/sci/ - Science & Math

So uh... What's next in Human Evolution?

I have very distinct goals for my life.

Step one, is to gain money. For now, a small amount is sufficient.

Step two: obtain knowledge. This is easy, I can attend classes of my choice, learn what is appropriate for my goals and apply it.

Step 3: Influence. I will use my knowledge to create, to design and build. I will market these products, gain money and power.

Step 4: expand. I will use this money and influence to expand technology in certain required fields. namely, nanotechnology and life elongation therapies.
nanotechnology is the window into increasing our strength, intelligence and efficiency.
life elongation speaks for itself.

Step 5: vigorously improve.
I will make better models of nanobot, more efficient ways of increasing my intelligence, upgrade the capacity and power of my mind a thousand fold. And then keep going.

Step 6: exodus.
At this point leaving the planet will become an option. I will find my own large source of resources, cannibalize it and convert into an enormous ultra-computer. Dedicated entirely to improving the power of my mind.

I will forgo these human limitations.
these inefficiencies, weaknesses.

I will reach into the heavens and carve my place among the stars.
I will transcend this earth, I will become a god!


and it all starts with a part time job.
with that said, anyone hiring?

Hey /sci/
I want to be a biomedical engineer.

or rather, i want to build and design medical nanobots and internal prosthesis for use in enhancing cognitive and physical function in the human body.

only problem is, there really is much of a job market for that kind of thing.
So I figure I could major in chemical engineering and get a masters in biomedical later, but make it easier for me to get a job in the meantime, or major in biomedical and be unemployed for years, but know more of what I think I need to.

you guys have any ideas as to what I should do to achieve not only my dream, but possibly financial success a little quicker?

Genetic scanning is becoming cheap, quick, and easy.

With these advancements we are beginning to see and understand the basic differences between humans.
We are able to track, on a genetic level, the basis of intelligence, of physical strength, of physical and mental health, whether you are susceptible to disease for not, and many other factors.

Humans are stupid, and reactionary. Given this new plethora of information, it will only be natural that they will begin to assign value to some factors over others.
Some people will be labeled as genetically "inferior," while others will be labeled as genetically "superior."
Although, unlike the Nazi's, we will have actual, testable, scientific evidence supporting these claims.

We may begin to see a caste system in the coming years, or mass killings with the excuse of "improving" the gene pool.
perhaps those deemed "inferior" won't be allowed to have children?
feel free to imagine other equally horrifying outcomes.

I see this as an eventuality.
Humanity has never gained experience peacefully, and I have no reason to believe that this won't be a great source of contention.

what are your thoughts on these coming years? I hope you are all labeled "superior," I for one have a nervous tic, and while my family is incredibly intelligent, they are also quite susceptible to mental illness.
The nazi's would have killed me for being "inferior"

I have no reason to believe I will survive the next great purge.

does anybody have any doubts?
seems legit to me

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence -summary of studies of religion and intelligence

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/intelligence-study-links-prejudice_n_1237796.html -study showing link between low iq, religious belief, and prejudice.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120426143856.htm - study showing that using analytic thinking lessens belief in deities. (finally, proof they're not using their brains! I knew it!)

Let's say I wanted to develop some sort of treatment for elongating the human lifespan.
Let's also say the exact technique for administering this treatment was still up for discussion.
>Which professional fields should I get talent from to help me develop this treatment?

keep in mind the things that cause aging, (cell damage, telemorase decrease, mitochondrial death, senescence, etc.) as well as likely technological increases within the next 30 years.

Say guys,

Lets say I wanted to develop some sort of treatment that would elongate the human lifespan.
Like a shot that repairs damaged telomere caps or something.

what would I have to study, and what would I have to do to start developing this?

I come to you with a problem /sci/, now it is vitally important I get the best answer for this within the next .35 seconds.

You see, for reasons I wont get into right now, somebody is throwing a punch at my head.
unfortunately for me, they seem to have upgraded to a version 3.2 STRONGMAN, so their punch is coming in at about half the speed of sound.

Needless to say, if that hits me, I will certainly die a very quick death.
However, I have fortunately recently purchased my new ibrain, so I'm processing this all very quickly, and it has given me time to post this on here.

Now, my body is currently leaning slightly backward, so I am considering just following that momentum and trying to avoid the punch downward, but I don't know if that is going to work.
I am willing to damage a different, more easily reparable section of my body, so I one of those gets in the way, I wont worry.

What do you think my best course of action would be for avoiding this punch?

I hope that transhumansim comes to fruition in my lifetime. Not because I just want super strength or laser eyes or something like that.
No, what I want, is the potential to improve my mind, and make it immortal.

I will become computerized. First enhancing the limit of my consciousness, and improving my cognitive function.
From there, I will expand.

I will upload my mind to a server, and simply use a robotic body as an avatar. My server mind will be thousands of times more capable than my mind is now.

Using that intellect, I will build more capacity for my mind, I will build more avatars, and have the capacity to run multiple instances of myself simultaneously.
I will build myself larger, and more efficient brains. Continually uploading and improving my consciousness.
I will use that unfathomable intellect to leave the planet, and find another. Upon which I will have a countless army of myself cannibalize all resources on that planet, to turn the entire thing into one massive database.

My mind will be infinite. The universe will be my plaything.

A million avatars of myself will be linked to my mind, I will experience a million things at once. I will gain more knowledge than ever thought possible.

I will cease to be man, I will become a god.


Please.
Oh please.

Let me live long enough.

Before I get too far into this, this is a thread about aliens. so you know what you're getting into.

anyway.
lets look at how humanity got to be the dominant species on the planet.

-language: we are able to transfer and pool information

apposable thumbs: we are able to grasp, enabling us to use and build tools

large brains: we are able to effectively store information, and pass it on

efficient runners: we are the best long distance runners on the planet, this made us amazing hunters. Which may have led to greater planning/thinking abilities

Imagination: the way our brain developed, allows us to think in abstracts, that we may solve complicated problems.

Pack instinct: we are conditioned to work together, allowing us to advance further than individuals.

now. If all these things came together to help us develop into the technological species that we are today. It could be argued that without any one of them, we may not have advanced so far. Or we may not have been able to overcome many of the hurdles we faced.

So, what are the chances of there being intelligent, tool using life out there in the universe?

If we want to believe that another space faring species exists, we need to take into account the number of things necessary for a species to develop that way.

Is is possible, nay probable, that species with all the traits needed to get to space are incredibly rare? Keep into account that intelligence is not necessarily needed for survival, that's just how we got there.
and apposable thumbs are rare as well, only one branch of mammals has them.

and language, very few animals can communicate effectively. and only one can trade information so well.

What is to keep us from thinking, that we may be the most technologically advanced species in the universe?

How does the theory of evolution explain the identical symmetry of the left and right sides of the body (not including internal organs)? How could this happen by random mutation?

Hey /sci/. What is your opinion on human augmentation?