Redesign

[Maksutov]

OK, let's say you were in a position where you had the ability to modify the body structure of Homo sapiens. What would you change to make this species better?

For me, I'd put at least one (or two) eyes in the back of the head, to achieve 3600 vision (from the focal plane).

Any other ideas about improvements?

[Damien Evans]

well, the ability to breathe fire would be pretty cool...

[Maksutov]

well, the ability to breathe fire would be pretty cool...Ever have some chile made with habaneros? We can do that fire-breathing thing already! Just ask Frantic Freddie (http://www.bautforum.com/member.php?u=2967)

[Whirlpool]

The ability to fly the highest of heights.
The ability not to feel anything. .:neutral:

[Damien Evans]

The ability to fly the highest of heights.
The ability not to feel anything. .:neutral:

not feeling anything wouldn't be a good thing

[Maksutov]

[edit]The ability not to feel anything. .:neutral:
There are lots of things I'd opt to feel.

[Whirlpool]

Well in my case, if that is possible, I would want to have that.
We all are entitled to ones opinion.

.:neutral:

[Hydro]

OK, let's say you were in a position where you had the ability to modify the body structure of Homo sapiens. What would you change to make this species better?

For me, I'd put at least one (or two) eyes in the back of the head, to achieve 3600 vision (from the focal plane).

Any other ideas about improvements?

And make all eyes zoomable. :D

Congrats, you're now over 10 K posts!

[Maksutov]

And make all eyes zoomable. :D Good eye-dea! Congrats, you're now over 10 K posts!Re the post count, thanks! Gotta do a screen save!

[SAMU]

It would be nice if our bodies continued to repair themselves and didn't wear out.

Sleeping is Ok but it would be nice if we could dismiss the urge when we wanted to.

Dismissing pain when we wanted to would be good too.

Changing color like a chameleon could be fun, like an octopus would be even better. Of course that would put me out of business when it comes time for Mardi Gras face painting.

Some degree of shape changing would be nice, at least enough to not need as much plastic surgury when injured or needing a change of looks. Could be a challange to crime fighting though.

Asexual and/or bisexual reproduction and the ability to choose your own sex could be useful, not to mention fun. Not that I'm that way but some of my best friends and lovers are.

The ability to "jack in" to a computer, even to the extent of leaving my body behind or making copies of my mind.

Better access to my memory and better control of my mind.

The ability to feel any kind of pleasure I have ever felt at will.

[SockMonkey]

I've thought about this kind of thing myself for a long time.
First, make the eyes follow the squid eye design. It's more effecient.

Second, make wrists and ankles simple ball-and-socket joints instead of the mishmash of little bones they are now thus allowing single lower limb bones so goodbye ulna and fibula.
We don't need that many toes. Three or four per foot is plenty.
Make the rib cage all one piece of semi-ossified cartillage.

This cuts down on the total number of bones needed by at least three dozen.

Use an avian respritory and body cooling system so we don't need to sweat so much and use up so much water.

Ditch the appendix. Did anyone ever figure out what that pesky thing is for?

[Tog_]

Reduce the amount of sleep required. A lot.

Close the digestive system. That is, make the body a 100% efficient tool for converting food to energy. No waste products at all.

The ability to alter skin tone to match the environment. Not really for stealth, but for UV Protection.

Regeneration akin to lower reptiles and sharks. If a tooth falls out, it grows back, if an extremity is lost, it grows back.

Some sort of entertainment system for the immune system so that if there is nothing for it to do, it doesn't decide to wage war on cat dander, of ragweed. Basically, no more allergies due to the body having nothing else better to do. Also make the immune system stronger when it is called upon.

Move the location of the birth canal to someplace less constricted. Having to force a baby through the pelvis just seems spiteful.

Alteration of female fertile cycles to eliminate or reduce both periods, and unwanted pregnancies.

Better protection for the major arteries and veins. Redundancy for all major organs. Instead of one large heart, two smaller ones in different locations., same with the liver.

Bigger feet. This will help with swimming, balance, and will reduce the back strain on pregnant women since they will not have to lean back for 4 months to keep from falling over forward.

Controllable hair growth. Being able to stop it from growing at will, or start it up again for winter. WHen it's time to shed, it happens cartoon style. A big puff and a pile of hair.

Now, going for the more mutant version...

Better senses. Retractable claws on the hands and prehensile feet. Prehensile tail.

[SockMonkey]

How about a marsupial reproductive system? Giving birth to something the size of a potato would be much easier and women wouldn't need to carry purses anymore.:p

[Hydro]

Which reminds me of another revision. Move the 'boys' to a protected area.

[SockMonkey]

Which reminds me of another revision. Move the 'boys' to a protected area.

Amen.

[Gillianren]

Move the location of the birth canal to someplace less constricted. Having to force a baby through the pelvis just seems spiteful.

Alteration of female fertile cycles to eliminate or reduce both periods, and unwanted pregnancies.

Amen!

Actually, rotating the uterus by 90 degrees--so it vents, as it were, to the front--has always struck me as a good idea. I'd also really like to be in charge of my reproductive cycle without resorting to crude chemical means.

I'd sort out brain chemistry while I was at it, too.

[orphia nay]

RAmen, Gillianren!!

Some great suggestions here. I hope the FSM is listening.

I'd like more cushioning around the spinal cord. Back pain is a huge drain.

[HenrikOlsen]

The ability not to feel anything. .:neutral:
Let's modify this to "An off-switch to pain".

[Musashi]

Give the esophagus and the trachea separate entry points.

[farmerjumperdon]

I want body armor that weighs almost nothing, is absolutely indestructable, and as flexible as the body it covers.
I want to be able to fly, but don't want to give up anything for that (such as overall strength, arms & hands) and do not want to be feathered.
I want perfect vision at all wavelengths, in all light conditions, at all distances; and I want it to stay that way until I die.
I want to be able to take oxygen from the air, water, and even from soil and rock.
I want absolutely perfect memory storage with options to delete at will.
I want to be perfectly protected from every disease known, as well as those not known.
I want to be able to move at 99.99% of the speed of light under my own power.
I want some kind of major overhaul of the spinal column, but have to give it more thought.
I want all these things and I want them designed flawlessly and in a manner which brings no disadvantages, no discomforts, no trade-offs.
I want to be able to add to this list at will, at no charge, anytime I want.

That oughta do for now.

[cjl]

I want to be omnipotent

I think that about covers it ;)

[mike alexander]

The only thing I can think of would be to have a much more efficient memory. Think of all the time we waste endlessly grooving those engrams into our brains. I've tried learning different languages and have always given up because I get frustrated before I get them to stick. Math the same way.

We could probably double our effective lifetimes if we didn't spend so much time practicing. This would allow that much more time to go look at mountains with your lover.

[hhEb09'1]

This would allow that much more time to go look at mountains with your lover.Just remember the last time you did it. That'd give you more time on BAUT.

[Jeff Root]

The one thing I've thought for decades would be desireable has
already been mentioned by farmerjumperdon: Perfect memory.
But rather than the ability to delete it at will, I want the ability
to recall it or not recall it at will, and the wisdom to discern
when to recall something and when not to.

That having been said, I think that asking for anything to be
perfect is asking for too much. As a seriously-afflicted perfectionist,
I consider myself an expert on the subject.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Doodler]

Internally mounted testicles.

[mike alexander]

Internally mounted testicles.

There is a patch available to accomplish this currently.

"Hello, this is the IRS. We've been reviewing your tax returns and..."

[Doodler]

There is a patch available to accomplish this currently.

"Hello, this is the IRS. We've been reviewing your tax returns and..."

No thanks...I'll wait for designer evolution...:doh: :eep:

[Moose]

Prompt warranty replacements and manufacturer's safety recalls on defective parts.

But I'd settle for the ability to eat poorly without repercussion, or at least an easy way to adjust one's metabolism.

(Oh. Oh! Dang it! I forgot to defrost anything for supper tonight. Phooey. Side trip to the grocery store tonight, I guess. Ooh hey! I've been craving my monthly dose of "eat poorly" wings and pepperoni. The bbq is set up and unsnowed, so why not? Oooh!)

[mike alexander]

Barbecued pepperoni?

[Doodler]

Barbecued pepperoni?

In the catalogue of the Doodler Diet, that falls under "pre-processed solid rocket fuel".

A high specific impulse gastronautic substance known to substantially increase the available thrust.

[Moose]

Oh, it's awesome stuff. I tend to cut a stick of (spicy) hot pepperoni in 5mm slices, place it in foil (with a narrow slit for steam) and bbq/steam it in its own juices. Dip it in honey-mustard, or just go straight out.

You can bake it as well, it's just as good. (Since it's snowing/drizzling right now, that's what I'm doing. 15 more minutes and I'm eating. Yum!)

It'll harden your arteries, but man, as a "sometimes" food...

[Doodler]

Oh, it's awesome stuff. I tend to cut a stick of (spicy) hot pepperoni in 5mm slices, place it in foil (with a narrow slit for steam) and bbq/steam it in its own juices. Dip it in honey-mustard, or just go straight out.

You can bake it as well, it's just as good. (Since it's snowing/drizzling right now, that's what I'm doing. 15 more minutes and I'm eating. Yum!)

It'll harden your arteries, but man, as a "sometimes" food...

Just reading that description is enough to trigger acid reflux. Sounds like a great idea for this weekend. :)

[mike alexander]

Makes perfect sense now, Moose.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a deep-grilled Bahama Mama in ages.

[SockMonkey]

Are there any parameters here? Do we stick to what's biologically possible for the sake of an intellectual exercize or is this just goofing around?

[Maksutov]

Are there any parameters here? Do we stick to what's biologically possible for the sake of an intellectual exercize or is this just goofing around?What's biologically possible (future technology included of course).

Don't go getting all hyperdimensional on us, now!

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/566/iconwink6tn.gif

[farmerjumperdon]

Makes perfect sense now, Moose.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a deep-grilled Bahama Mama in ages.

I'll see your Bahama Mama, and raise you a Goombay Smash.

Speaking of which, went to a martini party last weekend. One of the concoctions available was a Martini made with some sort of flavored vodka, a bit of that Pucker Apple Schnaaps, with a slice of Granny Smith floating in it. Here's the kicker - caramel drizzled artfully on the floating apple slice. (I know, a martini in name only).

Tasted just like sucking on an apple flavored Jolly Rancher. Dangerous.

Stuck with Cosmos myself.

[Moose]

I'll see your Bahama Mama, and raise you a Goombay Smash.

In case anybody's curious, but there's a niche crowd of Pumphouse Brewery devotees in and around Moncton, New Brunswick (myself included, although I'm living a bit further out than most) that renders bbqed pepperoni in the style I described above as "Chicken Lips". The slices are cut in a twisty way, although I rarely go through the trouble in my own "reasonable facsimile" unless I'm serving company.

The (very) local joke goes: "Are they called Chicken Lips for the same reason we call 'em Buffalo Wings? (Buffalos don't have wings, chickens don't have...)"

[comic book guy] Tastiest. Hijack. Ever. [/cbg]

Don, that liquid "jolly rancher" martini of yours is making my blood sugar bounce all around just reading that.

[Noclevername]

How about removing my panic reflex? I've been in situations where i've just frozen up when in danger (and sometimes payed a price for it). Talk about a nonsurvival gene. Aside from correcting my all-too-many genetic flaws, how about an indefinite lifespan, heightened intelligence and creativity, emotional editing, and a backup brain in case I run out of memory? Perfect recall (so long as I get to choose what I recall, some things aren't worth remembering), and that no-sleep thing sounds pretty cool, too. The rest can be done with external technology.

[LurchGS]

I'll go with the closed [optionally] digestive system - close it permanently and we're out of ice cream and pickles.

I'd like the ability to live in any environment - without technical assistance

A instantly adaptable immune system

regeneration. why stop at limbs? i want to regenerate my entire body.

memory isn't a problem.. or, rather, it is, but I want to forget things.

set the eyes 120 degrees apart around the head (add 3rd eye, of course) in independantly controlled sockets (binocular vision in all directions without moving your head!)

improve our sense of smell.

and hearing

a bigger, better used brain

immunity from mothers in law and politicians

for starters

[publiusr]

Meganthropus frame.