Monday, May 6, 2024

Intelligent design, by genehacking

I don't trust "Vox Day" so a fair start-assumption wherever monsignor Beale hits a hot-button issue in drive-by snark, is: he's not on the level. On whatever has caused species evolution on this planet Earth, he hasn't restrained himself. Lately though, he has been... arguing the point: mostly from a 1966 conference. Now he's got Frank Tipler on board. Tipler endorses the alien gene-meddling theory.

The alien cannot have launched from this planet. It must have come from some other ... region. We are running short of regions as can host a sufficiently-advanced technology - and we'd need to ask, why, did that technology deem this place worth the visit. If it breached Einstein's speedlimit then - perhaps - we should fall at Its feet, in homage. Note: the Baghestan has already restricted "god" to any entity with transcosmic access.

Beale still engages in more snark than he needs to, in mocking the modern biologic synthesis as "epicycles". Well... yeah. But what's wrong with epicycles? Any study of a dynamic process must pile on additional factors. The "epicycle" which corrected Uranus' orbit was Neptune, in its own orbit. Likewise in medicine: organs must play in concert, or we call the failure "nonfunctional" even "cancerous". Medicine flows down the stream from biology.

For those who care to explore the genehacking FTL-alien hypothesis: here's "Mittens", 1966, 1966, more 1966 and some maths. That's not an endorsement... unless you're already worldbuilding a "Jackaroo" universe where those benevolent aliens have started doling out marginal planets, in which case - have at it. You can even put those humanoid Klingons and/or catgirls in there. Who's to judge.

SOLAR SYSTEMS 5/10: Suppose TRAPPIST-1 was constructed?

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