Is your profession targeted toward transhumanism? If not, why not?

[Genecks]

I'd hate to pick a fight in relation to people's personal life philosophies; but I'm going to pick a fight. I hope it won't get too bloody.

 

So, I like the transhumanist train of thought in the 21st century. I think we'll learn so much more about ourselves and the universe by expanding upon ourselves with technologies and medicine than researching other things. So, I've been learning about quantum physics and quantum mechanics as of late: I believe I'm start to grasp the mentality required for it. However, I just see a lot of it as pointless. You might say that I'm the kind of person who would say, "Let the world burn if that means the Truth about reality and the universe is found in the process." And so, for those who care about ecology, I wouldn't end up caring about it, because it lacks utility in my transhumanist view. For the physicists, I see that bioengineering appears to have some use in the transhumanist paradigm, when it comes to developing technologies to move along investigation into biological research. Otherwise, I don't think I need to know the physics and structural integrity of a red blood cell: They could just be regenerated and made from stem cells. So, with astronomy, cosmology, and quantum physics, I could care less. I think they're interesting in trying to answer the hard questions: origin of the universe, free will vs. determinism, and so on (but the time to solve those problems would be ridiculous).

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that many of these professions out there have great goals and plans, but people aren't going to be able to accomplish those goals and plans in a lifetime. Yes, it might be said about transhumanism that its goals and plans won't be acquired in a lifetime. However, I've often wondered if people from other trades and professions simply moved toward medicinal technology and research, such as regenerative medicine. So, why is it that other professionals don't jump on board toward transhumanism? I don't get it. I never did.

 

I guess, then, I'm saying that I believe other professions that aren't targeted toward human longevity are wasting their time, at least in this lifetime.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Genecks

[Prometheus]

I don't understand, are you saying prolonging human life should be the main goal of science?

[Genecks]

I don't understand, are you saying prolonging human life should be the main goal of science?

 

Pretty much. And the other research interests can wait. So, we'd be like worker bees in a lot of ways.

[pwagen]

Would we be able to support a population that lives longer (effectively increasing the amount of concurrent people on the planet), seeing as we've got some problems supporting what we've got?

[Phi for All]

I don't understand, are you saying prolonging human life should be the main goal of science?

 

Pretty much. And the other research interests can wait. So, we'd be like worker bees in a lot of ways.

 

My profession currently deals with demand-side energy management. I can't imagine a better place for me to be to help research efforts in all areas of science, as well as interests in commerce and social areas. And I can't imagine science having a single main goal; I don't think it's healthy, I don't think it's efficient and I don't think it's wise.

 

I used to feel this way about finding a way to affordably and effectively explore our solar system. Put all our efforts into making inexpensive drones to bring resources so we can build more facilities offworld and keep Earth's resources for Earth. But this isn't the way our knowledge should grow, focused on a single area. I think we function better when our overall knowledge grows at a more consistent pace, rather than neglecting possibly important research to focus everything on one overarching goal.

[swansont]

 

Pretty much. And the other research interests can wait. So, we'd be like worker bees in a lot of ways.

 

I would quit science if I weren't free to work on projects of interest to me. If I'm not going to enjoy it, I might as well go for the fat paycheck.

[CharonY]

Word!

[Prometheus]

Not even sure longevity should be the goal of medical science. A happier and healthier life isn't necessarily a longer one.

[John Cuthber]

I'm not certain of the merit of working towards transhumanism, when we have not yet sorted out humanism yet.

Most of the people in the world live in very poor conditions and it seems to me that we should help them before we try to create some sort of elite "transhuman" group.

[physica]

I’d argue that quantum mechanics and fields on physics and engineering have saved more lives than end stage medical research. Without quantum mechanics we wouldn’t have transistors and computers wouldn’t function. We wouldn’t have lazers, scanning equipment etc. I’ve worked in emergency medicine for 4 years and I will tell you working without computers, scanning equipment, accurate blood testing facilities etc would make medicine very depressing. You want to look at life expectancy go to a third world country were sanitation and clean running water isn’t the norm. Most advances in pure science like physics filter down and improve medicine. I dabbled in end stage medical research. It got the respect of the uneducated members of the public but I took a step back to study physics and do something more meaningful. End stage medical research is very ineffective. Millions is spent because the general member of the public sees it as important and very little headway is gained.

 

The most impressive medical advancements are done by teams who aren’t primarily interested in medical research. NASA devised a laser that measured the temperature of planets, they scaled it down and it is now used to measure the temp of patients very accurately. Within seconds we can now get an indication on whether a patient has an infection or not. The quicker you get those iv antibiotics in the higher the chance of survival. Physicists at CERN have improved and come up with new scanning machines and techniques. Off the top of my head a patient having a bleed or a clot in the brain will have the same symptoms. Within seconds thanks to scanning we can see if it’s a bleed or a clot, we can then give them an iv drug whilst they are still in the scanner if it’s a clot to break them down. Before this if you had a head injury or a stroke that caused serve symptoms chances are you wouldn’t come out in a good shape.

Engineers and revolutionised medicine by bringing in their materials and advanced mechanics that were successful in industry to improve prosthetics. The 3D printer has now been revamped with cells as part of the ink and they can now print skin grafts onto patients. Combining 3D printing with scanning equipment has made it possible for patients to be scanned and a replacement of skull etc to be printed specific to the patient. The materials used here are only possible via quantum mechanics.

[Ophiolite]

So, Genecks, we have established that you are scared of dying. Did you have anything else to add?

[Arete]

And so, for those who care about ecology, I wouldn't end up caring about it, because it lacks utility in my transhumanist view.

 

Given human health and longevity are directly linked to functional ecosystems, e.g. ecological links to - floods, heatwaves, water shortages, landslides, uv exposure, exposure to pollutants, infectious disease prevalence, access to food, access to natural medicines, mental health, cultural and aesthetic impacts, livelihood loss, population displacement and human conflict http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/ecosys.pdf

 

I'd say your viewpoint was fundamentally flawed from the get go.