Transhumanism is utterly terrifying

[Ragitsu]

The thought that one day everyone could be walking around with metalwork affixed to and in their body (perhaps even from birth!) sends shivers down my spine.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

The thought that one day everyone could be walking around with metalwork affixed to and in their body (perhaps even from birth!) sends shivers down my spine.

My father has had an artificial shoulder joint for something like twenty years. A kid in my son's first grade class just got braces, which he'll be wearing for months. A diabetic girl in his kindergarten class had a permanent implant for her insulin pump, which she'd already had for a couple of years at that time. I know any number of people who have had metal fillings since childhood and will for the rest of their lives. We're already well on the way there, and it's pretty much OK.

[mindstalk]

Not to mention earrings or rings.

[Ragitsu]

Deus Ex. *shivers*.

[Mark Skarr]

I, for one, don't think it can get here soon enough. Give me my cybernetic eyes, and maybe some cybernetic coordination.

On the other hand, that would probably make the Fire Extinguisher near my desk sapient . . . and then I'd have to buy it as an enemy. Seriously, the thing has sent me to Workman's Comp when it tried to cripple me.

(Okay, that's one reason I list myself as having a DX 8)

[DocRailgun]

I've always wanted to have a way to interface directly with the Interweb tubes, and an implanted link with which I could IM people would be as good at telepathy.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

The thought that one day everyone could be walking around with metalwork affixed to and in their body (perhaps even from birth!) sends shivers down my spine.

Oh, cybernetics isn't the real problem. The real problem is genetic manipulation, and you aren't the only person to get weirded out by the possibilities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Posthuman_Future

Personally, though, I find the prospects fascinating for all sorts of reasons, both altruistic and (frankly) selfish.

I'm an atheist, so there is no god, and the concept of an immortal existence after death is a comforting illusion. This life is it. It's the whole ball of wax. Once it's over, that's all. We're done.

So, I'd like my ball of wax to last as long as possible, and I'd like a healthy body and a functional brain for that entire time.

Moreover, the more we understand about the genetics and biological foundations of our existence, the harder it will be to maintain existing prejudices. Now, that doesn't leave out the possibiility of the development of new prejudices, but at least the old idiocies get harder to maintain.

That's progress of a sort, I guess.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

I'm an atheist, so there is no god

By the way, I am no fan of eugenics/genetic modification on that scale either.

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

The thought that one day everyone could be walking around with metalwork affixed to and in their body (perhaps even from birth!) sends shivers down my spine.

I think that there are a lot more terrifying things about Transhumanism than cybernetics.

[sjard]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Fixed that for you.

I've removed that as doing such, especially given the subject, borderlines on a personal attack. Please do not do so.