Last week...
... I had a proposal for a book turned down.

I've just had a proposal for another book accepted! Woo! (And it'll be more fun to write...) All being well, this time next year, it'll be done.

Yay!
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 15:48, 80 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Tell us more. I am assuming this is a technical book but I could be wrong and you are writing the
next great romance novel.
(MichaelS wasn't picked again, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 15:51, Reply)

Mills and Boon's standards are slipping....

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 15:52, Reply)

It ought not to be too technical.
Basically, it's on the ethics of the new biosciences (GM, ehancement, posthumanism and so on). I'll be defending the view that there's a lot to be said for various interventions that are possible, and that pretty much all of them are permissible. However, I don't think that they should be seen as the be-all and end-all. Very roughly, they promise to make our lives better; but there's a different sense to the phrase "good life" that was used by the Stoics that relates to having the right attitude to what you have. Thus being made immortal isn't necessarily to have a better life than a mortal person, even though dying is unquestionably bad. (And, yes, immortality, in the sense of immunity to ageing and all disease, is on the cards.) This also means that we can make sense of people with disabilities having just as much of a good life as the rest of us, even though there are good things that may be inaccessible.

Another aspect of this will touch on things like doping or gene-doping in athletics. I'll argue that there's really no need to worry. They'll happen, but who cares?

In part 2, I'll confront claims made by a number of thinkers that we have an obligation to enhance our kids, and an obligation to support scientific research. I think that both of these claims are false. I'll also pursue the question of how we might compare the value of scientific/ medical research to, say, humanities research: even if research is a duty, is there any kind of research that is, by its nature, more important? I'll argue that there isn't.

And then I'll have a cup of tea and a scone.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:01, Reply)

tl:dr

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:02, Reply)

ts:r

(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:03, Reply)

r; dc

( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:07, Reply)

r:du

(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:09, Reply)

d:i-s-c-o

(LongJohnBaldry, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:12, Reply)

r2:d2

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:12, Reply)

D:ream

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:34, Reply)

2:Unlimited

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:37, Reply)

T3: Rise of the Machines

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:38, Reply)

wtf?

( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:47, Reply)

Sorry,
I went too far.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:49, Reply)

A scone!?
A fucking scone!? How do you "morally justify" that then eh!?
(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:03, Reply)

i bet the bastard even makes it rhyme with 'cone'
edit: hahahaha, it worked
( mictoboy shitting in your cunt since, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:05, Reply)

I bet he did as well

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:05, Reply)

Because it does you
retarbs
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:09, Reply)

You can have the Captain V prize for spasticary.

(Bazongaloid, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:10, Reply)

Is it covered in bubblewrap and
cotton wool so he couldn't poke an eye out?
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:10, Reply)

*buys protective kevlar baygros*

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:11, Reply)

No it fucking doesn't, it rhymes with gone. FACT.

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:10, Reply)

Even though it's
cone with an S on the front? S-cone. If it was spelt Sgone then it would be pronounced as you think
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:11, Reply)

that has nothing to do with it

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:13, Reply)

S-cones pick up blue wavelengths better. FACT.

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:13, Reply)

It ought to rhyme with "spoon"
like the place name.


But it doesn't. This is why the world is going to pot.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:14, Reply)

"It's spelt 'scone' but it's pronounced 'throatwarbler mangrove'"

(LongJohnBaldry, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:15, Reply)

The right answer at last.
2nd place: rhymes with 'gone'

88th place and Hyacinth Bucket award for spasticity: rhymes with 'cone'
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:20, Reply)

if you are a fucking spastic maybe

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:10, Reply)

No if you fucking a spastic it's pronouced scon
which is why CHCB is wrong
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:12, Reply)

^isn't this a complete u-turn?
EDIT: my mistake: what it is, is semi-literate nonsensical gibberish.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:27, Reply)

*cries*
fine you win Monty, I'm gone from this place.

*flounces*
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:38, Reply)

www.b3tards.com/u/14ebb740f3120de4f77d/evidence.jpg
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:38, Reply)

Go back to the original post.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:40, Reply)

NEVER!

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:41, Reply)

OK then Mohammed, have a mountain:
Damn you Monty
Do you at least agree that Davd Bowie was the greatest recording artist of all time?
( TGB Please press 1 for a slow death involving spoons, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 11:46, Ignore, Reply, I like this!)

That cracks me up, you blithering mongol.
(Monty Boyce : aka 'Lethal Jizzle', Tue 23 Mar 2010, 12:07, Delete, Edit, Reply, I like this!)
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:42, Reply)

I went looking
I didn't see the original

and I still haven't seen it

so basically, you love Bowie
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:42, Reply)

Damn! I've been rumbled after all this time

*listens to a shoe*
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:44, Reply)

ha!
I knew you'd capitulate sooner or later
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:47, Reply)

can you sneak in a homosexual subtext?

( mictoboy shitting in your cunt since, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:04, Reply)

Yeah.
Set it in Ancient Greece or maybe a club in Brighton. Lot's of poppers, cool soundtrack, Stoics get a makeover etc...
(Oh - and happy b3taday, Microboy.)
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:13, Reply)

Oh, there'll be loads of ancient Greeks
so the homosexual subtext'll be hard to avoid.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:15, Reply)

please will you put in a really sneaky reference to b3ta
that would make me happen.

Like I'm gonna read it. I might get a copy for my coffee table so I look dead clever. It can go next to The Big Book of Bunny Suicides.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:43, Reply)

it would make you happen?
is that a euphemism?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:48, Reply)

what the fuck?
I meant to type happy.

Er, I mean, of course I meant to say happen, like you've never heard that phrase before. LAME
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:51, Reply)

I quite like it as a euphemism for orgasm
"Let's make it happen!"
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:58, Reply)

Mine was a clean version
in the same vein as 'that is so happening', meaning hip and now.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 17:00, Reply)

cheers

( mictoboy shitting in your cunt since, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:16, Reply)

Sounds intersting but I am sure that as a poorly educated
hydrogeologist I'm sure I won't understand most of it unless you can put it in terms of differential equations.

Ethics in science is a really interseting topic that more scientists should learn about considering the possible effects of science on people. We were required to study this to a small extent while I was in graduate school. (Must be why the university I went to didn't produce any mad scientists.)
(MichaelS wasn't picked again, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:09, Reply)

What are your views on Seneca?
Regarded by some (in his own time) as a pseudo-Stoic, wasn't he?
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:28, Reply)

It's one of the most popular gentle laxatives on sale in the UK.

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:30, Reply)

TGB's posts being the most popular.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:33, Reply)

I've not read any Seneca...
One of my tasks over the summer will be to get to grips with Stoicism; at present I'm working on a hunch that it'd be useful.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:34, Reply)

His 'Letters from a Stoic'
is remarkably easy reading.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:36, Reply)

He was faster
but more erratic than Prost.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:49, Reply)

and more erotic then Proust.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 17:00, Reply)

I'm trying to care
I'm finding it really hard
I'm giving up
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 15:59, Reply)

*blows raspberry*

( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:02, Reply)

hahahah!
You can have a tiny congrats
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:05, Reply)

So is it actually going to be horse porn or are going for something a little less intellectual?
Edit: Ah, I see you've answered that above. Sounds quite interesting, actually. Good luck!
(LongJohnBaldry, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:01, Reply)

I have an idea for a book
it's about metrosexual vampires at a wizard school who discover dark secrets within christianity.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:02, Reply)

Wizard school, eh?
Well, the offer did come from Bloomsbury. Maybe I should call it Harry Potter and the Vat of Genes.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:02, Reply)

It may just bring the field of Medical Ethics to the common man

( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:04, Reply)

It'd better
It's on a creative commons deal.

(It's more bioethics than medical ethics, for what it's worth...)
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:06, Reply)

You should watch Biodome 1 and 2 as research

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:13, Reply)

Yeah, or just read some stuff on the Internet and form an opinion which you believe to be FACT.

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:15, Reply)

Is there a Biodome 2?
Really??
(Flim-Flam the Magnificent "You is talking loco and I like it!", Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:42, Reply)

Cool!
Have a good time writing it!
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:33, Reply)

I will!
Christ, that's sad, isn't it?
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:34, Reply)

I'd like to read it.
One of my father's pet subjects is scientific ethics (not the correct term I'm sure, but hey) so I'm certain he will too.

There you go: two sales.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:39, Reply)

three,
I'll buy it for my coffee table.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:44, Reply)

Got a wobbly leg, has it?

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:49, Reply)

cutting edge humour

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:50, Reply)

THERE'S PLENTY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!!!!¬!¬!!

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:53, Reply)

huzzah

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:58, Reply)

Woooo!
Congrats, exciting news!
(Flim-Flam the Magnificent "You is talking loco and I like it!", Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:41, Reply)

Well done
Sounds rather special!
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:45, Reply)

Where's the question dammit?
I need something to answer! Don't you care what I am having for dinner?
( Peej, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:45, Reply)

'want to buy a book in about six months?'

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 23 Mar 2010, 16:48, Reply)

You have an awesome first name
Your success is to be expected
( djtrialprice, Wed 24 Mar 2010, 2:32, Reply)