Re: [evol-psych] Re: News: FUTURE HUMANS: Four Ways We May, or May Not, Evolve
Phil Roberts, Jr.
Helga V wrote:
> Genetic engineering or natural selection? I wonder.
I doubt we will have the time or the resources for any
genetic engineering if we are indeed down to another
bottleneck like at 70,000 BP. For one thing, I doubt
that the few pockets of humans left alive will even
be in contact. Well, I hope to live long enough to see
how this plays out. I now am really motivated to reduce
my caloric consumption by at least 30%! : )
Helga
The development I would like to live to see would be
the ability to interconnect human brains to each other
via something like the connections between the two
halves of the brain (the corpus callosum) as
a means of bringing about the omega point predicted
by DeJardin. Wow! Talk about an internet! :)
There is reason to suspect this would
result, not in human beings communicating better, but
rather separate beings merging into a single being
(i.e., my identity pervades all my thoughts and I think
it unlikely one would be able to "read" my thoughts
without the accompanying sense of being me).
Of course, if we could build in the option to make
this communication only one way, then we could monitor
for "good" minds and "bad" minds and only allow the
"good" minds to contribute to the new being, with
those of us with "bad" minds having to be content
to simply sit back and enjoy the show. :)
Phil
Don Stockbauer
> Helga V wrote:
> > Genetic engineering or natural selection? I wonder.
>
> I doubt we will have the time or the resources for any
> genetic engineering if we are indeed down to another
> bottleneck like at 70,000 BP. For one thing, I doubt
> that the few pockets of humans left alive will even
> be in contact. Well, I hope to live long enough to see
> how this plays out. I now am really motivated to reduce
> my caloric consumption by at least 30%! : )
>
> Helga
>
> The development I would like to live to see would be
> the ability to interconnect human brains to each other
> via something like the connections between the two
> halves of the brain (the corpus callosum) as
> a means of bringing about the omega point predicted
> by DeJardin. Wow! Talk about an internet! :)
>
We have this. It's known as "telecommunication."
Don Stockbauer
Probably not with 2 hemisphere and a corpus callosum, though - just
one big unified glop.
NickRivers
...
> The development I would like to live to see would be
> the ability to interconnect human brains to each other
> via something like the connections between the two
> halves of the brain (the corpus callosum) as
> a means of bringing about the omega point predicted
> by DeJardin. Wow! Talk about an internet! :)
I have heard of two interesting intersections to your "development
wish":
(1) In one of his early books ("Unlimited Power?") Anthony Robbins
talks about an interesting
effect that humans can experience. He suggests the following
experiment: Find a very willing
friend and spend some quality time with that friend. Perhaps two
chairs would be useful, as this
might take a while. Once comfortable, position your body identically
to your friend's. In other
words, if he (or she) has their legs crossed, you cross your legs. If
their arm is at a weird angle,
put your arm at the same angle. I don't think you need to refrain
from talking, here. But whatever
your friend does with their body, you try to mimic it precisely with
your body. (Raising, lowering arms;
crossing, uncrossing legs; smiling, frowning; etc.)
Robbins says an interesting side effect of this process is that the
two of you will eventually (how long?
dunno.) share the same thoughts. He says if you don't believe him,
try it for yourself. I never did.
Seemed weird and difficult. You may want to try it, if you can find a
patient and willing friend.
I didn't think too much about this until one day when my wife was
talking to me about her childhood
in the Catholic church and described the following (I'm guessing
Catholic readers have heard
about this):
(2) Apparently, during Catholic Mass, the congregation will go
through a very complex series of
movements, involving sitting, kneeling, standing, kneeling again,
crossing themselves -- all manner
and variety of movements which my wife said was all-but-impossible for
her to keep up with, as a child.
I was amazed. We had just been talking about the recent ongoings of
the Lock-Step Right Wing (back
in 2005) and here was a possible concrete example of people quite
possibly sharing the same mind,
en masse (in Mass)!
It all seems pretty far out, and no, I haven't done any further
research on this particular subject, so
sure, it's a little speculative. Anyone who wants to give it a go is
free to try it - I never had the
interest, as cool an idea as it seems.
-NR
N
you're gay arn't you? I tell by reading your behavioural trite
nonsense (without laughing now of course!) yes the world would be
better if people were permitted genuine interesting intercourse
between consenting adults of similar profession, occupation and
species...umm species?..yes thats what behaviour and evolution match!
or don't 'we'?