From: Robin Hanson (hanson@econ.berkeley.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 18 1998 - 11:48:38 MST
Hal Finney writes:
>Think about it, though. Evolution takes millions of years to operate....
>As long as we remain a technological civilization, natural evolution will
>no longer be a significant factor in determining the future growth of the
>human race. We will be taking those matters into our own hands. Cloning
>is just one of the first of the technologies which we will use to exert
>this control.
Just a nit: We, individually, will be consciously choosing the DNA of
our offspring. This will allow much more complex and effective "variation"
in the "variation & selection" of natural selection. But selection
will continue on as always, and "we" as humanity as a whole will not
be in control of this process.
Robin Hanson
hanson@econ.berkeley.edu http://hanson.berkeley.edu/
RWJF Health Policy Scholar FAX: 510-643-8614
140 Warren Hall, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 510-643-1884
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