Quote:
Originally Posted by travista00
the progress of culture keeps driving down the road of fake. photographers have photoshop to retouch our hollywood starlets. recording engineers have auto-tune and beat detective. live sound has backing tracks and "guide vocals." plastic surgery continues to develop and become more and more in demand. you can clone your pets now. and it's only going to get more intense. are you ready for it?
Your proposition is based on the assumption that the public doesn't know these things, and they are being "faked."
The general culture in question sees these contrivances as design choices, not fakery devices. It is a social compact. The re-touching photographer doesn't seek to fake people out, he just wants his photo to look good, just as the people seeing it will want it to look good. We all know the photo has been retouched; any 12yo can do that sort of thing now on their home computer. If we're all "in on it," it can't be considered fake, right?
One of the strongest and most basic of instincts among homo sapiens, has always been the instinct to master one's environment. Every other mammal on this planet adapts to their environment, but we do not: We co-opt our enviroment - that is our genius, what sets us apart.
Our culture will always reflect that instinct. Only now, we've gone beyond paving cities and highways, and on to redesigning ourselves: What we look like, what our music sounds like, the physical limitations of athletes, et al. We've already mastered the planet, right? So, where else do you turn after that? (And don't say "Space" because that will remain a country club exclusive to the uber-wealthy for quite some time.)
So don't see the question as "Are you ready for it?" but rather, "If this is nothing new, why am I thinking about it?"
You'll immediately think of an answer to that second question, then instantly realize that answer was wrong. Don't worry: That's normal. Think of it as an existential Rubic's Cube. No one ever figures it out the first time.