Say Goodbye to Darwinian Evolution

As much fun as his Green technology theories sound, does anyone else see the problem with genetically engineered termites that eat substances other than wood? If those things got loose, we'd all be F'd in the A.

I'm definitely noting a hint of the ramblings of a futurist here, but someone has to be looking forward. If you read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (and believe what Thomas Kuhn has to say in it), science is perpetually experiencing paradigm shifts. As progress is made in a particular field and discoveries build upon each other, eventually the entire scientific community undergoes a change so drastic that new possibilities open that were never before thought possible (take the discovery of the round earth, for instance). It definitely seems that we could be approaching one of these paradigm shifts. That's not to say that Dyson is accurate in his specific predictions. Given where we are technologically, though, who is to say what is out of reach.

Oh, and I agree on the whole corporate/government link.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Off-topic, but you're my hero. I finished that book about a week ago, and you're the only person I know now other than myself who has read the book.

I had to read it last summer for a core course called Understanding Information. It was surprisingly good. Much better than some of the other required reading for that course.

Gene splicing, biomechanics...all the same thing. Our minds are still evolving. Unless all mankind becomes sterile, it will still be Darwinian evolution.

"Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun."

True, we'd still evolve, but it would not be Darwinian evolution, as we would have basically slaughtered the process of natural selection.

Gene splicing, biomechanics...all the same thing. Our minds are still evolving. Unless all mankind becomes sterile, it will still be Darwinian evolution. "Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun."

Darwinian Evolution is based on the concept of Natural Selection. If we're able to bypass Natural Selection with the ability to correct flaws before they manifest, how could it be considered Darwinian?

Edit: Looks like Mj said the same thing.