I tried to buy Genome at Chapter the other day and the farking thing is out of stock. I did however, pick up another book called "Robot" by Hans Moravec, which is similiar to Kurzweil's theories. It's pretty damn slick. Also a sweet ass book about Quantum Computing.
From PRIMETIMEFOOL
13/12/2000 20:14
"It's kinda like the human genome project; we know there are cells and electrodes and stuff floating around up there, but we have NO IDEA WHAT IT DOES! (Like we know the composition of all the genes but don't know which ones affect what parts of us.)"
That isn't entirely true. We do not know what all the coding sequences are. (I'm assuming that is what you meant by composition). We don't even know what a fraction of the genes are...let alone what they do! Fact is, if I recall correctly, approximately 5% of the human genome comprises actual coding sequences. The rest consists of introns, with no known fuction. (btw, just because we haven't found them to have a function, doesn't mean they don't have/had one). Point is genes are few and far between and hard as hell to find!
I'm not sure where you were going with "the cells and electrodes and stuff".
True, there are a ton of documented redundancies in gene function. But that is also not to say you can apply it to all systems...unfortunately with neural tissue, it doesn't regenerate, (at least within the average human lifespan) so that when the cell dies, everything goes with it....including its gene functions and products, making "backups" within the cell harder to accomplish.
But if what you're implying actually happens, those dying/dead cells must send some sort of signal to the surrounding cells to pick up the slack and start producing those gene products. hmph. Tres cool.
I'm more sorting my thoughts out on screen, not contradicting. More procrastinating. :)
~Liss
From Lissa [LISSALEE]