From: ManuelOmar@aol.com
Date: Sun Apr 15 2001 - 12:31:07 MDT
The original point of what I was trying to say is that somebody needs to consider what's going to happen and try to take preventative measures to prevent or at least hinder the abuse of "btl" or whatever negative effects neuroscience technologies would have.
I am not trying to equate all neuroscience technology with drug use. I believe alot of it would be very positive. There are many occasions when I wish I had a math processor integrated into my brain, for example. It'd be much nicer than having to do extended and time-consuming mental math or punching in things on a calculator.
I really don't buy the idea that Social support nets create the very problems that try to stop. Those problems were already there, it's just that nobody was paying attention to them, they were ignored or brushed under the carpet. Yes, it's true that everybody and thier dog will jump on somethig like that, to make money off it, but that doesn't change the fact that it's something that needs to be dealt with. We live in a commerical culture, everythign has become commercialized, even science.
I think that trying to apply Darwinian logic to things *other* than biological evolution is a dangerous thing. Apply it to social and cultural themes, and you get results like Hitler, for example. Apply it to ideas, like you've done, and some people will buy into the notion that because an idea is popular, and stays that way longer, that it's a better idea. This isn't the case at all, it just means that it's a thought that requires little effort and appeals to a majority of people.
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