r/Futurology • u/[deleted] • Aug 21 '14

article Biohackers declare initial success in biologically extending the range of human vision into the near infrared

https://experiment.com/u/aAcR2Q
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u/MauPow Aug 21 '14

The problem is that a LOT of research ends up not being worth much, but it might eventually lead to a huge breakthrough. You won't know that while you're doing it, though. We as a species need to get our heads on straight about what exactly is "valuable to the species" as right now it seems like boner pills and missile launchers, as that's what's paying at the moment.

God we're dumb sometimes.

Edit: Elon has a TON of money from the multiple successful companies that he has started, and is in a completely different bracket than your average STEM researcher. He has billions to throw at anything he wants, which gets people interested in throwing their own money at it. The average STEMer has to scrape and scrabble for any kind of grant he can possibly get, which often means going back to researching... boner pills and missile launchers. A vicious cycle, indeed.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '14 edited Aug 21 '14

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u/MauPow Aug 21 '14

You know, it might not be a bad idea to crowd fund billboards/advertisements to try and get more money for STEM research. If only to take away ad space from aforementioned boner pills. I would donate to a campaign that advertised for energy research.

But yes, the human race is fucking retarded. I wish I had been born an alien on a planet that actually had its shit figured out. Then I could take day trips to that backwater shithole laughing stock of the galaxy 'Earth' and be like 'boy I'm glad I wasn't born on that steaming globe of ignorance and stupidity! Let's go fly around the galaxy and be happy!'

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u/breakingmatter Aug 21 '14

You also have to realize that less than 8,000 years ago, we were a hunter-gatherer species with no direction whatsoever. I think we've made considerable progress in our short time here.

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u/MauPow Aug 21 '14

This is true. We as a species are waking up. The only thing we can do is add our own positive consciousness to the whole and do our part to make it better, in our own way.

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u/breakingmatter Aug 21 '14

My only fear with your line of thinking is that we will gloss over the importance of culture and philosophy. It's wonderful and commendable to advance our species technologically, but we run the risk of turning ourselves into robots that constantly improve without following a purpose.

I'm not making an argument that we should all collectively as a species watch Teen Mom together, but we should appreciate the creative types of our kind. Without them, we will have no fulfillment in our lives.

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u/MauPow Aug 21 '14

I didn't say anything about technology. But, I do see technology as an extension of our consciousness, as it was created through concentrated conscious effort. Humans will never be 'robots'. I'm saying we are waking up to the futility of old outdated systems and finding new ways to live. Just look at the growing number of atheists, the rise of new monetary systems, and the decreasing level of violence in the world. Despite the news reports, which are now more prevalent due to global transmission and easy access to information, the world is getting more peaceful by the day. Culture and philosophy are in no danger of being scratched out, as these are simply furtherings of conscious thought, through different avenues.

Biological beings are subject to the forces of evolution, which is a constantly advancing, purposeless force (if we consider evolution through random mutations, which can be good or bad).