>From: Spudboy100@aol.com
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
>To: <extropians@extropy.org>
>Subject: Re: Moreaus?
>Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 12:37:54 EDT
>
>This is a fairly old concept in sci-fi, and I believe one of the golden
>oldies back in the late 1940's Heinlein or Cordwainer Smith, did a
>rendition of the 1903 edition of The Island of Dr Moreau. My answer to your
>questions ( I do not expect this to occur for centuries and centuries) can
>be summed up in a few phrases.
>1. A lack of intelligent life (that we can relate to) in the universe
>
>2. Lonliness, and a need to spread intelligence to the cosmos.
>
>3. Nuturing needs passed on from humans to A.I./S.I's realting to the
>previous two reasons.
>
>4. Entertainment. We did it, you can do it!
>
>5. In case we A.I.'s go under, you kids can take over.
>
><<Anyway, ignoring any moral posturing for the moment, I've been
>wondering whether there would be any real world incentives to create
>moreaus or, to use a term and a similar idea from David Brin's
>novels, "uplift" terrestrial animal species to human-level
>intelligence?
>
>As nifty as these ideas are for a novel, assuming we could, why
>would we possibly want to do something like this?
>
People would do this in order to gain social status using money, etc., the
money coming from the labor performed by the "moreaus." That's what pack
animals *do* -- gain social status. By this reasoning, it makes perfect
sense to "grow moreaus". The only problem is the social taboo associated
with any ususual reproductive practices.
But as soon as the idea gains some sort of acceptance, we'll see moreaus
instead of mexicans holding those leafblowers.
I say, go for it.
Now, where did I put that asbestos gear?
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