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I'm a huge believer that humans can cherry-pick the best traits of many different species and apply them to ourselves. It might sound like science fiction right
by traviswingo 10y ago
I'm a huge believer that humans can cherry-pick the best traits of many different species and apply them to ourselves. It might sound like science fiction right now, bit give it time and we humans will have unlocked some crazy things that we claimed to be "impossible." It's always impossible until it's done. And to be honest, I think the second something is thought of, it becomes possible. I live for this shit.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- partycoder 10y agoWell, it depends what you consider to be "the best". If you have watched the olympics, you can see that different body types are better suited for different sports. A basketball player playing ping pong or viceversa? probably not very successful.
- mattnumbe 10y agoBut if that basketball player had super speed and agility, then he would be good at both sports. You're only thinking about what humans are like now. If we could freely add and take away genetic mutations, who knows what kind of freaky immortal animals we'll look like in the future. We may also not care about sports at that point.
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- astrodust 10y agoMechanically there's an advantage to shorter limbs for particular sports, that's just how physics works. If a basketball player could be made super-human they might trounce ordinary ping-pong players, but a super-human ping-pong player would destroy them. Plus there's more to these sports than any one aspect. It's never just strength or height or stamina, it's a complex of factors. Finding that optimal even given all the options might be difficult. There's intrinsic trade-offs. For example, there's two kinds of muscle tissue, that better suited to fine motor skills and that suited to brute strength. Most animals are heavily stacked in the latter category, that's why a chimpanzee can tear you in half, but they lack the sorts of fine control that permits us to do things like type with agility and write precisely.
- traviswingo 10y agoI meant things that pertain to longevity - like jellyfish that don't die but simply "restart" their lives, or regeneration. If you look at tardigrades, there is a lot that is possible that we cannot yet do. But yeah, I understand where you're going.
- Gustomaximus 10y ago> Well, it depends what you consider to be "the best". There are clearly traits that are best, bar exceptionally rare scenario e.g. regenerating a lost limb, improved hearing, or improved longevity. So while I understand your analogy will fit some option, it is limiting too assume there will always be a trade off.
- partycoder 10y agoWell, we do not regenerate limbs, we just reproduce and make more of ourselves. If one dies then other survive and keep multiplying. Same as with limbs but at a population level.
- traviswingo 10y agoWhoever down voted this is boring.
- liveoneggs 10y agoor they don't like spiderman
- elihu 10y agoYes. Currently, we rely on evolution by random mutation and recombining genes, which works in the long run, but has two problems: mutations are more likely to be detrimental than beneficial, and we have no way to appropriate the various advantages that non-human species have. Deliberately cherry-picking traits seems like it could be quite a boon for the human race. (It would of course need to be done carefully and with proper ethical safeguards against careless experimentation.)
- dharma1 10y agoI don't think you're wrong, but I think there can be a lot of unintended, bad consequences. Especially if we start doing germline editing, where results might manifest themselves generations later when it's far too late.