Change The Blueprint

[poliphilo]

The human body is in urgent need of a re-design.

I mean, basically, it's the same monkey body we had when we first traipsed out of the woods and onto the savannahs.

It's built to last about 25 years. After which time it starts going wrong. We've quadrupled our life expectancy, but without upgrading the vehicle. And so we spend three quarters of our life-span in a body that's performing well below its best. How stupid is that?

We accept that an athlete is past it by thirty. How abject!

And it's so fragile. Why settle for skin and bone when you could have titanium?

Comments

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I"m thinking here of Data, the android...whatever he was...on Star Trek TNG. His skin wasn't titanium. And does anyone remember the episode where Tasha Yaar asked him if he was 'fully funtional'? No titanium there, I'm sure.

So much of what was once thought of as Science Fiction has come to pass, I always wonder if one of the reasons why is that 'that' caught the eye of some young soon to be inventor. Remember the communicators on the FIRST Star Trek? Today's cell phones are very much like them...

So, if 'they' could make a Data, why does a better model human have to be titanium?

Just a question.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

And does anyone remember the episode where Tasha Yaar asked him if he was 'fully funtional'? No titanium there, I'm sure.

A rather Freudian slip, I meant fully functional.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Hehehe....

I remember that episode. Yes indeed I do. I'm not sure it wasn't the very first I saw.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I plucked titanium out of the air- because it sounds good.

But, no, you're probably right. We'll be able to produced something that looks like flesh but is very much tougher and- of course- disease-proof.

There are people out there trying to make humanoid robots. I don't think they're all that far-advanced yet, but I'm sure they'll get to Data eventually.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

Well, of course, Data was Data. But I would think that Data-like 'replacement parts' for humans would work. However, then wouldn't athletic competition have to change? YOu couldn't have unenhanced competing with bionic and have it be fair...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I guess you'd have to create separate categories.

At present replacement parts are, generally speaking, inferior to the originals- but I don't suppose it'll be long before reality catches up with the comic books and we'll be creating bionic supermen and superwomen.