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[Thread] Mental Math
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The second thing about microslippage is why I, even though I would say I'm transhumanist, would only ever go full cyborg if the robot parts had a sense of touch.
I don't wanna pet my dog and not only not feel their fur, but also end up crushing them with my super strength.
Also masturbation might be a challenge in that scenario.
Also the ability of mirror neurons to watch someone do a thing, then conceptualize and execute it with your body is extremely interesting.
I've seen some pretty awesome prosthetics that are controlled the same way you would use your limbs before they were lost by connecting to nerves; but they still don't feel anything. At least, not in the sense that the appendage itself is sending signals to your brain for it. There is still phantom sense/pain. You can get a false sense of touch in VR, too.
Agreed, until prosthetics can achieve full parity of both function and sensation then they are only good as replacements for parts that are already missing. No sane person is swapping their hand for one that lacks a sense of touch just as good or better than what they have already, even if it's mechanically superior. In such a scenario that mechanical superiority is desired they would opt for an augmentation over a prosthetic.
Just earlier today I was googling whether even tooth implants are actually better than the natural alternative.
I didn't find a definitive answer.
I wonder that as well, I have a false front incisor and haven't noticed any difference in durability, but as far as sensation goes it's practically identical, if a bit less sensitive to cold. Then again, the part that actually gets replaced doesn't exactly have nerve endings, I still have those underneath it.
Yeah when I googled it it was lots of opinions and this is from looking at 20 years of wear on them.
So they're at least somewhat equal, I would say. Some might argue better. Some would not.
But definitely did make me feel alright about the prospect of having to replace a tooth or several.
I'd take a pettin' hand and a crushin' hand.
I think with the beginning stages of this kind of technology would work better with a removable option, for this reason. We are already getting able to make better human appendages, with super strength and dexterity, etc., but the touch is something that will probably be hard to implement for awhile.
i feel like being objectively better than your body is a pretty fundamental requirement for transhumanism, like generally what's shown as the ideal transhumanist body is a nanomachine swarm that can just make precisely whatever you want at any moment, you can be ostensibly human one moment and then turn into a fucking jet plane and go to the other side of the world and become human again to traipse through the jungles.