4 ms·

Life is not a computer you can hack. I bet we barely understand 1% of how our system works and trying to hack it means one is not even aware of their ignorance.

taneq 7y ago
We have all sorts of hacks. You just need to be careful and may get unintended side effects. (Steroid creams to fix skin conditions, caffeine for energy, alcohol for relaxation and fun, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, the list goes on.)
- mapcars 7y ago
  >may get unintended side effects. Oh, if one sees the enormity of complexity body & mind has - one can be sure he can not foresee all side effects. I like that you gave examples like caffeine which messes up your nervous system or alcohol which destroys your conscious attention and lever, among other things :)
  - taneq 7y ago
    They do work, though!
  - monsieurbanana 7y ago
    And I like how you passed up the other examples. Are you also advocating against medical drugs or vaccines? They fit the "hack your body" description to a tee.
    - taneq 7y ago
      Vaccines are another great example, thanks!
    - mapcars 7y ago
      I used the ones which have clear undesirable side effects, others might have it as well just that we don't know about them. >Are you also advocating against medical drugs or vaccines? I am only advocating about being conscious of how much we don't know. If medical drug or vaccine saves lives - I have no problem with it, still most likely we don't know all the side effects.
  - henryaj 7y ago
    Caffeine does not "mess up your nervous system"...
    - mapcars 7y ago
      Sure? So you are saying if you drink coffee every day and then stop - there will be no side effects?
      - dwaltrip 7y ago
        Temporary withdrawals != permanent damage
        mapcars 7y ago
        Well I also did not say it's permanent. Messing up can be temporal but it also builds up and becomes harder to get off. Temporal should not be taken lightly.
- arandr0x 7y ago
  All of those also screw up your sleep something fierce, and so (general you) end up piling hacks on top of hacks to make something kinda sorta work that you understand less than you did the original system. (Although, PSA, I do understand that the vast majority of people whose sleep is ruined by alcohol or caffeine or both are also too addicted to quit, and this isn't at this point a conscious attempt at "hacking" anything.)
vinceguidry 7y ago
You're using the word "hack" to refer to what most of us would call "engineering." Life absolutely can be hacked. It just can't be engineered.

taneq 7y ago

We have all sorts of hacks. You just need to be careful and may get unintended side effects. (Steroid creams to fix skin conditions, caffeine for energy, alcohol for relaxation and fun, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, the list goes on.)

mapcars 7y ago
>may get unintended side effects. Oh, if one sees the enormity of complexity body & mind has - one can be sure he can not foresee all side effects. I like that you gave examples like caffeine which messes up your nervous system or alcohol which destroys your conscious attention and lever, among other things :)
- taneq 7y ago
  They do work, though!
- monsieurbanana 7y ago
  And I like how you passed up the other examples. Are you also advocating against medical drugs or vaccines? They fit the "hack your body" description to a tee.
  - taneq 7y ago
    Vaccines are another great example, thanks!
  - mapcars 7y ago
    I used the ones which have clear undesirable side effects, others might have it as well just that we don't know about them. >Are you also advocating against medical drugs or vaccines? I am only advocating about being conscious of how much we don't know. If medical drug or vaccine saves lives - I have no problem with it, still most likely we don't know all the side effects.
- henryaj 7y ago
  Caffeine does not "mess up your nervous system"...
  - mapcars 7y ago
    Sure? So you are saying if you drink coffee every day and then stop - there will be no side effects?
    - dwaltrip 7y ago
      Temporary withdrawals != permanent damage
      - mapcars 7y ago
        Well I also did not say it's permanent. Messing up can be temporal but it also builds up and becomes harder to get off. Temporal should not be taken lightly.
arandr0x 7y ago
All of those also screw up your sleep something fierce, and so (general you) end up piling hacks on top of hacks to make something kinda sorta work that you understand less than you did the original system. (Although, PSA, I do understand that the vast majority of people whose sleep is ruined by alcohol or caffeine or both are also too addicted to quit, and this isn't at this point a conscious attempt at "hacking" anything.)

vinceguidry 7y ago

You're using the word "hack" to refer to what most of us would call "engineering." Life absolutely can be hacked. It just can't be engineered.