[extropy-chat] Controlled by a cat parasite

[Anders Sandberg]

Amara Graps wrote:
> Whoa!
>
> Instead of finding drugs to alter our moods, let's infect ourselves with
> toxoplasmosis instead! OK, maybe not.

Hmm, maybe Thomas Dish was onto something with his spirochete-based
cognition enhancement in _Camp Concentration_?

Having symbiotic organisms as enhancements isn't a bad idea. My favorite
idea is designer gut bacteria that can be made to manufacture drugs on
demand.

> I wonder if those cultures that value boys beyond the normal sex ratio
> would take to this? Or maybe they already are? Or maybe the parasite
> is the result of practices already in place, now in a feedback loop?

There is also evidence that hepatitis leads to more boys. When that came
out some people began to question whether the claims of gender selection
in China and India were excessive; this looks like it could contribute to
a natural explanation.

-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University