A truly fascinating theory. I wonder if any other of our modern inexplicable soft-epidemics (allergies, obesity, autism, etc.) could be explained through these sorts of unconventional infections. On the other hand, I remember when prions were all the rage and were once speculated to have radical explanatory power, and that hope proved overoptimistic.
The human microbiome is certainly out on the frontier. When the aliens get spliced into ‘your’ DNA, though, you’re talking a whole new level of intimacy.
See also canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT), a disease affecting dogs, descended from dogs. Yudkowsky’s nightmare is humans evolving lower intelligence – CTVT takes devolution to a different level.
A truly fascinating theory. I wonder if any other of our modern inexplicable soft-epidemics (allergies, obesity, autism, etc.) could be explained through these sorts of unconventional infections. On the other hand, I remember when prions were all the rage and were once speculated to have radical explanatory power, and that hope proved overoptimistic.
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Posted on June 20th, 2013 at 12:08 am | QuoteLemurs, viruses, madness… it’s WSB’s world; the rest of us just live in it
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Posted on June 21st, 2013 at 12:09 am | QuoteAlso, obesity can be caused by what’s in your gut (I don’t mean food).
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Posted on June 21st, 2013 at 6:34 am | Quotehttp://slatestarcodex.com/2013/06/11/medical-and-psychological-studies-for-june/
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admin Reply:
June 21st, 2013 at 9:54 am
The human microbiome is certainly out on the frontier. When the aliens get spliced into ‘your’ DNA, though, you’re talking a whole new level of intimacy.
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See also canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT), a disease affecting dogs, descended from dogs. Yudkowsky’s nightmare is humans evolving lower intelligence – CTVT takes devolution to a different level.
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admin Reply:
June 21st, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Hideous, or less prejudicially, and as Dave might put it: truly Burroughsian.
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