Opinions on Biohacking

[Techno-Druid]

Biohacking is the concept of people modifying themselves to posses something that proves useful to them in some way. What are your opinions on this?

http://m.mic.com/articles/113740/a-t...h-night-vision

This is an example.

[Gamdwelf]

Idk sure the 2nd knee surgery I had was basically bio hacking.

Injecting concentrated platelets into torn cartilage to have it repair itself which it would not normally do.

[Puupi]

Please, you don't need to create a new transhuman/biohack/whatever thread every day.

[Laerrus]

Currently I take Resveratrol for cardiac health as well a a Vitamin B complex to help with energy levels. You could say that is a form of biohacking.

In the future, I hope to live long enough to see the day that we reach longevity escape velocity. I am definitely for biohacking.

[Techno-Druid]

Please, you don't need to create a new transhuman/biohack/whatever thread every day.

Hey if a million Far Left and Far Right threads can exist, with a new one made every minute, I'm sure you can tolerate like five threads made in a span of like over a week.

[idunnowatdo]

when i can get the hook up to be like adam jensen sign me up

[Tziva]

Obviously on some level, things like this are going to be the standard of the future, whether reconstructive in nature, assisstive (like implants to track blood sugar) or for advancement (like the article linked in the OP). I don't have any real issue with it on a theoretical level.

A lot of these sorts of things are done on a experimental basis among individuals and small DYI groups because it's not exactly a cause taken up by the professional medical community (for a zillion reasons, many of them justifiable reasons like, you know, the ethical considerations). The downside of this being a DYI movement is that you get a lot of people doing it under unideal conditions both in terms of valid scientific study but also of dubious safety or viability. So the experiences and the conclusions drawn from them are something we should be skeptical of. But realistically, it seems like a necessary evil since I don't see the AMA or FDA advocating cybernetic implants any time soon, at least not until we get something that looks functionally super useful, viable, and safe. It might take a lot of random dudes in their kitchens and studios trying weird stuff before they find things that will work but eventually it will happen.

And, obviously, the movement tends to attract people that are, well, weirdos. And that's by my standards, someone who has been fairly active in the body modification community for over half my life; I have a pretty high tolerance for what society might deem "weirdos." The topic immediately makes me recall this: There's a Nat Geo show called Taboo that, while sensationalistic, often covers some interesting topics. Anyway, there's an episode (which I've seen numerous times as part of it also features several of my friends for a different segment of the same episode) that features a biohacking group. Unfortunately, I feel like they picked the worst people possible to highlight the topic. They focused primarily on magnetic finger implants, something that's been experimented with in the body mod community for over two decades. These folks -- while their motivation to develop new tech is in the right place -- are not exactly innovators, nor are they doing anything that is really, well, useful. I couldn't help but cringe when a guy, referring to a magnet implanted in his fingertip, called himself "a cyborg." Like, ughhhhghgh. Their ideas may be forward and there's certainly a million potentially interesting things you could do with implants, but when you start calling yourself superhuman or a cyborg cos you got a little hunk of silicon-coated iron in a finger, that's when the entire world decides you don't have anything of value to say.

[Kurioxan]

Already do some stuff at a small level. Albeit rather not things that create aesthetic issues.
Thinking of magnetic implants under 2 fingers on left hand, allows you to "feel" electric fields and random usage for magnets in general.

Cognitive enhancement and so forth? all up for it.