Say Goodbye to Darwinian Evolution

Honestly, that seems to have quite a bit of Transcendent thought, too much to be realistic.

I think he underestimates the greed of humanity.

I could see it happening in socialist societies, however. While corporations don't really have any incentive to switch over to green technology, governments might.

Honestly, I don't think our government would switch if the Corps weren't interested. There's entirely too much influence there.

As much fun as his Green technology theories sound, does anyone else see the problem with genetically engineered termites that eat substances other than wood? If those things got loose, we'd all be F'd in the A.

I'm definitely noting a hint of the ramblings of a futurist here, but someone has to be looking forward. If you read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (and believe what Thomas Kuhn has to say in it), science is perpetually experiencing paradigm shifts. As progress is made in a particular field and discoveries build upon each other, eventually the entire scientific community undergoes a change so drastic that new possibilities open that were never before thought possible (take the discovery of the round earth, for instance). It definitely seems that we could be approaching one of these paradigm shifts. That's not to say that Dyson is accurate in his specific predictions. Given where we are technologically, though, who is to say what is out of reach.

Oh, and I agree on the whole corporate/government link.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Off-topic, but you're my hero. I finished that book about a week ago, and you're the only person I know now other than myself who has read the book.

I had to read it last summer for a core course called Understanding Information. It was surprisingly good. Much better than some of the other required reading for that course.

Gene splicing, biomechanics...all the same thing. Our minds are still evolving. Unless all mankind becomes sterile, it will still be Darwinian evolution.

"Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun."

Interesting theory but a bit dramatic. Even if we have rampant biotech that is certainly not going to stop humans from making and keeping furry creatures with pleasant or exaggerated features for their amusement.

I see a battle going on between "intellect" and natural order (even though we all know who has the upper hand ). We build everything around us to keep out big scary dangerous nature. Watching commercials for disinfectants worries me even more. We are going to kill ourselves with this healthcare business. :/

Anyway this rant is too fuckin' disjointed to make sense!

Cannot stop Darwinian Evolution or Natural Selection. At the risk of sounding lame(er) nature always finds a way.

Cannot stop Darwinian Evolution or Natural Selection. At the risk of sounding lame(er) nature always finds a way.

Sure you can. Government imposed eugenics.

MJ even though eugenics may be logical in a biological sense it is so far off the social acceptance scale that it could never be enacted in a modern government after WWII unless something pretty substantial happens.

I'm actually not sure that it is logical from a biological perspective. For the record, I am both scientifically and ethically against eugenics. I was simply stating that natural selection could be bypassed through systematic eugenics.

Well I think eugenics messes up natural selection in a way that what you create will not be suited for its environment unless you have cosmically perfect knowledge of everything. However, this idea of artificial evolution being the next step gives me some interesting thoughts. I picture the iconic image of the "Alien being" that is always described (lithe, grey, sexless, faceless, cold, neutral, frail) and I think that describes a being totally dependant on technology and completely without natural enemies. Sounds like where we could be heading if we succeed (we will) in creating our own version of the universe from the information we have built around us.