"We Will Alter Human Evolution Within 20 Years"

I find all of this utterly fascinating, and the implications of this kind of technology range from completely awe-inspiring to terribly frightening. I, too, feel that what results from this technology will more than likely be something that no one saw coming, though hopefully it will be for the better. Infact, I find all of this so interesting that I've decided to pursue a career (here's hoping) in Nanotechnological Engineering, and if all goes well, I'll begin my schooling in about 7 months. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I truly believe that once this technology is widely available, it will significantly change our way of life. I'm sure it will be exploited or misused, just as everything is, but as with most technologies it will probably improve our overall standard of living. And I promise, if I ever have the chance, to do all I can to prevent us from being assimilated by the borg

Originally posted by 2manyquestions
I'm not sure that all geniuses are exempt from having bloated egos, maybe even some unresovled childhood issues, and hence, strange/destructive aspirations.

Never said they were all exempt. Most of them are just like you and me. I do see what you're saying. Remember Bobby Fisher

Maybe I'm not seeing something that is obvious to you.

Well from my perspective in School and in Life (I'm what's called a Drifter, I don't hang out with cliques for very long as I dislike the Pack Mentality that they entail) the people who are more interested in their School(aka the Nerds) resolved differences through verbal arguments, while those who could care less(The Majority of Humanity) resolve their conflicts through Brute force, Intimidation and Ridicule. Just look at the mess the Latter group has caused throughout History. There are the Leaders of the Pack and then there is the Slightly smart but low-self-esteem Nerd Sidekick which gives the Leader of the Pack the good ideas and then there are the Followers who make up the majority of Humanity. You can see this mentality on ATS Time and Time again. Ever see someone try to Intimidate others on here yet It's quite Humours. My point being is that by and large those who would go for Intellect and Memory Enhancers will be the Former group(the nerds in case you forgot) who in my personal experience are quite a passive bunch and usually recoil from Physical violence. Remember who decided to "Drop the Bomb"? It wasn't the people who created it and infact alot of them were re-thinking what they were doing after the first test and without them we may not have had a Non-proliferation Treaty as alot of them because the first Anti-Nuke Activists.

I have a question; Different forms of genius comes to mind. Would the IQ boost include a boost to every human intelligence? In other words, would someone with boosted IQ acquire the ability to draw, play music, become great at mathematics, philosophy, etc. etc.? Would this person become exceptional in every humanly-possible way?

I have no idea. My interest in those types of implants stops at just wanting them I wouldn't mind having a Math co-processor, a Memory Implant and maybe a Creativity Generator.

You make a good point, especially on #2., and that's what I'm afraid of.

I've said this before and I'll say this again. Fear is the Mindkiller. It impairs rational thought. Just keep that in mind is all I ask. It doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind though.

Originally posted by MonoIonic_Gold
You are right, the internet already is like a primitive hive-mind.
Imagine the confusion - if all of the forums, of the internet took place in a single thread. We would have to organize it somehow.... into sepreate threads, and seperate forums. Kind of like the internet is now, only more organized. So in a way, the hivemind is here, its just still growing.

Well some people have theorized that the Internet itself could attain sentience. I know not what you're talking about but I thought I might as well throw it out there.

As a weapon? thats a scary thought to get disassembled cell by cell, while still alive? hmm maybe we need to have defender nanobots that defend the body...

I'm not entirely convinced that any type of "Grey Goo" weapon is even possible. It would have extremely strained bonds and would be extremely fragile compared to Soft Nanomachines like RNA which conversely have Flexible Molecular Bonds. Mathematically speaking Hard Drexlerian Nanobots would be very vulnerable to Temperature Variations, Competition from Natural Nanomachines and Radiation. It could pose quite a problem to any engineer trying to get a Hard Nanomachine to do anything usefull. We need to Mimick what we see in nature rather then trying to apply regular Engineering Methods to a world that to us is still very alien.

Maybe we could have them awarded to people at the completion of college degrees. Scientists, Engineers, etc. Of course this may create a surge in college attendance.

Bad idea. Schools do not teach morality. Parents do.

It should be controlled though....

I believe the exact opposit. I am an Informational Anarchist. Information needs to be free to all and not be available to those relative few who can afford to attend higher education. Besides higher education could be obsolete by the end of the Century as Knowledge Implants will come sooner or later. It's more complicated then Memory or Logical Intellect as it has to impart an actual Skills set.

you don't want just any evil genius to become even smarter now do we?

The last evil genius I remember was Mengela. In a Democratic Society it would be quite difficult for them to achieve what they want to achieve. They would have to ultra secretive and remember the opposit is true as well. For every Super Evil Genius there will be 1000 Regular Moral people some of whom are Police, Detectives, Forensic Scientists etc. I also see the propect of Super Vigilanties as well which could be distructive as well regardless of their intentions.

Originally posted by inspiringyouth
A small industrial building, some advanced technology funded by a government source, if the family members died then the body could easily be taken by order of the law and experimented with...

If anyone finds out then the Gov't would have alot to answer for. I'm sure gov'ts like the US, UK and China will probably try to do such a thing though and that DOES worry me....

Originally posted by DYepes
The great thing about anything in life is, you as an individual ultimately has the choice of which path you will take, You can choose to live free of the technology and fight resisting it. You will only know the consequences of what you did after you have died anyways.

There is no middle ground with you Faith based types is there? I mean no offense by the way.

Originally posted by Wowser
I've decided to pursue a career (here's hoping) in Nanotechnological Engineering, and if all goes well, I'll begin my schooling in about 7 months.

Good for you! Any idea what specialty you'll be going into?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I truly believe that once this technology is widely available, it will significantly change our way of life. I'm sure it will be exploited or misused, just as everything is, but as with most technologies it will probably improve our overall standard of living. And I promise, if I ever have the chance, to do all I can to prevent us from being assimilated by the borg

You and me both

Originally posted by sardion2000

Originally posted by 2manyquestions
I'm not sure that all geniuses are exempt from having bloated egos, maybe even some unresovled childhood issues, and hence, strange/destructive aspirations.

Never said they were all exempt. Most of them are just like you and me. I do see what you're saying. Remember Bobby Fisher

Maybe I'm not seeing something that is obvious to you.

Well from my perspective in School and in Life (I'm what's called a Drifter, I don't hang out with cliques for very long as I dislike the Pack Mentality that they entail) the people who are more interested in their School(aka the Nerds) resolved differences through verbal arguments, while those who could care less(The Majority of Humanity) resolve their conflicts through Brute force, Intimidation and Ridicule. Just look at the mess the Latter group has caused throughout History. There are the Leaders of the Pack and then there is the Slightly smart but low-self-esteem Nerd Sidekick which gives the Leader of the Pack the good ideas and then there are the Followers who make up the majority of Humanity. You can see this mentality on ATS Time and Time again. Ever see someone try to Intimidate others on here yet

It's quite Humours. My point being is that by and large those who would go for Intellect and Memory Enhancers will be the Former group(the nerds in case you forgot) who in my personal experience are quite a passive bunch and usually recoil from Physical violence. Remember who decided to "Drop the Bomb"? It wasn't the people who created it and infact alot of them were re-thinking what they were doing after the first test and without them we may not have had a Non-proliferation Treaty as alot of them because the first Anti-Nuke Activists.

I hear you. I myself am one of those people who would rather keep to themselves. Though I did/do have friends, I never felt an absolute need to be in a group. Having friends certainly is a healthy part of life (we are social animals after all), but when they interfere with my work, I find company to be especially distracting.
There is just too much to explore when it comes to the subject of why "nerds" or people with higher IQ are not as likely to physically fight. So much of it is relative, that it becomes too complicated to discuss in a single thread (at least for me).
In a way, yes, it is more likely that higher IQs can work out their problems verbally. On the other hand not every high IQ is emotionally capable to deal with certain life problems that may arrive, and hence may bottle up feelings and anger only to release it later in his/her life (maybe through his/her work). Then there's this question; Do "nerds" choose to resolve their problems verbally, because they feel it is the only way,....OR....do they choose a verbal solution, because they feel inadequate to solve it physically? Is there always a verbal solution, or is there ever a problem to which a physical solution is the only solution?

Is it even fair to compare a naturally high IQ to artificial high IQ? Would there be a difference between the two? If artificial IQ enhances only a certain talent/skill in a person, that may (or may not) become a problem. Simply because a person is suddenly better in math, doesn't make him/her more capable to deal with the stress of life. I don't know.... I could be confused, maybe because I don't really know in detail what boosting a person's IQ entails. There are too many categories of intelligence, and I don't know in what way a single person would become smarter than the ordinary person. I think a proper psychological evaluation would be the only way to qualify who gets boosted and who doesn't.

I think I may have gone completely off subject. Sorry about that, I suppose I'm just thinking out loud in fragments.

I have a question; Different forms of genius comes to mind. Would the IQ boost include a boost to every human intelligence? In other words, would someone with boosted IQ acquire the ability to draw, play music, become great at mathematics, philosophy, etc. etc.? Would this person become exceptional in every humanly-possible way?

I have no idea. My interest in those types of implants stops at just wanting them

I wouldn't mind having a Math co-processor, a Memory Implant and maybe a Creativity Generator.

Yeah... that would definitely be nice. I'd like to be able to remember everything I read and experience, and be able to recall it at will. Getting a boost in math also wouldn't be a bad thing.

You make a good point, especially on #2., and that's what I'm afraid of.

I've said this before and I'll say this again. Fear is the Mindkiller. It impairs rational thought. Just keep that in mind is all I ask. It doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind though.

Well,...some fear is necessary. I'd hate to think about the horrible things that could have happened, had someone not been too afraid of the consequences to carry out certain actions. I do understand what you're saying though.

What if an artificially enhanced IQ were to equal not 200 but let's say 2000 ?

I know most people with an IQ of 100 would be able estimate the abilities of someone withan IQ 115, but an IQ of 2000 is beyond anyone's ability to comprehend.

My sites (from 1999):

picoscience.8m.com...

picoscience.8m.com...

Here one of my views of eventual progress in say next 200 years and you might be alive to see it.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Oh and you should scour this resource:

foresight.org...





[edit on 2/19/2006 by bodebliss]

I think a proper psychological evaluation would be the only way to qualify who gets boosted and who doesn't.

Two things wrong with that logic.

1. It assumes guilt before innocence. Our society is built around the concept of innocence before being proven guilty.

2. Phsychologists would be operating by a government mandate. The government has no business protecting us from ourselves. It's mandate is to protect us from other individuals/groups and nations.

I don't want to live in a totalitarian "nanny" state more then we already do. Read Brave New World of a eugenics campaign gone completely mad. The Psychologists who are by and large pretty messed up people(they got into the field to figure out whats wrong with themselves mostly(that's what I believe at least no offense to any Shrinks on this board who are "normal"*)) a group of psychologists could set out to create a world similiar to that in Huxleys novel.

If someone breaks the law then you send to cops after them regardless of the amount of augmentations they have. Of course if that suspected criminal is augmented then they should send augmented cops after them. Fighting fire with fire so to speak.

It should be up to the individual, not governments and definately not Shrinks. Freedom is still more desirable then a "nanny state" regardless of any imagined or real chaos caused by these technologies.

*What is normal anyway

Well,...some fear is necessary. I'd hate to think about the horrible things that could have happened, had someone not been too afraid of the consequences to carry out certain actions. I do understand what you're saying though.

Fear is completely irrational and is an artifact of evolution. Fear, Resentment and Hatred are all negative emotions which have been directly responsible for countless deaths over the centuries(especially the last one). Caution is a healthy emotion. Fear isn't as it is the mindkiller.

Take this situation for example.

You're studying for an important exam and yet you are extremely afraid(or even just a little) that you are going to fail. That is a preoccupation and distracts your higher brain functions from the job at hand thus increasing the chance that you will fail said exam.

[edit on 22-2-2006 by sardion2000]

*What is normal anyway

You might want to read this, Sardion.


TheBiggest Conspiracy of All