If the next couple centuries of human evolution are anything like the last several dozen, the only way we’ll be “improved” by evolution is the addition of a few more disease immunities. If they’re not it will probably be because (a) we can just directly modify the geonome, and what nature would take millions of years to get around to artifice can do nigh-immediately or (b) some sort of terrible disaster has occured (and even then most of the selective forces will just be for immunities.)
I think it’s hard to dispute that there are more pressing uses of limited resources than cryonics. But this is an argument against frivolties in general. It’s reasonable to say “we should rob the rich and give to the poor, so that more resources are expended on food and basic medicine than smartphones and frozen heads,” if that’s where your values lie, but “cryonics is more objectionable than smartphones” doesn’t follow.
If the next couple centuries of human evolution are anything like the last several dozen, the only way we’ll be “improved” by evolution is the addition of a few more disease immunities.
You seem to be referring to the theory that no significant evolution has occurred in humans in recent history. This theory is increasingly disputed in light of the evidence.
Immunities are awfully significant! If you didn’t have them you’d enjoy a swift death.
Either way, though, it’s not the case that evolution would “continue” “improving” us, just that we’d be different in whatever way we’d be different. We’re not more evolved at later points than earlier points; Azathoth doesn’t care about that kind of directionality.
If the next couple centuries of human evolution are anything like the last several dozen, the only way we’ll be “improved” by evolution is the addition of a few more disease immunities. If they’re not it will probably be because (a) we can just directly modify the geonome, and what nature would take millions of years to get around to artifice can do nigh-immediately or (b) some sort of terrible disaster has occured (and even then most of the selective forces will just be for immunities.)
I think it’s hard to dispute that there are more pressing uses of limited resources than cryonics. But this is an argument against frivolties in general. It’s reasonable to say “we should rob the rich and give to the poor, so that more resources are expended on food and basic medicine than smartphones and frozen heads,” if that’s where your values lie, but “cryonics is more objectionable than smartphones” doesn’t follow.
You seem to be referring to the theory that no significant evolution has occurred in humans in recent history. This theory is increasingly disputed in light of the evidence.
Immunities are awfully significant! If you didn’t have them you’d enjoy a swift death.
Either way, though, it’s not the case that evolution would “continue” “improving” us, just that we’d be different in whatever way we’d be different. We’re not more evolved at later points than earlier points; Azathoth doesn’t care about that kind of directionality.