4 ms·

It will probably be cheaper and easier to grow a new arm in a dish and surgically attach it rather than cybernetic alternatives - this has already been done wit

by Gatsky 9y ago

It will probably be cheaper and easier to grow a new arm in a dish and surgically attach it rather than cybernetic alternatives - this has already been done with donor arms. I can't see the economics of fully synthetic prosthetic limbs ever being viable in the current era.

FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago
Yes, but a synthetic arm could offer a wider range of utility and pack an assortment of attachments from lockpicking to weaponry to a sensor array. Although
- grogenaut 9y ago
  You know what else also carries that? A backpack. All those things are bulky and you usually need a lot available. Also, no one picks locks unless they don't want it known they were there or don't want to pay for another lock. So ... just use your weapon.
- CM30 9y ago
  That's the use case I was imagining too. Something like in Mega Man, Metroid or Bionic Commando where the arm acts like a super fancy swiss army knife. Seems like something there could be military applications for, or something espionage agencies may want to have available.
- mcappleton 9y ago
  Funny, I was watching a video of a guy with a prosthetic hand. He loved it. He said he went from almost committing suicide to being ok with life again. When he talked about his bionic hand, he said "I'm not left handed, I'm other-handed", as he turned his hand a full 360... It was pretty funny.
52-6F-62 9y ago
Sort of a meta analysis, but: While I don't disagree with your level of skepticism necessarily, I'd like to take this moment to make a point -- this kind of negative sentiment seems so characteristic of HN lately toward anything new and difficult, in spite of the fact that this is a community generally aimed toward entrepreneurial, forward-looking, highly-technical types. Instead of such a short stop "it would be expensive, so why bother, it won't happen for a long, long time" sort of sentiment, why does't the community make more pointed suggestions about flaws. Simply and vaguely saying "the economics look bad to me" generates only sentiment, and no real knowledge to be shared. I can be guilty of it, too, but usually because of emotional response and not a technical criticism. This sounds like a technical criticism with no reasoning. On top of that, "era" is a really vague term. I mean, it might not be perfect, but try $300 on: https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/23/this-300-cybernetic-arm-gets-its-smarts-from-your-cellphone/ https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/23/this-300-cybernetic-arm-... I don't think it's as far and distant as you think.
- sliverstorm 9y ago
  HN is probably on a backswing. For a while a few years ago, it seemed like everyone would have expected to be able to create a better-than-flesh prosthetic in 18 months with a team of five coders and a little vc funding.
  - s_kilk 9y ago
    I guess some of us are just sick of the hype, and the frankly demented hubris that's so often on display along with it. I'll be honest, all this biomod stuff looks like LARP to me. Just look at the article, this person literally got a magnet installed so they could play-act at being in a lesser Neil Stevenson novel, while, as noted in these comments, the actual science is nowhere near delivering the advancements that were promised. It turns out not all problems can be solved with a little Javascript. Maybe that makes me a cynic, fair enough, but all this valley hype is exhausting.
    - ethbro 9y ago
      I did enjoy the note about gatekeepers (insurance companies and the medical profession). These scientifically conservative organizations are great for not letting terrible things happen to people, but not at all geared towards radical innovation. Viz the medical community just starting to realize that systemic outcome-tracking might be beneficial towards informing what procedures are more effective in the real world.
- yorwba 9y ago
  Do you realize the irony replying to a comment that's basically saying "I don't think we'll go full cyborg soon, since growing new body parts in a lab will be cheaper." with the implication that it's not forward-looking? Both of these ideas are currently in the basic research stage and far from becoming mainstream, so they are just looking in a different direction that is still "forward". I agree that the lack of reasons for the economic differences is disappointing, though. Personally, I believe we will use whatever solution makes sense in a given context. If you need a cosmetic replacement for you lost ear, you get appropriately shaped connective tissue colonized with fresh cells, so that it looks like the real thing. If you need something to restore your lost hearing, you get a cochlear implant.

by Gatsky 9y ago

FullMtlAlcoholc 9y ago

Yes, but a synthetic arm could offer a wider range of utility and pack an assortment of attachments from lockpicking to weaponry to a sensor array. Although

grogenaut 9y ago
You know what else also carries that? A backpack. All those things are bulky and you usually need a lot available. Also, no one picks locks unless they don't want it known they were there or don't want to pay for another lock. So ... just use your weapon.
CM30 9y ago
That's the use case I was imagining too. Something like in Mega Man, Metroid or Bionic Commando where the arm acts like a super fancy swiss army knife. Seems like something there could be military applications for, or something espionage agencies may want to have available.
mcappleton 9y ago
Funny, I was watching a video of a guy with a prosthetic hand. He loved it. He said he went from almost committing suicide to being ok with life again. When he talked about his bionic hand, he said "I'm not left handed, I'm other-handed", as he turned his hand a full 360... It was pretty funny.

52-6F-62 9y ago

Sort of a meta analysis, but: While I don't disagree with your level of skepticism necessarily, I'd like to take this moment to make a point -- this kind of negative sentiment seems so characteristic of HN lately toward anything new and difficult, in spite of the fact that this is a community generally aimed toward entrepreneurial, forward-looking, highly-technical types. Instead of such a short stop "it would be expensive, so why bother, it won't happen for a long, long time" sort of sentiment, why does't the community make more pointed suggestions about flaws. Simply and vaguely saying "the economics look bad to me" generates only sentiment, and no real knowledge to be shared. I can be guilty of it, too, but usually because of emotional response and not a technical criticism. This sounds like a technical criticism with no reasoning. On top of that, "era" is a really vague term. I mean, it might not be perfect, but try $300 on: https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/23/this-300-cybernetic-arm-gets-its-smarts-from-your-cellphone/ https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/23/this-300-cybernetic-arm-... I don't think it's as far and distant as you think.

sliverstorm 9y ago
HN is probably on a backswing. For a while a few years ago, it seemed like everyone would have expected to be able to create a better-than-flesh prosthetic in 18 months with a team of five coders and a little vc funding.
- s_kilk 9y ago
  I guess some of us are just sick of the hype, and the frankly demented hubris that's so often on display along with it. I'll be honest, all this biomod stuff looks like LARP to me. Just look at the article, this person literally got a magnet installed so they could play-act at being in a lesser Neil Stevenson novel, while, as noted in these comments, the actual science is nowhere near delivering the advancements that were promised. It turns out not all problems can be solved with a little Javascript. Maybe that makes me a cynic, fair enough, but all this valley hype is exhausting.
  - ethbro 9y ago
    I did enjoy the note about gatekeepers (insurance companies and the medical profession). These scientifically conservative organizations are great for not letting terrible things happen to people, but not at all geared towards radical innovation. Viz the medical community just starting to realize that systemic outcome-tracking might be beneficial towards informing what procedures are more effective in the real world.
yorwba 9y ago
Do you realize the irony replying to a comment that's basically saying "I don't think we'll go full cyborg soon, since growing new body parts in a lab will be cheaper." with the implication that it's not forward-looking? Both of these ideas are currently in the basic research stage and far from becoming mainstream, so they are just looking in a different direction that is still "forward". I agree that the lack of reasons for the economic differences is disappointing, though. Personally, I believe we will use whatever solution makes sense in a given context. If you need a cosmetic replacement for you lost ear, you get appropriately shaped connective tissue colonized with fresh cells, so that it looks like the real thing. If you need something to restore your lost hearing, you get a cochlear implant.