Human Genome Project

[Koliedrus]

You'll notice in several news sources that it is complete as of today. Want a copy? Just go here:

ftp://ftp.sanger.ac.uk/pub/human/sequences/

A broadband download will take something like 45 hours.

Time to talk about Good, Bad and Ugly. I don't have any firm opinions yet but the fact that it's publicly available is unnerving.

[simiantics]

I don't see why it shouldn't be publically available. Some people defend the right to bear arms to supposedly defend themselves against tyranny; I defend the right to bear knowledge... although this isn't exactly overly useful knowledge at this stage.

<i>"Ideas are more dangerous than guns. We wouldn't
let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?". -Josef Stalin.</i>

[Koliedrus]

Unlike you and me, some people might use it to do nasty stuff. You can use a car's design specs to make repairs to the brakes or cause them to fail.

The information is indeed useful to those who know what to do with it. To me, it's just a string of letters. To a researcher, it's enough information to locate the cause of diabetes.

Uh oh. I'm headed for a tangent. Must make new thread. Please continue...

[simiantics]

I won't say that the information is use<i>less</i>, but it isn't powerful yet. Applications are still primitive. Coding the genome is not the same as understanding it in full.

People may engineer uses to harm others, but then that's their prorogative in a 'free' nation. What institution with the interest of advancement at heart would hold information? What government with the interest of liberty could hoard this information. Perhaps as a mere assessment of the potential harm, yeah it's there somewhere, but there is a much greater risk in not sharing the knowledge.

[Koliedrus]

Would you transmit it as a contact message from a SETI facility? Maybe it should be; loud and proud. Can do, you know. It might even serve as a continuation of our species should we become extinct.

Since we don't know for a fact that E.T. even exists, intention can only be guessed at.

For now, we have only the broad spectrum of humanity's "good" and "evil" for reference. Can we trust that much information to an unknown race of sentient creatures? We know ourselves and what we do with knowledge of this magnitude.

Can we first trust ourselves?

[SimpleSimon]

Originally posted by Koliedrus
Would you transmit it as a contact message from a SETI facility? Maybe it should be; loud and proud. Can do, you know. It might even serve as a continuation of our species should we become extinct.

Since we don't know for a fact that E.T. even exists, intention can only be guessed at.

For now, we have only the broad spectrum of humanity's "good" and "evil" for reference. Can we trust that much information to an unknown race of sentient creatures? We know ourselves and what we do with knowledge of this magnitude.

Can we first trust ourselves?

Kol, are you a good man? Do you trust yourself? Does Mrs. Kol?

I think I know the answers to those questions.

The possibilities inherent in the existence of this body of knowledge boggle the mind.

Would you like to live forever?

Would you like to have perfect health at an apparent physiological age of approximately 24 years for all of that lifetime?

Would you like to know that should some disfiguring/life threatening injury occur, that you can be rebuilt as good as (perhaps better than) new?

Would you like to see such scourges as diabetes, most cancers, many "psychological" ailments be removed from the lives of humanity?

Would you welcome the ability to swim in the sea with the dolphins and seals, without massive technological aids?

Would you revel in the ability to run, without body-numbing fatique, for hours on end?

All of these, and more, are before us. They can only become our reality if we share the information, if we make available to the dreamers and the doers the chance to see further, from their perches on the shoulders of giants.

Will the information be mis-used? Of course, because so many petty minded, small men, dwell in caves of darknes within their own spirits, unable to face the sunlight and glory of the coming new day.

Could this information, and the technologies of molecular biology, destroy us? Once again the answer is, of course. My knowledge is dated, but I could readily, given a few dollars and a few years, wipe humanity from the earth along with every other warm blooded creature. Given just a little more time and a few more dollars, I could destroy whatever selected group I might decide is appropriate.

Will I? No. Would I, given what I see as sufficient provocation? Without hesitation or remorse. I just cannot imagine at this time what might constitute sufficient provocation.

Other can so imagine, and have. Read Frank Herbert's "The White Plaque". Read "No Blade of Grass", or "The Stand", or George R. R. Martin's "The Earth Abides". Read "The Last Canticle For Leibowitz".

These dark fantasies, these horrific dreams, are part and parcel of the daily lives of millions. Will the information be mis-used to make these nightmares reality? Almost certainly some will try. The only defense is preparation and a greater understanding amongst men of good will of this knowledge, to stand as a bulwark against the encroaching darkness.

For nearly 3 decades now humanity has stood upon the crumpling edge of the abyss, teetering and nearly falling, time and again. Now the abyss yawns wider, deeper, and infinitely darker. Our only hope is the beacon of understanding that shines crystalline light upon our pedestal, and enables us to see the abyss without entering it.

"Hide not your light under a bushel."

[Koliedrus]

Van Vogt's "Silkie"...

Simon, I appreciate the props. Truly.

For those unfamiliar with AE Van Vogt, he wrote (in one instance) of a person with the ability to change into one of three forms at will. The most fascinating to me was the form that could travel through space without a vehicle.

I posted the link at the top of this thread for a reason.

The Handbook of Mankind has been published. You can read it if you want.

What the reader does with it might be either miracle or nightmare.


Would I like to live forever?

Only if my immortality could be beneficial to life in general. Hitler might have had another agenda if given the option.

I suppose a thread about Immortality is in order.

One thing, though, before I end this post...

Thank you, Simon. You accidentally pointed me to the first book I recall reading because I wanted to: Van Vogt, A.E. Destination: Universe

First grade seems so far behind me but strangely close...

(Edit: http://www.strangewords.com/weirdbooks/vanvogt.html
Eric=Win!)