World's First Cyborg Speaks Out
- Thread starter JonB
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The key criterion for being a cyborg is the visibility of the implant? Interesting. So everyone with a pacemaker so well integrated into their bodies that they don't notice it is not a cyborg, or is it just that old folks who spend most of their time ignoring the tech implants aren't cool?
Were it that easy.OniaPL said:
- Vectors: very tricky. We don't really have too much here yet. Retroviruses could work, but their random placement their genome onto a chromosome and the high number of cells in a human body makes it highly likely that you get some form of cancer.
- Not everything is dominant/recessive. Hell: for many genes we hardly know the functions, and almost all functions of a tissue depend on a huge genetic network. Also: if you don't spot the dysfunction in time, you're most likely fucked, since post-fetal growing of the right neural cells to the right parts of the brain is going to be a clusterfuck.
Also: the branch of molecular biology involved in what you're discussing and the branch of informatics/robotics which is used here are completely separate. Why not do both of them?
I agree with you in theory but that kind of research wouldn't help him now, realistically both need to be invested in. Sure we should research prevention of this kind of stuff but it's already affecting a lot of people so we just as much should help them overcome their difficulties rather than just saying "you're on your own, we'll fix it before the next batch of people".OniaPL said:
very true, if anything i'd ask if they could turn it into some kind of helmet/hat thing. I'd be too nervous that it'd catch on something (top of a door, something hanging) so i'd like some stability holding it on my head.snagli said:
this is fucking epic though, really interesting to see this happen in our lifetime.
Due to a side-effect of profound grief and longing, I gained the sense of touch in my dreams, which I had never had before. Our dreams are a collection of our experiences and our thoughts. You don't dream about eyeborgs or smartphone displays or trees if you never saw one.JonB said:
If you're specifically using tech-modifies-neurons as a requirement for being a cyborg, someone beat you to it. Several someones, probably, but the first one I can think of is George Stratton [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptual_adaptation#Experimental_support] in the 1890s, who wore a pair of glasses that ultimately changed the way his brain processed images.JonB said:
Awesome technology! My grandfather was totally colorblind and loved new technology, he probably would have loved this.
I'm no cyborg, but my brain does something just the opposite. When I hear music or tonal sounds, I perceive a specific color along with it. My piano teacher thought I was crazy.
I'm no cyborg, but my brain does something just the opposite. When I hear music or tonal sounds, I perceive a specific color along with it. My piano teacher thought I was crazy.
Not really the first cyborg, just one of the first to label himself as such. Personally, I see him as another human just with some extra bits. Equality and that. I guess people with pacemakers, brain electrodes, artificial limbs, joint replacements and hearing aids aren't cool enough to be considered 'cyborgs'.
Personally I don't get what the big deal is. I mean, it's a great day for science and I'm glad this guy can now identify colours, but let's be honest, people have been using prosthetics for ages now. And it's not like this is bound to turn into a human rights issue. I mean, we already have the Paralympics, don't we? I think the transition from natural bodies to technologically enhanced ones will go fairly smoothly, with no real problems concerning human rights. The only one who's being really bigoted here is Google, because their spell-checker refuses to recognize either "prosthetics" or "paralympics" as actual words (but then their maps refuse to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state).
Traitor...ron1n said:
That's why I said "dumping the cash into developing it"; I'm aware that getting a vector, for example the processed retrovirus to actually bring the gene to the right cell, put it in the right place and for the gene to successfully replace the "broken" part without even taking polygenes into consideration are all problems that would need to be solved. That's what I'd like to see; to get these kind of problems solved.Alleged_Alec said:
Achromatopsia, however, is caused by autosomal recessive genes as far as I am aware.
Where you got me though was that it really wouldn't help him. I threw a guess that his inability to see colors was just because of some kind of problem with the cone cells where they do not produce the pigment and that if we were to "repair" the genes, the cone cells would be able to do that which would possibly allow him t osee colors again.
But of course the cause could be a number of things, and it probably wouldn't be that simple.
Yeah, they are completely separate, but I just personally find the idea of sticking a metal device on the top of someone's head to get them to "see" colors to be a clumsy, non-elegant solution.
Well, I suppose so. But we could also instead just find the answer to the problem sooner to prevent more people with something like achromatopsia being born. Though that delves more into the area of moral dilemmas; whether to let people be born with it and just help them out, or whether to prevent it all together but leaving the pre-existing ones fucked.Frontastic said:
I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Jensen. You had a prime opportunity to say "At least he asked for this," and instead you make a Justin Beiber joke. For shame. And you call yourself a Deus Ex fan...I'd have half a mind to ask you to relinquish your profile pic. ;PAdam Jensen said:
OP: This is really awesome. However, it will open a whole new can of worms about cybernetic people's rights, fear of both their power and propagation (hope I spelled that right) from humans who don't want/need to alter themselves, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Still....this is pretty cool.
There's only one thing to say to this...
Seriouisly though, awesome, now can I have my robot arms?
Seriouisly though, awesome, now can I have my robot arms?
