[Jack]

thats fine with me

Ha ha!

Okay, Jack; I asked for it, and I got it -- now what the devil to do with it???

What! I haven’t even started on the Longitivity vaccine or Thermo Genesis yet! Narf!

We've become adjusted to the human form over a very, very long time and, though this is being modified slowly, such change is quite recent. And of course such a major change would affect our minds.

My opinion – I dislike being human, whether this is a physiological problem of my own or not, that is still my personal dislike – We as a race are one of the most physical inept of all animals bar the fact we have a thumb, even Dolphins out brain power us and have the promise to be by far our betters if we decide to mess/play god with them before evolution sorts it out for herself. When you think about it a majorly peed-off squirrel can eat us up and spit us out – That’s not a good thing. At the moment we use devices to save ourselves from nature. Instead we have the chance to be nature – I would rather be the wind than sit in a steel cage.

But one aspect of it is, of course, truly being able to "choose what you look like" and, so some degree, "who you are" -- how much of the latter has yet to be decided, as we still are only opening the door on how much brain configuration affects (or is affected by as it develops) personality. Which also ties in with something you mention below, which I'll address there.

It’s going to happen with parents ‘making their own babies’ in any context – The film Gatica was not so far of the mark I’m beginning to think. As for choosing what you look like – You can in some respect do so already – Though it depends on how big a load of $ you have. Do not humbly agree with it – But then I look like a starving wolf and care not, though I do wish I could be a bit taller – Dangerous game this.

Again, this has both benefits and drawbacks. It may get us off our butts and looking for actual cures for diseases we've not bothered with so far, but which may possibly mutate into a freakish zoonotic form.

We need more people and more unity – A grand world science/medical council and union/corps under one council of leaders. The things we could do…its nice to dream (sigh).

Do we become cyborgs in the accepted sf sense? It's possible. Either metal or a blend of metal/plastic and flesh. Unlikely, for the reasons stated above about our tendency to hold onto our bias for the human form, but possible. Again, its' a trade-off either way. We gain some, we lose some with whatever decision; and, unless we all make the same decision, it can cause even more friction, or more understanding and acceptance, depending.

Too AI for me – Anything mechanical without a built in off switch that can have dreams – Is ultimately something a get very itchy over – Puppets should have strings. Again I very much doubt our minds could stay sane trapped in metal – I know mine wouldn’t at that.
Peter F. Hamilton handles your last point very well – Even if it is a very long read

Here you're getting into some seriously troubling ethical issues; this is almost a form of deliberately breeding idiots or cretins for biological experimentation, or at least a shade too near for comfort. Before genetically manipulating the brain, we really need to understand the brain/mind connection much better than we do; more than any physical aspect of things, this is where we'd be playing God, in my opinion.

Agreed – It highly disturbs me. To put it in context, the treatments I make are shipped of to a lab and then tested on mice before they ever see the patient involved – So far I have only one human error, and thank the divine that it was spotted by the animal testing – While not a big over calculation, it would have made the little mite a very sick little bunny for quite some weeks – But I really do like mice, I would much prefer human tissue tests (Though mice are by far more DNA parallel with us than before believed – The phrase humans are like vermin is a bit too close for comfort).

I, too, find it a troubling idea. I'm certain that it's going to come, but this is one of those areas where we really need to get on the ball and deciding what constitutes ethical and unethical behaviour here. So far, we've pretty much fumbled our way through the questions of ethics in so much of science with practical applications; but with the first atomic explosion -- nay, with the splitting of the atom -- the clock that counts the time when we actually have to make such a decision in a meaningful way started speeding up tremendously, and at an exponential if not geometric rate. There are so many benefits here; but how much will we be willing to sacrifice of what we hold as our better ideals in order to achieve what benefits? So far, we've largely evaded this question. Now it's not knocking on the door, it's shown up with a bally great battering-ram.

In the same way people do not wish to talk about race hate or global warming, if we ignore it, it may go away – Is that what happened with the Narzis?
Or to quote – Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds
We are not the one’s that pull the trigger – You are the ones that decide or do not care who does.

And I'm of an age to still remember when this very practice caused a major controversy, so much so that the doctors who first attempted the practice were, in many places (including major portions of the U.S.) looked on in much the same light as our ancestors of a couple of centuries ago looked on those who practiced what they saw as "thaumaturgy". There were quite literally people (and they were not few) who put them in the same category as Mengele and company.

Yes, I could understand that – What we do not understand we fear and try to destroy. I so wish no peaceful intelligent life decides to drop in and say hi to us.
As for the US, you have by far your own problems my friend – Onward Christian solider – What is it? Ah yes…Intelligent design? I think I have a headache!

But it has both unbelievable benefits and lots of paving stones for that proverbial road -- and the two may go hand in hand quite a lot of the time.

One can hope – Though speed is starting to become of the essence, we are fast running out of time. The time of indecision and pathetic arguing for decades must be decided – Or I fear we lose everything.


Nanu nanu!