4 ms·

Reminds me of something I read in one of the Kurzweil books years ago: having nano-blood delivering enough oxygen to stay underwater for 8 hours. Things like th

Reminds me of something I read in one of the Kurzweil books years ago: having nano-blood delivering enough oxygen to stay underwater for 8 hours. Things like that. The (funny to me) idea that also came from that was that we can remove our digestive systems, because "eating mainly for nutrients" turns into "eating just for enjoyment", and we have a tray in our stomachs that we tap out to empty the chewed food.

sottol 2y ago
At that point, why not just let Neuralink tickle the right brain regions - seems more sensible than literally stuffing food into your mouth. Also seems closer to being achievable than nano blood.
- jayd16 2y ago
  Heroin just doesn't have the same experience as a meal.
- ertgbnm 2y ago
  Same reason we might choose to have sex instead of masturbate. Masturbating may be faster and easier. But sex is fun and you can do it with friends.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 2y ago
  Nano specifics aside, we can already feed people intravenously. We do not yet know how to electrically trick the brain in any meaningful and safe way. I might also be crossing the streams on partially remembered text, but I believe the nano component of the blood was about engineered hemoglobin that was a more effective oxygen carrier, not glucose.
nonameiguess 2y ago
There was a story here a few months ago from a guy who has severe Crohn's disease, with his gut fused to some other organ I can't recall in a way that prevented eating at all. He was able to survive via a direct infusion of nutrients into his blood, but the viscosity of the subtance would make it far too painful to inject by any normal IV route, so he needed a catheter inserted straight into his vena cava. And though this provided all the sustenance his body required for energy, because hunger hormones are produced in the gut, not eating will leave you perpetually hungry even if you actually have all the energy you need. The very existence of obesity should probably make it obvious this is possible, but removing our digestive systems may have unintended consequences. The way this guy described his experiences sounded like a pretty miserable existence.
- LorenPechtel 2y ago
  I knew it had to into a major vein, but I didn't know about the hunger issue with TPN.
- krisoft 2y ago
  Yeah i mean realistically just the port to “a tray in our stomachs” sounds like a nightmare. How do you make a port big enough to take the tray out? How do you prevent it from always getting infected? What do you do with the core muscles where the tray port goes? How do you clean the pouch where the tray resides? How will you make the tray-escophagus interface leak proof? What if someone with the tray in their stomach wants to do sports, or is in an accident? When they are shocked around will the tray mechanism tear their flesh and organs? Will the tray accomodate body shape changes during a pregnancy? Or changes due to old age? How will people know that their tray is full? Will they just start choking? How big the tray has to be to accomodate a family meal, but also be small enough to not feel as a burden during everyday activities? The truth is that our body is marvelously complex, and dynamically adjusts to many challenges. It does this so seamlesly that we don’t even notice. That is why people come up with ridiculous ideas like this because they are not consciously aware of how amazing their body is at taking care of the job of keeping them alive. The closest to this tray idea in reality is an ileostomy. And while it is better than dying, it has many risks and negative consequences. The idea that otherwise healthy individuals would willingly under go such a modification to their bodies is ludicrous.
  - Rumudiez 2y ago
    Look up colostomy bags. It’s not a lifestyle I think many people would choose on a whim
    - epcoa 2y ago
      Not sure why you think someone mentioning an ileostomy would be unfamiliar with colostomy bags.
      - krisoft 2y ago
waltbosz 2y ago
Just this morning I was wondering if one could cure their hypertension by getting an artificial heart to circulate their blood more efficiently. I mean sure you could also treat with weight loss and regular exercise, but it's a fun thought experiment.
- carbocation 2y ago
  Hypertension is not caused by the heart pumping too well, so this would not work for the purpose of curing hypertension. But if you could invent a durable heart replacement therapy, you'd save a lot of lives.
- teaker 2y ago
  See, ECMO. Although it can save one's life where perfusion is otherwise inadequate, it is extremely difficult to initiate and maintain.
- epcoa 2y ago
  If the pressures in a system are too high (mechanical or biological) the pump is usually not the culprit.
nullorempty 2y ago
It's not just the food it's flushing out.

sottol 2y ago

At that point, why not just let Neuralink tickle the right brain regions - seems more sensible than literally stuffing food into your mouth. Also seems closer to being achievable than nano blood.

jayd16 2y ago
Heroin just doesn't have the same experience as a meal.
ertgbnm 2y ago
Same reason we might choose to have sex instead of masturbate. Masturbating may be faster and easier. But sex is fun and you can do it with friends.
0cf8612b2e1e 2y ago
Nano specifics aside, we can already feed people intravenously. We do not yet know how to electrically trick the brain in any meaningful and safe way. I might also be crossing the streams on partially remembered text, but I believe the nano component of the blood was about engineered hemoglobin that was a more effective oxygen carrier, not glucose.

nonameiguess 2y ago

There was a story here a few months ago from a guy who has severe Crohn's disease, with his gut fused to some other organ I can't recall in a way that prevented eating at all. He was able to survive via a direct infusion of nutrients into his blood, but the viscosity of the subtance would make it far too painful to inject by any normal IV route, so he needed a catheter inserted straight into his vena cava. And though this provided all the sustenance his body required for energy, because hunger hormones are produced in the gut, not eating will leave you perpetually hungry even if you actually have all the energy you need. The very existence of obesity should probably make it obvious this is possible, but removing our digestive systems may have unintended consequences. The way this guy described his experiences sounded like a pretty miserable existence.

LorenPechtel 2y ago
I knew it had to into a major vein, but I didn't know about the hunger issue with TPN.
krisoft 2y ago
Yeah i mean realistically just the port to “a tray in our stomachs” sounds like a nightmare. How do you make a port big enough to take the tray out? How do you prevent it from always getting infected? What do you do with the core muscles where the tray port goes? How do you clean the pouch where the tray resides? How will you make the tray-escophagus interface leak proof? What if someone with the tray in their stomach wants to do sports, or is in an accident? When they are shocked around will the tray mechanism tear their flesh and organs? Will the tray accomodate body shape changes during a pregnancy? Or changes due to old age? How will people know that their tray is full? Will they just start choking? How big the tray has to be to accomodate a family meal, but also be small enough to not feel as a burden during everyday activities? The truth is that our body is marvelously complex, and dynamically adjusts to many challenges. It does this so seamlesly that we don’t even notice. That is why people come up with ridiculous ideas like this because they are not consciously aware of how amazing their body is at taking care of the job of keeping them alive. The closest to this tray idea in reality is an ileostomy. And while it is better than dying, it has many risks and negative consequences. The idea that otherwise healthy individuals would willingly under go such a modification to their bodies is ludicrous.
- Rumudiez 2y ago
  Look up colostomy bags. It’s not a lifestyle I think many people would choose on a whim
  - epcoa 2y ago
    Not sure why you think someone mentioning an ileostomy would be unfamiliar with colostomy bags.
    - krisoft 2y ago

waltbosz 2y ago

Just this morning I was wondering if one could cure their hypertension by getting an artificial heart to circulate their blood more efficiently. I mean sure you could also treat with weight loss and regular exercise, but it's a fun thought experiment.

carbocation 2y ago
Hypertension is not caused by the heart pumping too well, so this would not work for the purpose of curing hypertension. But if you could invent a durable heart replacement therapy, you'd save a lot of lives.
teaker 2y ago
See, ECMO. Although it can save one's life where perfusion is otherwise inadequate, it is extremely difficult to initiate and maintain.
epcoa 2y ago
If the pressures in a system are too high (mechanical or biological) the pump is usually not the culprit.

nullorempty 2y ago

It's not just the food it's flushing out.