Yesterday's drugs were about need; today's are about desire. The unlocked human genome opens even our innermost passions to scrutiny and tinkering, blazing the way to an entirely new class of pharmaceutical. A more conservative, more religious culture than ours might want "doubt blockers" or "gnostogenics" to empower their spiritual side. But for better or worse, Americans who pay for quick-fix drugs will want beauty, happiness, and the illusion of wealth.
The future will belong to the tanned, slim, buff and oversexed; the Shiny Happy People will inherit the earth.
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Posted by: Hobbes | http:// | Sun May 19 21:28:00 2002
I particularly like the "Being shallow never felt so good" line.
Seriously, though, I am all about using science to augment myself. I have already taken allergy shots to surpress my immune system and gotten laser eye surgery to fix my genetically defective vision -- despite my feeling of intelectual surperiority to people who crave drugs like this, I can't help but think it isn't that different from me.
Not to mention that most of the effects listed are also probably healthy in their own right. Skin pigmentation protects against cancer, in moderatation, weight loss reduces a whole host of risks, and anti-inflamatories reduce risks of stroke and heart disease. Shallow as it seems, if this drug is what it promises, you can bet everyone who can afford it will take it, at least until we can directly tinker with our genetics.
When bionic eyes and cyber implants become available, I will be first in line :)