Out of all things that seemed implausible in the book, what I found to be the most bothersome to me was Ahni having complete mental and physical control over herself and being able to read into what people are going to do before they have even thought of it. Scientists have been attempting to find ways for humans to tap into the other portions of our brains for decades and it still hasn't happened, nor are we any closer to being able to do that than we were before. On the other side, at least we have been making serious advances into science exploration that may allow us to eventually settle in space. Although, an upside New York on a space platform is definitely not plausible at all either. Benjamin Radford of Live Science reiterates my sentiment in stating "There's no higher gear, no untapped potential that you don't already have access to. It's a myth. The fact is that people use all of their brains. Brain-imaging research clearly shows that the entire brain is engaged." So the whole idea that we may be bioengineered to unlock some sort of secret potential within ourselves is farfetched.
I found the World Council to be extremely plausible in the future. We have already seen countries coming together to form unions for a common cause and these same unions may grow in strength as globalization expands. As technology develops and allows countries to interact with each other more on a social and economical level, they are going to need a separate entity to settle disputes and enforce rulings in order for the world to continue functioning properly. We have already seen attempts at creating similar councils such as the United Nations. The way I viewed it was that the World council was as a final successful form that has evolved and gained power after many failed attempts at creating a council that could actually make a difference and hold power over many different countries.
http://www.livescience.com/13279-limitless-movie-brain-potential-myth.html
I agree with your assessment that Ahni's "superpowers" are super far fetched. (Most) People use don't actually use only 10% of their brains, and every part of the brain has some function sometimes. I wish I had some untapped potential left in my brain. That was my 10 year old dream: to one find out I had telepathy. But that's science fiction, and no amount of genetic engineering could give us the capabilities, given what we know currently.
ReplyDeleteHaha Noah, I believe that was everyone's dream. I do believe that it is far fetched. Imagine the foreign scandals that would happen if there were a select few who could interpret emotions accurately. I actually think that the very fabric that holds society together would come undone. Human relations are based partly on deceptions. It's not advised to tell your boss that you actually feel as though they are incompetent and feel superior to them or for one country to know that another country is harboring deep feelings of hostility. If this was developed, I don't think anyone would know about it for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAngella, I regrettably have to agree with you on the physical and mental control from Horizons being the most implausible. I personally don't think that there is any chance in this ever happening mainly because it would most likely require some sort of technological component to be in control of everything but this would also most likely create new potential for humans that they would be unable to master. I'm hoping in my lifetime something like this could be possible though because like Noah I have always dreamed of being telepathic.
ReplyDeleteI'm unfortunately in agreement with the rest of our classmates here. While it would be unbelievably handy to self regulate our physical and mental state as Ahni does in Horizons, I do not see this as being part of a natural human evolution. Unless we got to a point in time (ie: The Singularity - I can't let it go) when digital clones of humans or hybridization of humans allowed for increased acuteness to human signals of emotional distress and physical control over bodily functions, I do not think that the capabilities of humans in Horizons have place in the future of humankind.
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