originally posted by: TzarChasm
can you explain why we need these things?
We dont need much. food, shelter, water. Anything above and beyond that is just accessorizing.
We dont need cars, internet, shoes, haircuts, toilet paper, etc...we want these things because they make life better and allows us to focus on
better,greater things
do we not live long enough?
Perspective of course, but no, we dont. Imagine the introspection a person of say, 2 thousand years old would have if he was alive today. such a
incredible timeline to put into context.
But more to the point, if we are going to become a space faring species, which is the only way to ensure our continued survival as a race, we will
need some serious longevity to make the trek across star systems, even at light speed.
No..we dont live long enough. we barely are here for a blink of an eye, and just when we start to understand things, our youth, vitality, and finally
life is robbed from us. our lifespan is still designed to maximize a active breeding cycle, it is not designed for intellectual application. we have
become more than the simple animal to breed and die, we must evolve into something more significant, else we might as well all just die at 20, as
thats really all our bodies were designed to be...a seed planter / incubator.
are our toys not sophisticated enough already?
perspective. no. we are stunted by our falty meat brains, poor tools, and slow and dangerous transportation
do we actually need to narrow the gap between technology and biology to the point that a few keystrokes from an undisclosed location can directly
influence any organism that has unwittingly exposed itself to the right (or wrong) agency?
Leading question. I will answer the first bit. Yes, the next evolutionary step for humanity is to merge with our tools to become enhanced.
As far as the politics of it all as you said later, That will come with sensible laws.
are these heart warming perks of scientific achievement really necessary in the strictest terms for the prosperity of our species and the planet we
rely on to survive?
Yes. and I explained why. our species is tied to this planet. we are one asteroid or plague away from a complete extinction of our species, and
arguably all known life in the universe.
Its imperative that we grow up and out to ensure the survival of our species, and with such tech, the planet.
to hack nature itself for the sake of bragging rights, it will be us, at the very bottom of the hominid food chain, who suffers for it.
Its never been about "hacking nature for the sake of bragging rights". going from hunter/gatherer to farmer we were hacking fields to make farms for
bragging rights, it was practicality. from that point, we were able to stop and build.
When we control nature, we use it to fuel our greater ambitions as a species.
our hubris will pave the road to their near-immortality and near-omnipotence and then we will....we will what?
uplift others, or make a matrix like environment where we can re-experience the climb once again and constantly refresh our view of the
universe...what else is there to do
And I imagine no matter how powerful or eternal one can become, they will always have a choice to continue or simply stop life..although why would you
want you when you can simply be reborn
Maybe we already are eternal and at such an advanced stage that we are now re-experiencing the dawning of our creation simply to rekindle our
passion...maybe its been like this for billions of years.