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So, a point of nerdity: mentats were not portrayed as disfigured in Dune. They had personalities and foibles and loyalties and so on. In fact, there was no limi

So, a point of nerdity: mentats were not portrayed as disfigured in Dune. They had personalities and foibles and loyalties and so on. In fact, there was no limit on who could be a mentat, or what other position of power they could hold (some of Paul's friends note how formidable a mentat-duke would be - not something they would say if it were a disfigurement). Another point of nerdity that no-one has mentioned yet, including the OP: Herbert sketched out an extended story that portrays humanity and the machines it had fought against so long merging in the long run. In part this is why Leto II never destroyed Ix even though it was constantly (quietly) breaking the Bulterian Jihad rules. None of this invalidates the OP's core point, of course. I think it's a good and valuable discussion to consider technology from fundamentally moral grounds, and I wish we'd do it more.

at_a_remove 5y ago
Not physically disfigured, no. But ... constrained. Narrowed. Awaiting a chance to provide answers, but not questions.
- javajosh 5y ago
  By that definition, professional guitarists are disfigured, constrained, narrowed. They go through painful physical changes (callouses, uncomfortable fingerings), and learned to be a guitarist to the exclusion of so much else they could have done or learned. Plus many of them don't even compose music, and just play the music of others - never providing their own musical ideas, only regurgitating the work of others.
  - zepto 5y ago
    Yes?
    - javajosh 5y ago
      If you're up-in-arms about "soul disfigurement", perhaps it's better to lobby against professional musicianship first before lobbying against the use of hypothetical mentats?
      - at_a_remove 5y ago
        It's a matter of degree, not kind. I was engaged as a private tutor for many years. Some of the children involved had worn spots on their necks, permanent scars, from the viola. They often had little else in their lives. Exaggerate that to the degree required to get a mentat, and yes, I think you've got a case for disfiguring the human soul.
- slowmovintarget 5y ago
  Which was the point of the Golden Path and the Scattering. Cause the pot to boil over, give the reigns to evolution.
thrower123 5y ago
Every mentat depicted was addicted to nootropics, like sapho juice or melange, which long-term abuse of caused physiological changes. Not as extreme as the Navigators, but it's well beyond physical dependance.

at_a_remove 5y ago

Not physically disfigured, no. But ... constrained. Narrowed. Awaiting a chance to provide answers, but not questions.

javajosh 5y ago
By that definition, professional guitarists are disfigured, constrained, narrowed. They go through painful physical changes (callouses, uncomfortable fingerings), and learned to be a guitarist to the exclusion of so much else they could have done or learned. Plus many of them don't even compose music, and just play the music of others - never providing their own musical ideas, only regurgitating the work of others.
- zepto 5y ago
  Yes?
  - javajosh 5y ago
    If you're up-in-arms about "soul disfigurement", perhaps it's better to lobby against professional musicianship first before lobbying against the use of hypothetical mentats?
    - at_a_remove 5y ago
      It's a matter of degree, not kind. I was engaged as a private tutor for many years. Some of the children involved had worn spots on their necks, permanent scars, from the viola. They often had little else in their lives. Exaggerate that to the degree required to get a mentat, and yes, I think you've got a case for disfiguring the human soul.
slowmovintarget 5y ago
Which was the point of the Golden Path and the Scattering. Cause the pot to boil over, give the reigns to evolution.

thrower123 5y ago

Every mentat depicted was addicted to nootropics, like sapho juice or melange, which long-term abuse of caused physiological changes. Not as extreme as the Navigators, but it's well beyond physical dependance.