5 ms·

What are the good reasons? I assume we're talking about a situation where we could create the elephants "on demand", like with these mammoths.

Ekaros 2y ago
I'm wondering as well, there should be sufficient supply of those dying old age or accidents to have at least some going around. The long gestation cycle and comparatively long time to maturity reasonably make them inefficient, but still some supply would be expected.
adolph 2y ago
Well for one, a rate limiting factor is gestation period which is proportionally long for elephants. You’d probably be better off farming Homo sapiens or maybe reviving some other species of homo. Put them in gestational pods to harvest their metabolic heat energy. Maybe run mental simulations of various things via neural link. https://www.bbcearth.com/news/elephant-gestation-period-longer-than-any-living-mammal https://www.bbcearth.com/news/elephant-gestation-period-long...
- throwaway48540 2y ago
  "Better off" doesn't mean much. We would be better off doing neither of these, but being better off is not the goal - the goal is to eat an elephant or a mammoth. Seems like the gestation period would make it more of a luxury.
  - adolph 2y ago
    Like the mammoth, other species of homo disappeared when sapiens arrived. Like the cousin comment’s conjecture that mammoth might be very good eating, maybe these other species were likewise delectable.
    - throwaway48540 2y ago
      Sure, if that is so, then it might be an option too. Though I have never heard about that, while children are singing campfire songs about mammoths... Marketing matters - "Eat a prehistoric human" doesn't sound as cool as "taste the food of the prehistoric human"
  - anon84873628 2y ago
    You need to have seen the film "The Matrix" to get the joke.
    - throwaway48540 2y ago
      Oh I got that part of a joke, but that doesn't mean I don't want to continue discussing :)
delusional 2y ago
Do we need a good reason? It sounds really cool, and I dont see why not.
- MOARDONGZPLZ 2y ago
  Untold misery on a new species we brought back from extinction.
  - throw310822 2y ago
    Species don't experience misery, individuals do. We farm billions of animals every year, how could a few individuals of a de-extinct species living a mostly free and protected life pose a moral issue?
    - HelloMcFly 2y ago
      Given what we know about elephant intelligence and community, I'd be morally horrified by any level of systematic and ongoing "farming" of elephants for food. You may rightly accuse my of getting ahead of myself for extending the same feelings towards the mammoth for which we know less, but nevertheless I feel the same about them at the moment.
      - throw310822 2y ago
        Of course, but this not what we are talking about. The gp objects to de-extinctioning the mammoth per se, not to farming it for food. As if the recreated mammoths would feel some unbearable sadness at the thought of being out of their time, or as if they missed their dead relatives from 10000 years ago.
      - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
        I totally get this. Each person has to decide, where do I draw the line? My girlfriend won’t eat octopus, for instance, but is fine with beef or pork.

Ekaros 2y ago

I'm wondering as well, there should be sufficient supply of those dying old age or accidents to have at least some going around. The long gestation cycle and comparatively long time to maturity reasonably make them inefficient, but still some supply would be expected.

adolph 2y ago

Well for one, a rate limiting factor is gestation period which is proportionally long for elephants. You’d probably be better off farming Homo sapiens or maybe reviving some other species of homo. Put them in gestational pods to harvest their metabolic heat energy. Maybe run mental simulations of various things via neural link. https://www.bbcearth.com/news/elephant-gestation-period-longer-than-any-living-mammal https://www.bbcearth.com/news/elephant-gestation-period-long...

throwaway48540 2y ago
"Better off" doesn't mean much. We would be better off doing neither of these, but being better off is not the goal - the goal is to eat an elephant or a mammoth. Seems like the gestation period would make it more of a luxury.
- adolph 2y ago
  Like the mammoth, other species of homo disappeared when sapiens arrived. Like the cousin comment’s conjecture that mammoth might be very good eating, maybe these other species were likewise delectable.
  - throwaway48540 2y ago
    Sure, if that is so, then it might be an option too. Though I have never heard about that, while children are singing campfire songs about mammoths... Marketing matters - "Eat a prehistoric human" doesn't sound as cool as "taste the food of the prehistoric human"
- anon84873628 2y ago
  You need to have seen the film "The Matrix" to get the joke.
  - throwaway48540 2y ago
    Oh I got that part of a joke, but that doesn't mean I don't want to continue discussing :)

delusional 2y ago

Do we need a good reason? It sounds really cool, and I dont see why not.

MOARDONGZPLZ 2y ago
Untold misery on a new species we brought back from extinction.
- throw310822 2y ago
  Species don't experience misery, individuals do. We farm billions of animals every year, how could a few individuals of a de-extinct species living a mostly free and protected life pose a moral issue?
  - HelloMcFly 2y ago
    Given what we know about elephant intelligence and community, I'd be morally horrified by any level of systematic and ongoing "farming" of elephants for food. You may rightly accuse my of getting ahead of myself for extending the same feelings towards the mammoth for which we know less, but nevertheless I feel the same about them at the moment.
    - throw310822 2y ago
      Of course, but this not what we are talking about. The gp objects to de-extinctioning the mammoth per se, not to farming it for food. As if the recreated mammoths would feel some unbearable sadness at the thought of being out of their time, or as if they missed their dead relatives from 10000 years ago.
    - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
      I totally get this. Each person has to decide, where do I draw the line? My girlfriend won’t eat octopus, for instance, but is fine with beef or pork.