[ExI] Transhumanism and Space Exploration, with Talmon Firestone

[Kevin H]

On 12/20/07, Kevin Freels <kevin at kevinfreels.com> wrote:
>
> That's a good question. With the prenatal development occurring inside the
> womb in amniotic fluid where up and down don't really matter, I'm not sure
> there would be any significant difference up to that point. I could see zero
> g maybe causing problems but not .38. Even more important is whether
> conception itself might be challenged.
>
> The  question of height isn't that important though. More important are
> blood flow to the lower limbs and how digestion might be affected. Evolution
> works slowly so taking that person to Earth "should" still be an improvement
> except for a period of adjustment to the higher gravity. That's just
> speculation on my part from an evolutionary perspective. After just a few
> generations I am sure you would quickly see some pretty significant
> selection pressures at work that in time would make it difficult for their
> descendants to live comfortably on Earth.
>

Well, I was thinking purely environmental affects.  Evolution would be
interesting, especially if you take organisms with a fast reproduction
cycle.  But I was thinking that the gravity on earth has to have some affect
on the overall height of the organism (as the force pushing against vertical
growth, so to speak), and if this was changed we'd have an entirely
different outcome.  Just speculation, of course.

*Kevin*
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