I'd be rather surprised if this scenario were to pan out. When considering
the far longer lifespans which begin to make "rare" accidents more
problematic, the context is unlikely to include a biological body which is
similar to that we have today. At some point in the future I imagine that we
will find our biological bodies are just too hard to work with, with far too
many drawbacks, especially considering the alternatives that should arise.
Emlyn
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dickey, Michael F [mailto:michael_f_dickey@groton.pfizer.com]
> Sent: Friday, 9 November 2001 4:33
> To: 'extropians@extropy.org'
> Subject: RE: ROBOT: wearable self-propelled robotic suit
>
>
> "In just four years, and with $50 million, the Pentagon plans
> to create a
> wearable, self-propelled robotic suit that responds to - and
> amplifies -
> your every movement. By simply strapping themselves into this
> "exoskeleton",
> troops will be able to run faster, jump higher, leap further,"
>
> I just wanted to make some comments about this concept. I have been
> investigating something similiar for quite sometime and I
> think the future
> implications of such a 'suit' whether external or internal,
> are important to
> consider. Mainly, since most of us on this list would like
> to see aging and
> disease defeated and be physiological immortal, a whole new
> realm of things
> will then become the enemy of lives, namely accidents.
> Wearing a protective
> suit would thus radically minimize the chance of death caused
> by accidental
> injury. In our meager short lives we dont much consider the
> chance of death
> by falling rocks, car accidents, or even asteroid impacts. A powered
> armored suit that also contains an environmental sealed
> (think SCUBA dry
> suits combined with powered armored exoskeletons) and the
> human biosphere
> just radically increased, from the surface of mars to deep
> sea excursions.
>
> Beings who do not age will have much vaster things to worry
> about that may
> kill them, stellar events, very rare accidents, etc. etc.
> Anything that
> decreases those chances increases the life span of the
> individual. I think
> in the far future, most beings will have these suits of some
> sort and stay
> inside of them most of the time. They need not be
> uncomfortable either, as
> they can easily emulate tactile sensations and the full range of human
> movement. Be interesting to see where this goes once immortality and
> capitalism start to tug at it.
>
> Michael
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: J. R. Molloy [mailto:jr@shasta.com]
> Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2001 9:29 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: ROBOT: wearable self-propelled robotic suit
>
>
> POWER DRESSING
> http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opfeedback.jsp?id=ns231699#29
> To be a member of the US Special Forces you need to be a crack soldier
> with superior physical and mental abilities. But that's today.
> Tomorrow's soldier will have to be superhuman - to be able to
> jog along
> effortlessly at 13 kilometres per hour carrying a 70-kilogram load for
> 12 hours at a stretch. For anyone wearing the right clothes, however,
> this shouldn't prove too much of a problem. In just four
> years, and with
> $50 million, the Pentagon plans to create a wearable, self-propelled
> robotic suit that responds to - and amplifies - your every
> movement. By
> simply strapping themselves into this "exoskeleton", troops
> will be able
> to run faster, jump higher, leap further, and carry awesome amounts of
> high-calibre weaponry. We take a look at the "garment" that as well as
> turning your average GI into a heavyweight fighting machine,
> could also
> revolutionise the lives of disabled people and those working as
> firefighters or in construction, mining and heavy industries.
> Read the full feature in New Scientist magazine
> AND FINALLY...
> Some describe how a wave of sympathy washes over them
> whenever they see
> a road sign referring to a "depressed bridge". Others confess
> that they
> feel strangely moved by the mere mention of an "alarmed door" or
> "nervous tissue". These people are suffering from semiopathy. This
> week's Feedback column examines a debilitating condition which compels
> its victims to over-empathise with objects...
>
> ©¿©¬
>
> --- --- --- --- ---
>
> Useless hypotheses, etc.:
> consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free
> will, qualia,
> analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza,
> cryonics, individual
> uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment,
> malevolent AI
>
> We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces
> superstition.
>
>
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