Hey Steve,

First, the caveat:

MT> My thoughts along these lines aren't well-developed to the 
MT> point where I can articulate them without sounding incredibly 
MT> foolish.  :-)

SA> I don't think you sound incredibly foolish at all. The research 
SA> has transformed sci-fi into reality, with all its potential for 
SA> good and evil.

You can see it as "transforming sci-fi into reality," however,
being aware of cutting edge developments, new discoveries, etc.,
allows one to project.  "Sci-fi" is produced by those who look ahead
to see where developments might take us.  In this sense, sci-fi is
merely speculation about possible outcomes.  The sci-fi that becomes
reality might be one of many paths / outcomes contemplated by a
diverse group of "visionaries."  So, in another sense, sci-fi often
transforms the present research and new discoveries into a 
"projected reality," which, until it becomes real, remains fiction.   
In any event, I'll risk sounding incredibly foolish, and proceed.  

About the diverging paths I mentioned:

MT> That some are attempting to accomplish this by augmenting the 
MT> brain with chips and electronic circuitry suggests a possible
MT> split or diverging of paths, where man becomes more dependent
MT> on machines along the first path, and man develops heightened
MT> senses or extra-sensory perception along a second path. 

SA> You are probably right about the divergence into two paths - 
SA> one path will probably seek to restore human abilities through 
SA> technology, while the other will seek to expand / transcend them, 
SA> as a form of high-tech witchcraft, where the implant replaces 
SA> the wand.

When I spoke of two paths, I meant one path involves the increasing 
merger of man and machine, where man becomes ever-more 
dependent upon the functioning of machines.  Along a second path, 
man might develop heightened senses or extra-sensory perception, 
without merging with machines.  (  You could identify a range of 
other possibilities. )

Now, consider what might happen if you're in a supermarket and the 
power goes out.  I've seen this happen.  The scanners didn't work, 
so the barcodes meant nothing.  There were no prices marked on the 
products, so the checkout person didn't know what to charge the 
would-be customer.   The registers didn't work, so there were no 
computers to add up prices, multiply prices for quantities, or figure 
taxes based on percentages.  Everything came to a standstill.  And 
it wasn't as bright as it was only moments earlier. 

Under such circumstances, business can only crawl along at a snail's 
pace -if- you can find people who could perform some or all of 
the functions currently provided by the electronic computational 
systems presently in place.

As man continues to merge with machine, allowing chips to become
implanted, for the purpose of enhancing his abilities, augmenting
his decision-making processes, augmenting reality, he runs the 
risk of such a sudden disaster, and it may be fatal.  In the least,
a recovery will be daunting.

If, however, a different path was pursued, where the mind and brain
were developed, rather than become increasingly dependent upon
machines, a range of other scenarios might be contemplated.

Imagine if you could compute like the Dustin Hoffman character in
"Rain Man."  Imagine having the ability to speed read with a high
degree of comprehension and retention.  Such abilities would come
in very handy, no?  What if we produced a generation of prodigies, 
instead of relying on some thing called "Prodigy"?  (I'm
reaching.)

SA> I always like to consider the implications - the "mental
SA> telephone" might be handy, but I wouldn't want to be contacted
SA> by politicians, telemarketers, spammers & scammers etc, and
SA> wouldn't want it linked to ENUM and other emerging technologies.
SA> Not that I want to be included in ENUM anyway. :)

We'll talk about the number thing in future posts.  As for the mental 
telephones, again, this could range from tech-augmented hearing 
and communications to the development of heightened senses.

Is a form of telepathy possible without the aid of technology?  Perhaps 
you've some thoughts you'd like to share on the subject?  Some believe 
claims about "remote viewing" and psychic detectives.  Still others 
claim contact with a higher consciousness, a global mind, an "overmind."  
Some speak of contacts with spirits and angels.  Such communications, 
if they're actually taking place, don't appear to be dependent upon 
machines.  If humans were able to develop such abilities, it might be 
seen as the less mechanical, and more spiritual path.   

Perhaps this is a good time to introduce another set of links.  They 
include an inventor / author's contemplation of machines and spirits 
and the relationship of computers and humans.  See next post.  :-)

 

--- Maximus/2 3.01