Thread: Studying and thinking

Ok so im studying and im thinking and im going a hundred mph in all directions.



So please if you have points of view share them. As some of you know Biotech is improving as much as computers are.

Some of my goals are to merge multiple disciplines of science and engineering to create what i feel to be the pinnalce of biotech. but in my current ethics course i have been given a metaphorical mirror to look into and while my views have been strengthened i find it necessary to speak my thoughts out loud and see others thoughts to help guid my actions and or show me points of view i am yet to see.

Please don't turn this into an argument or a flame war. I'm comming here because i value this community and would like to know your thoughts. so dont say things like "your wrong" please i want to understand the big picture. if you disagree with my thoughts please understand that if i knew what you know i might disagree with me as well.

So post with conviction not with argument in your heart. thanx.


With all that said. im setting out to study a field of biotech that im not sure has a name yet. but i want to take BCI (brain computer interface) and link the following diciplines.

Nonotech can be used to program protiens to perform singular funtions and colectivly perform complex tasks like rapid regeneration. given time and refinement can add the on off switch to the automatic nervous system. used with BCI this can perform actions with signals directly from your brain.

Genetics can be used to tune your bodies ability to accept implants by helping you cells be receptive to specific introductions, while still repulsing unwanted invasions. combined with BCI and nanotech implants can be introduced with very lil chance of rejection.

Robotics can be used for replacement limbs and bci and the others can enhance this yea im sure you already know this one but can we used a robotic skin so to speak? one that will let you operate in a dangerous environment but still have the sence of touch and smell un inhibited?

my current goals are to use BCI for group think tanks. researchers who think outside the box combined with others who think more specialized in their diciplines could find solutions by haveing understanding of each others experiences.

And this brings me to my last point...

ethics is hammering at me because i have never stopped to think about if i should do something i only thought about if i can do something. you have all seen jurassic park lol
We as a people are caring less and less about privacy, you come to myspace so i can twitter all over your facebook. and now we are pretty intamate... with millions. so is thought perception really that big of a deal?

Currently my thoughts are kinda but is this tech worth my privacy if i can figure a way safley off this planet to get resources from mars or another local planet? in this instance yes my privacy is meaningless if it is for the greater good of our race.

This is what i think about daily so what do you see in this? and remember be kind. and be helpful.
This tech is NOT FICTION Im studying it now to create tomorrow.

Hey, deep stuff. I'm a bio major possibly looking to going on to grad school and then into research. I'm particularly interested in the field of nanotechnology which i think is really gonna take off in the next decade or so. I like your ideas about creating a deeply integrated field of biotechnology working fom all aspects of science from genetics to electrical engineering. That stuff is definately not science fiction and it will be getting much better in the coming decades. Sounds like you are a hard thinking and creative individual.

That being said, you kind of lost me when you switched topics to the modern ethics of internet age privacy and getting resources from mars. I'm not quite sure I understand what you are asking here? Elaborate if you feel like it.

Anyway, just though I would give you some feedback.

what i was saying by that was, this course im taking is making me question everything to verify its validity now im taking it one step further questioning my self on the validity of my motives in pursuing such goals. my number one hang up is privacy. creating a think tank where individuals LITEREALLY share thoughts by thinking not talking is an invasion of privacy wouldnt you say? but is the out worth the sacrifice? i say yes for me but i cant say it for others.


thats about the jist of what i was getting at

Hi truNinja,
I'm a student Biomedical sciences,
and i have to say these topics do interest me. But as you already said it yourself, and especially the part where you are talking about sharing thoughts, I have to disagree with you.
Imagine a world where we are stuck, prisoners of our own creations. A world view similar to for example 'Dark City', or 'The Matrix'. If we would be (in physical way) prisoners of our own technology (i'm not only talking really sci-fi like as if the robots took over, but also for example if a foreign threath uses this techn against you) then your ONLY freedom would be the freedom of the mind. The freedom to think, to make up your own opinion, to believe inb something, to not agree with something. Imagine your technologie being used in a country where you can be put into prison for expressing criticism about the governement; image they'd say; From now on, it's forbidden to think bad about the governement. I agree that this is already a bit far in my imagination, but you have to remember that even if your ethicks are wright; not all people who will use this technolgy will have everthing allright in their minds. -I'm not saying that likewise 'Marie Curie' has a responsabilty in the atomic bomb ; but on experiments and science, the line between moral good and moral wrong is very tiny.. Good to think about it dohw!

Originally Posted by Tru_ninja

what i was saying by that was, this course im taking is making me question everything to verify its validity now im taking it one step further questioning my self on the validity of my motives in pursuing such goals. my number one hang up is privacy. creating a think tank where individuals LITEREALLY share thoughts by thinking not talking is an invasion of privacy wouldnt you say? but is the out worth the sacrifice? i say yes for me but i cant say it for others.


thats about the jist of what i was getting at

Ahhh, I totally get it now. Sorry I missed that. Yeah that is a conundrum indeed. I personally don't think I would ever let anybody get that deep inside my head. I'm afraid of what they might find. ...or what they wouldn't find. haha. What you are describing reminds me of the movie Ghost in the Shell (the original movie not that lame shit they show on cartoon network). In the movie they talk to each other through their "minds" which are basically now computers/machines called cyberbrains and people are constantly diving into each other's mind. It's an efficient but scary proposition. Everybody has at least a few dark secrets so it's gonna be tough to find people to sign up for that stuff. Nobody wants to let people into their "id". People only wanna show you their "superego" most of the time. Anyway, good luck with all that noise.

nehpets
Thanx for your reply, But the cool thing about this tech is you can already know if they will use it unethically because you will know the thoughts of those who use it. But also imagine if there are mistrust issues they can easily be resolved by understanding perfectly wherew each side is comming from.
as far as dark city and matrix are concerned the system will not work independantly. it will need an infrustructure similar to cellphone and cell towers. Think of a room designed to use a headset. the room acts as the tower and the headset acts as the phone itself. There are BCI toys comming out that will start training us to use more of our brain by the time this telepathy tech is created... for use that is lol.

cdf15
Yes we all have dark thoughts. ALL of us do. Thats the great thing about this, you will KNOW you are not the only one. imagine the understanding that could be achieved.


Great thoughts guys, thanx for sharing

I'm not so sure about mistrust issues being resolved by a system like this. Even if you can see where the other person is truly coming from. I think that at the true core people are, for the most part, working to further there own lives/careers/bank accounts. That would be the deepest true motivation for people working toward a goal/project so everybody's own desires to further themselves would come into conflict. Maybe i am just jaded but I subscribe to the theory that through evolution we human beings are really just genetically programmed for maximum survival and mating instincts. More success at a job/project or at school = more money = more security(survival)/better healthcare(survival)/better chance to find a wife or husband (mating/passing on your genes). So basically what i'm saying is that everybody's motives, at their core, are selfish. It's the only way that we humans as a species have evolved so far to the point where we have become the dominant species on the planet. In nature, only the strong and selfish survive. Even if we really do want to help are fellow man, and even if you don't do it publically for praise, deep down you are still giving yourself psychological "brownie points" (for lack of a better term) which reduce your stress and hence improve your overall health/ chance for survival. Also, people only seem to truly be willing to help their fellow man once they themselves are wealthy enough to afford it. Sure Bill Gates gives alot to charity but I guarantee he won't give it all away until long after he is dead. It's simple survival. You have to remeber that humans are really just advanced animals. Okay, sorry if that turned into a rant.

I have never heard someone else understand that before. I agree with you 100% and find it soothing that another could understand that concept. But i am hoping that people will recognize that and see how deep it goes. we justify so much to our selves by bouncing ideas off OURSELVES and we can get so conviluted we become warped. So for as strongly as i feel about this and as much as i want this. I am selfish in that " I WANT this technology so we can achieve more, reach farther and be more than we ever were." and you right everything i do is selfish underneath the surface, but im doing the best i can by bouncing my thoughts on others.

And to be honest im yet to hear something that would detour me from my goals... BUT... At least im looking to see if that something exists.



Great thoughts CD thank you

Ok so here it is only 2 days after posting this and because of research, i am have serious reservations about my goals. Im currently taking an ethics course call Technology, Society, Culture. This course is really making me think about the affects of technology on the human experience. My professor explained an incident where he was trying to talk to his niece and she was typing away and held her finger up in a notion to "hold on a minute". She continues to type and again he says "Hi" and again the finger say "one sec". Well after a moment she says she is done and asks what he needs. He asks "what were you typing there? homework?" She says it was her boyfriend. so he is asking if they are dating and she nods yes and the thing that shocked him (and us) was that he asked about hanging out going to movies, dinner and other social settings together. she is 14 and its normal at that age right? well.. she is almost disgusted by this idea and says "god no". she says they goto the same school but they dont talk in person because it is too awkward "but yes we are dating" she says.

This is acceptable behavior for her. Face to face communication is too uncomfortable for her. I wonder how many young people feel this way. I wonder if the tech i want to create is being hoped for by the younger generations? while this is a problem to me... this is soon to be their world not ours. so does it metter if it bugs me(or us)? not fearing or believing in God or going to church, meeting and loving someone of a different race or culture, Spending hours watching tv, games, and computers... all these things are ok to me. 100 years ago this would have made me a horrible person. but it didnt matter that they are upset or looking down on me because they had their time.

Any thoughts???