A Hotdog]

I am gonna be so impressed if this is a Shadowrun reference

Maybe the awakening will be soon friend. Soon.

 

[Holdek]

I'd imagine humanity trying to create cyborgs before dumping people's brains into computers.

Like you know, replacing failing organs and body parts with mechanical parts and components in order to increase lifespan? Either way, it's all at the expense of your humanity.

What's our "humanity?" Our kidneys and livers?