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We've made things fly - even all the way to space. We've transplanted organs. We've developed vaccines that eradicated diseases. We are making progress towards

by jowiar 13y ago

We've made things fly - even all the way to space. We've transplanted organs. We've developed vaccines that eradicated diseases. We are making progress towards deciphering the genome. What once required a library the size of a city block can now fit in your pocket. You can have a conversation with someone on the opposite side of the planet. Or even someone who isn't on the planet. Nothing is simple in life, and our bodies are complex. But if you EVER ask me the question: "Will people figure it out?" Unless the speed of light factors into the discussion, I'm putting my money on "yes" every single time.

ekianjo 13y ago
I'm not saying anything is impossible. But all the solutions we find are usually complex and not easy. A phone is complex. A computer is complex. Transistors are complex. Organs transplant is complex. So why do we expect the answer to food to be a simple bunch of ingredients mixed together?
- jowiar 13y ago
  A simple bunch of ingredients mixed together? Isn't that basically a recipe by definition. Or a diet? Getting a bunch of ingredients and turning it into something nutritious just isn't particularly difficult. Finding such a combination that is both nutritious and palatable is the challenge. The interesting bit with soylent is not that it is a fantastically revolutionary recipe. One could probably concoct something out of rice, beans, and a brassica cultivar that would serve the purpose of being a complete human diet just fine. Rather, it's people saying "I'm going to give up the pleasure I get from food in exchange for removing whatever distress the uncertainty in deciding what I'm going to eat causes me." It's a mental hack, not a culinary one. Are you're willing to make that trade? The culinary and scientific problems just aren't that difficult on the scale of culinary or scientific problems, but I don't think most people would be willing to do it.
  - ekianjo 13y ago
    > A simple bunch of ingredients mixed together? Isn't that basically a recipe by definition. No, the usual recipe of a daily meal is way more complex than the composition of Soylent in terms of the variety of elements/proteins you get.

by jowiar 13y ago

ekianjo 13y ago

I'm not saying anything is impossible. But all the solutions we find are usually complex and not easy. A phone is complex. A computer is complex. Transistors are complex. Organs transplant is complex. So why do we expect the answer to food to be a simple bunch of ingredients mixed together?

jowiar 13y ago
A simple bunch of ingredients mixed together? Isn't that basically a recipe by definition. Or a diet? Getting a bunch of ingredients and turning it into something nutritious just isn't particularly difficult. Finding such a combination that is both nutritious and palatable is the challenge. The interesting bit with soylent is not that it is a fantastically revolutionary recipe. One could probably concoct something out of rice, beans, and a brassica cultivar that would serve the purpose of being a complete human diet just fine. Rather, it's people saying "I'm going to give up the pleasure I get from food in exchange for removing whatever distress the uncertainty in deciding what I'm going to eat causes me." It's a mental hack, not a culinary one. Are you're willing to make that trade? The culinary and scientific problems just aren't that difficult on the scale of culinary or scientific problems, but I don't think most people would be willing to do it.
- ekianjo 13y ago
  > A simple bunch of ingredients mixed together? Isn't that basically a recipe by definition. No, the usual recipe of a daily meal is way more complex than the composition of Soylent in terms of the variety of elements/proteins you get.