[some_guy282]

I just listened to a fascinating program from On Point. The title of the program was Evolving into Superman, and the author of a new book that discusses technological alteration of human beings is interviewed. For instance, humans that can go for a week without sleep, or live off of fat cells and not eat for days, regenerate lost limbs, have total recall memory, super intelligence... It's predicted that if technology keeps advancing at its current rate, some of these things will be available within 15 to 20 years. Can you picture a future in which someone could buy such enhancements like people buy plastic surgery today? And what would be the ultimate outcome of this kind of technological alteration of human evolution? Of course these predictions presuppose an increased production and use of energy (oil) to power this exponential growth in technology. Still, it's an interesting topic of discussion.

Is this the future we have to look forward to if a magic silver bullet for Peak Oil was found? Not very appealing to me. Our technology really has surpassed our humanity, and I don't think efforts to use technology to enhance our humanity will help much.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Soon it will be possible to grow new adult teeth, but nothing to eat with them.

[linlithgowoil]

even if we solve peak oil, there's no way any of that stuff will be happening in 15-20 years. more like 150-200 years. i really think people over estimate our abilities in these type of things.

[gego]

When people hunted and gathered with little excess, most human energy went into basic survival. It was not until agricultural excess that some human energy was freed from basics to develop "technology". As more energy became available more technology was developed, which in turn made it possible for us to use energy more rapidly. Jet airplanes use more energy to get us from point a to point b than did travel on horseback.

As energy becomes less available, technology will become less available. These pie in the sky views of the future are nice, and if we had unlimited energy might come to pass, but once the fossil fuels are gone, so will most technology go also.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gego', 'T')hese pie in the sky views of the future are nice, and if we had unlimited energy might come to pass, but once the fossil fuels are gone, so will most technology go also.

[Teclo]

Isn't the ironic thing that had there been adequate preperation we could have probably developed new energy technologys instead of wasting money and time on senseless things, like an ever increasing standard of living for a minority. Its one thing to not share wealth around quite another to do so even enough to stave off your own collapse and doom your own children. How absolutely blind our leaders are, who's the fool, the fool or the fool who follows him?

No-one has even agreed what the human 'project' is for, or what we want. This is the great thing about peak oil at last we will have to ask those questions

Teclo

[shady28]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('some_guy282', '.')..humans that can go for a week without sleep, or live off of fat cells and not eat for days, regenerate lost limbs, have total recall memory, super intelligence... It's predicted that if technology keeps advancing at its current rate, some of these things will be available within 15 to 20 years...

[PhilBiker]

Shady28, that's my nominee for best post of the day. It can all be summed up in two words: Diminishing Returns.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'h')umans that can go for a week without sleep, or live off of fat cells and not eat for days, regenerate lost limbs, have total recall memory, super intelligence

[0mar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'h')umans that can go for a week without sleep, or live off of fat cells and not eat for days, regenerate lost limbs, have total recall memory, super intelligence