4 ms·

The Law of Equivalent Exchange can be dodged, delayed, and ignored for only so long. There may not be a biochemical catch, but we will certainly pay in some oth

The Law of Equivalent Exchange can be dodged, delayed, and ignored for only so long. There may not be a biochemical catch, but we will certainly pay in some other way. Perhaps spiritual, mental, etc.

kobalsky 3y ago
imagine if you were saying this about vaccines or antibiotics. this drug has side effects on some people but it’s may make obesity a thing of the past. especially if generics could be made so cheaply
- lxgr 3y ago
  To be fair, some people are saying that about vaccines or antibiotics. Fortunately they don’t regulate access to either for most people in the world.
- Mencius- 3y ago
  Different people place different weights on different values and outcomes. I'm sure there are many elderly people who miss the culture of sociability with neighbors that was largely a byproduct of material scarcity. Borrowing the sugar, congregating at the neighbor's house who is the only one on the block with a TV, etc. Our loneliness and mental health crisis is largely the price we paid for vanquishing material scarcity. If you cannot see the dysgenic effects of vaccines, antibiotics, etc I doubt I can convince you in a a single comment. Just take my word for it that the percent of the population that will have permanent defects that require lifelong treatments is continuing to rise. Sperm loads and quality are continuing to drop. I am not implying that these trade-offs aren't worth making -- just that our collective leadership should be making them with eyes wide open and planning for the inevitable sacrifice each piece of 'progress' requires. Edit: Just as a simple thought experiment: If these obesity drugs are really the miracles they seem to be, I can see a future in couple generations where any disruption in supply will lead every single person to balloon to the size of the fattest person you have ever seen in your life. What ever gene(s) are regulating satiation will be rendered moot and thus have zero selection pressure. The outsourcing of this function is just that -- the human organism will no longer have any method of regulating hunger, satiation, etc.
Kye 3y ago
Fullmetal Alchemist isn't real life. You don't have to account for every microgram of material along the way for a drug to be useful and safe.
lxgr 3y ago
Except that that’s not an actual natural law. In the same way that sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason and with no compensation whatsoever, sometimes good things happen to people as well, whether they “deserve” it or not. Other than that, what’s the problem with a weight loss drug? That it’s “unnatural” or “cheating nature”? The weight gain and the corresponding lifestyle and nutrition that often cause it aren’t exactly nature-given either.

The Law of Equivalent Exchange can be dodged, delayed, and ignored for only so long. There may not be a biochemical catch, but we will certainly pay in some other way. Perhaps spiritual, mental, etc.

kobalsky 3y ago

imagine if you were saying this about vaccines or antibiotics. this drug has side effects on some people but it’s may make obesity a thing of the past. especially if generics could be made so cheaply

lxgr 3y ago
To be fair, some people are saying that about vaccines or antibiotics. Fortunately they don’t regulate access to either for most people in the world.
Mencius- 3y ago
Different people place different weights on different values and outcomes. I'm sure there are many elderly people who miss the culture of sociability with neighbors that was largely a byproduct of material scarcity. Borrowing the sugar, congregating at the neighbor's house who is the only one on the block with a TV, etc. Our loneliness and mental health crisis is largely the price we paid for vanquishing material scarcity. If you cannot see the dysgenic effects of vaccines, antibiotics, etc I doubt I can convince you in a a single comment. Just take my word for it that the percent of the population that will have permanent defects that require lifelong treatments is continuing to rise. Sperm loads and quality are continuing to drop. I am not implying that these trade-offs aren't worth making -- just that our collective leadership should be making them with eyes wide open and planning for the inevitable sacrifice each piece of 'progress' requires. Edit: Just as a simple thought experiment: If these obesity drugs are really the miracles they seem to be, I can see a future in couple generations where any disruption in supply will lead every single person to balloon to the size of the fattest person you have ever seen in your life. What ever gene(s) are regulating satiation will be rendered moot and thus have zero selection pressure. The outsourcing of this function is just that -- the human organism will no longer have any method of regulating hunger, satiation, etc.

Kye 3y ago

Fullmetal Alchemist isn't real life. You don't have to account for every microgram of material along the way for a drug to be useful and safe.

lxgr 3y ago

Except that that’s not an actual natural law. In the same way that sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason and with no compensation whatsoever, sometimes good things happen to people as well, whether they “deserve” it or not. Other than that, what’s the problem with a weight loss drug? That it’s “unnatural” or “cheating nature”? The weight gain and the corresponding lifestyle and nutrition that often cause it aren’t exactly nature-given either.