McGill University’s Margaret Somerville has a thought-provoking piece, “The Flawed Quest for Perfection,” in the Ottawa Citizen.
Does any given use of this science, in the search for human perfection, damage or destroy the essence of our humanness? That leads to the question of whether at least some imperfections are elements of that essence and of immense value as such. Just like the hand-knitted sweater, are they part of what makes each of us unique originals?
. . .
I propose a very important question we need to ask in deciding what we may and should not do with our new technoscience, that is, what is ethical or unethical: Does any given use of this science, in the search for human perfection, damage or destroy the essence of our humanness? That leads to the question of whether at least some imperfections are elements of that essence and of immense value as such. Just like the hand-knitted sweater, are they part of what makes each of us unique originals?
HT: Bioethics.com
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Maybe because I once had a job that involved implementing warehouse automation systems. Or maybe I’m just a nerd.
Anyway, it’s an article from last week’s Chicago Tribune on how Netflix’s warehouse works. With pictures.
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I just finished reading Neal Stephenson’s Anathem. Very interesting, very complex, and very long (the story concludes on page 890).
It took a good 100 pages to really feel immersed in the world of the book, which involves a good bit of made up terms (the book includes a 20 page glossary).
I hesitate to recommend it because of its length. It would have been good to have a large block of time to read it, rather than spreading it out over 3 ½ weeks, so perhaps if you’re going on a reading vacation. Or flying from California to the UK.
If you do read it, stick with it until you feel yourself really getting absorbed into the world of the book, then go back and start from the beginning again.
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Kenny is an Australian mocumentary that I think works on a couple of levels — funny and touching, with a positive message.
Description:
Porta-loo deliveryman Kenny Smyth is probably one of the most underappreciated professionals on the planet. But without him, this much is true: There’d be a lot more crap to deal with. In a comedy of excremental proportions, Kenny makes his rounds with his dedicated Splashdown crew and ultimately finds himself at the mother of all waste management sites — the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville.
Carrier is an actual documentary that aired on PBS last year, I believe.
Description:
Filmed during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of ground troops, this in-depth documentary takes an insider’s tour of the U.S.S. Nimitz, one of America’s most storied aircraft carriers. Cameras follow Navy personnel as they perform their duties, navigate conflicts and ponder questions about patriotism and sacrifice, all against the backdrop of daily routines aboard one of the most lethal naval vessels ever constructed.
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The New York Times looks (briefly) at conversations parents are now having with children born to surrogates with donor eggs and sperm: “No Stork Involved, but Mom and Dad Had Help.”
Every child has a birth story. The story of Simmie, who was born to a surrogate, is different from the stories of the three children in the movie. But her story, which is also the story of her 11-year-old twin brothers, Andrew and Benjamin, is less unusual than it used to be.
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My friend Sarah recently presented at the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity’s Global Bioethics: Emerging Challenges Facing Human Dignity conference. Her presentation was entitled “Women’s Discipleship: A Pathway for Bioethics in the Local Church,” and is available on her website, Women of Faith in Culture.
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I know I feel like we’ve been overwhelmed with Michael Jackson news, but here’s an article that looks at his life from a slightly different perspective: “Was Michael Jackson a Transhumanist?”
Jackson [defied] his biological limitations in terms of his transformation of his inherited features — his cosmetic surgery and his change of skin color (he might also have included his cross-genderish style of dress and makeup).
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Interesting article on a recent meeting about possible limits on the development of Artificial Intelligence.
Where have I heard this before?
“Something new has taken place in the past five to eight years,” Horvitz said. “Technologists are replacing religion, and their ideas are resonating in some ways with the same idea of the Rapture.”
Oh yeah, that’s right.
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“Sisters Face Death With Dignity and Reverence,” New York Times:
Dr. McCann’s long relationship with the sisters gives him the time and opportunity, impossible in the hurly-burly of an intensive-care unit, to clarify goals of care long before a crisis: Whether feeding tubes or ventilators make sense. If pain control is more important than alertness. That studies show that CPR is rarely effective and often dangerous in the elderly.
“It is much easier to guide people to better choices here than in a hospital,” he said, “and you don’t get a lot of pushback when you suggest that more treatment is not better treatment.”
. . .
“This is what our culture, our society, is starved for, to be rich in relationships,” Sister Mary Lou said. “This is what everyone should have.”
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