I was recently talking with a friend about public resistance to new ideas, who suggested that technophobia intensifies when the thing being engineered is actually one鈥檚 physical body or even mind. So I鈥檝e come up with a little list of hypothetical future options (on what I imagine to be a sliding scale, with more people agreeing with the upper options than the lower).
Assuming that you鈥檙e in a time where these procedures are well-tested and where there aren鈥檛 any serious side effects to them other than the stated purpose (and the obvious consequences of that), which would you be open to, and which would you be squeamish about?
鈥?You鈥檝e gotten a map of your genes, and genetic diseases ranging from the severe to the trivial are well-understood and several of them pop up in your genetic code (perhaps a tendency toward young Alzheimer鈥檚, a genetic difficulty with obesity, a genetic iron deficiency, and other such undesirables). A cheap, easy and effective blanket treatment is available, which will cure all of these things, but which does so by irrevocably changing your DNA from what it is naturally.
鈥?You鈥檝e gotten a map of your genes, and genes coding for certain desirable traits are well-understood and can be effectively and safely inserted into your own DNA (perhaps a better metabolism for a naturally fitter figure, an ideal complexion, a knack for math and logic, and other such desirables). Of course, inserting any of these codes into your genes fundamentally changes your DNA, replacing the old, less-desirable codes you had naturally.
鈥?You鈥檝e lost a limb, perhaps in an industrial accident or perhaps in combat. A procedure for taking your genes and growing a replacement limb is available, and this procedure always leaves patients back fully intact with a completely reintegrated limb in a few months.
鈥?You鈥檝e lost a limb, perhaps in an industrial accident or perhaps in combat. A robotic prosthetic that can be directly interfaced with your brain is available, which after physical therapy interfaces with your body as fluidly and naturally as your old limb did, and is actually more powerful, more precise and less fragile than biological limbs.
鈥?You haven鈥檛 lost any limbs, but the above procedure is easily within your budget and could be used to give you additional limbs (four arms, anyone 鈥?maybe a prehensile tail?).
鈥?A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that allows you to exert a strong level of control over your metabolism, greatly accelerating the effects of common exercise as well as expanding its potential limits (think steroids or a weight-loss supplement, but without the negative side-effects).
鈥?A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that dramatically increases your mental speed, memory, and intelligence (think ginkgo, methamphetamines, and a few other things with high effectiveness and none of the negative side-effects).
鈥?A cheap, abundant, side-effect-free and non-addictive drug is developed that effectively removes all the traumatic effects of negative neurological and psychological responses to things (e.g. pain, hunger, cold, fear, disgust, grief, etc.) 鈥?while your body maintains the ability to detect all of these things, the sensations associated with them are no longer independently traumatic (e.g. you are still just as instantly aware that you just got a papercut 鈥?it鈥檚 just that it no longer 鈥榮tings鈥?.
Which of these would you be open to? Which would you avoid?
Would you be squeamish about making biological improvements to yourself?
I don't like the first 2, they have the potential to affect the future development of humanity. After all, who are we to make such irrevocable decisions for future generations?
The next 2 wouldn't bother me, in fact, I'm sure, if the technology were available now, many amputees would be lining up for it.
The additional limbs one creeps me out. Too sci-fi for me.
Side effect free metabolism control? Bring it on! You'd be an instant millionaire if you could develop this one!
The next one, I'm not sure about. Maybe for occasional use.
I wouldn't take the last one as these responses happen for a reason.
For example pain response is to alert us that we are being hurt or injured. If you jab yourself with something, you reflexively pull away to avoid doing more damage. Or if you step onto something hot, you will reflexively jump back, rather than walk right onto the hot surface and burning your feet badly. Responses to cold are to protect us from hypothermia, so unless you have a drug which negates the effect of hypothermia, I won't be taking that one.
Would you be squeamish about making biological improvements to yourself?
as long as my personality, character and sense of self remained the same I would probably go for all of them - presuming they are safe procedures
My DNA being altered forever makes not a jot of difference as I don't intend to have kids
EDIT: No I don't want four arms
I would do anything apart from the last one and the one about robotic limbs. I'd have no problem with making these kinds of biological upgrades to my body, I would like to remain entirely human and biological though.
The only thing i can see myself wanting to change in my DNA would be that pesky gene that made it possible for me to have scoliosis and will make it possible to show up in my daughters or grand-daughters.
Not at all. God gave us a mind to create a better world. I just wish we could engineer a person's character. Now that would be a profound improvement to the human condition.
I'm down with regrowing limbs and the robotic limbs if I've already lost them. I'd avoid everything else.
I'd rather not interfere too much, you know.
So what else is new ? There has been opposition to new ideas since forever. It aint like galileo or all the other Italians were held in high regards at their time.
I value nature too much to do any of that,except being able to regrow limbs.
sadly, I choose the savage reservation
I would go for the penis extension.
I don't want robotic arms if I can naturally replace my old arm, I don't want control over my metabolism because I feel like thats just immorally wrong. You shouldn't be able to eat a crap load of junk food consequence free. It just seems too unbiological. Every overweight american deserves to be fat. And I wouldn't want to rid my negative stimuli. Who is to decide what feels good and what feels bad? Some people like the feeling of pain. Over all of these, the drug that increases mental speed and intelligence would just be so incredible. Imagine the things we could accomplish?
I really don't like the last one, but the rest seems ok.. I enjoy pain at many times and I think i'd rather just put up with it.
Also the ones about making myself smarter seems odd, I would find it very odd and hard to trust that it will just make me smarter, and not change me in any other way.
The rest are fine, changing my body, to make it superior seems ok. I'd kill for the one to change my complexion.
I wouldn't mind the prosthetic limb.
But all else, genetics and drugs, alter me. I don't believe in prolonging longevity any longer.
I think anatomically speaking we reached our peak in 19th century. Since then the success that we feel in quality of life, is actually quantitative. That is, those who had it all were already living longer, had better health and success. The technology and medicine just help spread it.
Its been a downhill journey, physically and psychologically speaking, ever since.
So, I no longer want to extend or expand my life or quality of life. All that befalls, barring loss of limb, is something I can at least prevent.
--The first one would depend on what irrevocable changes to my DNA would be. Would it simply mean that I would no longer have these genetic diseases? If so, then fine. But does it mean that other issues might arise? Or that I'll pass something odd on to my children? If so, then no, I wouldn't.
--I'd be for adding good DNA if there were no negative side-effects and no odd effects on my children.
--I think re-growing limbs would be kind of cool. They already grow bones, tissue, and tinkering with the ideas of organs. While it seems odd, if it works, then thank science for its continual advancements.
--I feel the same about a robotic prosthetic as I would a re-grown limb. It medical science. Medical science has been advancing is sometimes eerie and sci-fi-like leaps and bounds.
--I don't agree with cutting off a perfectly good and healthy limb for a robotic prosthetic. In a bind of course it is acceptable, but there are so many issues that arise when one cuts off their healthy body for something fake. Besides, wouldn't it take on the mindset of a tattoo? A permanent alteration that you can never change and may regret 20 years down the road.
--If it was natural with no negative effects to the body and metabolism while taking it or after stopping, then it doesn't seem much different than many diet pills on the market today (although most diet pills DO have negative effects).
--I like ginkgo and natural remedies that help improve memory and attention span. I see nothing wrong with taking a safe and side-effect-free supplement that helps in this area.
--Never never never. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. If you remove negative emotions and pain, you become weak. And then what happens if you no longer have access to this drug? Bad bad bad. Besides, leprosy has sort of the same effect. It kills the sensation in the body and limbs, thus you don't feel that %26quot;papercut.%26quot; That's also why lepers end up with highly damaged limbs. They don't feel when they touch, hit, or hurt themselves.
Fascinating question! Yes, I'd change my DNA in a heartbeat because I am a genetic cesspool of physical and mental health problems. I don't plan on having children, in part because of my bad genes, but even if I did, I would rather pass on the good instead of the bad.
Both the natural and the prosthetic limbs sound great as replacements, but I don't think I would want an extra one of anything, lol.
The drugs all sound good except for the one that takes away negative responses. You can't appreciate the good without the bad.
-Not that one. Sounds too risky. Better the devil you do know than the devil you don't.
-Maybe. Maybe.....
-Heck yeah!
-Sure, sounds awesome.
-LOL As a mom, that would be handy, but I don't know if I'd want to have permanent extra limbs.
-No, I'd rather work hard and master self-control and discipline. I think it has a lot of value.
-Maybe. There've been times when I could use something like that.
-Nah. That wouldn't be healthy, even if it is side-effect free. I wouldn't want to be a robot. I wouldn't want to be able to lose a loved one and feel nothing serious - that's not natural. A life in which all pleasures are magnified and all pain is erased artificially would be weird. And how are you supposed to work through negative feelings if you can't even feel them fully? They are intense so that we have no choice but to express them and deal with them. They're hard to overlook by design, I think.
Interesting ideas though. The robotic limb sounds nifty. ; )
i may(note:may) go for regrowing limbs, but i would never try to change anything else about me, surprising because i have pretty low self-esteem lol, but there needs to be great diversity in the world.... anyone ever read the giver lol?
