What I have gathered thus far from my time on Earth as well as these first two weeks discussing, “What is Human” is that human nature revolves around pursuits. Some of these pursuits take the form of life-long endeavors, as well as other day-to-day undertakings. I believe engrained in the core of each of these pursuits of varying size is the idea of enhancement in some form. Enhancement seems like a very technical term in this context, but what I mean is that when one comes across something of interest to them, as humans, we rarely stand in complete finalized satisfaction, but rather look for the ways change and development of our knowledge and existence of this certain thing can be achieved. For example, scholars and intellectuals never reach
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Garreau uses an example of Adam and Eve in the quote above to help illustrate this question, and it works very well because if we think about Eve, the serpent was offering a form of enhancement to her being: the ability to know good and evil. “You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent in Genesis has been remembered infamously as the creature who got Adam and Eve to go against God’s word. But the serpent reminds us that as humans when we are faced with an opportunity of enhancement —in the case of Eve, wisdom — for many, the desire to become better often over powers any, “low-probability, high-impact” consequences that may follow. So in this context I would compare the serpent to DARPA. I am not trying to imply that DARPA is an evil organization or that they are being ignorant and irresponsible with our potential future, but rather that they are opening the eyes of the public (the Adams and the Eves) to the fact that transcending our current definition of “human” culturally as well as biologically with technology is a rapidly developing possibility that many may grow hesitant around but at the same time deeply desire, eager to see what will follow what we know as
Garreau uses an example of Adam and Eve in the quote above to help illustrate this question, and it works very well because if we think about Eve, the serpent was offering a form of enhancement to her being: the ability to know good and evil. “You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent in Genesis has been remembered infamously as the creature who got Adam and Eve to go against God’s word. But the serpent reminds us that as humans when we are faced with an opportunity of enhancement —in the case of Eve, wisdom — for many, the desire to become better often over powers any, “low-probability, high-impact” consequences that may follow. So in this context I would compare the serpent to DARPA. I am not trying to imply that DARPA is an evil organization or that they are being ignorant and irresponsible with our potential future, but rather that they are opening the eyes of the public (the Adams and the Eves) to the fact that transcending our current definition of “human” culturally as well as biologically with technology is a rapidly developing possibility that many may grow hesitant around but at the same time deeply desire, eager to see what will follow what we know as