Freshman Inquiry 2014/2015 Reflection

Jacob Nigma
Flower
Life Unlimited
6/2/2015
Back in the summer of 2014, I was browsing the list of freshman inquiry options when
one titled Life Unlimited? caught my eye. A class where we got to explore the idea of
everlasting life on earth sounded very interesting, and throughout the year we did exactly that.
Professor Flower introduced the class and one that would discuss ideas that were upstream or
new, still under debate, and exciting. During the fall term, we focused primarily on climate and
environmental change and planetary sustainability. This was relevant given that the planet could
be expected to go through dramatic changes if the rate of death starts declining. In the winter
term, we studied the biological aspect of life unlimited, delving into genetic engineering and
other biological technologies that are currently being developed to increase lifespans. Finally, in
the spring, we dug deeper into how everlasting life for humans would actually play out in the real
world and what people are doing today to biologically advance ourselves closer to immortality.
We learned about and discussed transhumanism - a movement to increase the length and quality
of life for humans by means of genetically and robotically enhancing ourselves.
Fall term was very eye-opening to me, as someone who was rather uninformed about
planetary sustainability and the environment in general. The main focus of fall term was
establishing planetary limits, or drawing lines in many areas such as resource use to ensure that
earth will be able to sustain us without facing severe environmental consequences. I learned a lot
during this portion of the class, specifically where the boundaries should be drawn and how
many of them we have already crossed. I learned about the idea of a safe operating space for
humanity, a doughnut shaped visual describing the safe ranges for many of earths processes
such as sulfur levels, biodiversity loss, carbon dioxide emissions, and freshwater use. I was
shocked by how unnecessarily far we have overstepped the limits in many of these categories. In
relation, I learned what the Anthropocene is - the huge environmental impact that humans have
had since the industrial revolution. During this term we read good sum of scholarly articles,
which gave me the skills to identify reliable sources and citations much more accurately. The fall
term of this class gave me a lot of insight on what steps we as a species need to take to ensure the
safety of future generations, and how dire the situation we are living in really is.
After learning about the physical requirements of Earth to keep us alive, in the winter
term we delved into the biological aspect of everlasting life. Focusing primarily on genetic
engineering and biotechnology as the key to longer lifespans, I learned a lot about an industry I
was mostly oblivious to beforehand. I had never really thought much about the world of synthetic
biology before taking this class, and now I feel fairly educated in the subject compared to the
general public knowledge of the field. I learned how complex of an industry synthetic biology
really is, and of the complicated entanglements it presents ethically, economically, and
politically. We studied everything from the socioeconomic impact of GMO crops in Hawaii to
potentially saving lives in countries with vitamin A deficiencies with genetically engineered
Golden Rice. We learned about the key economic players such as Monsanto. I feel much more
educated on the huge benefits available with biotechnology, and Im also more informed about
the risks. During the winter term we also read a science-fiction novel titled, The Windup Girl.
The novel dealt with the idea of genetically altering everything - even creating human-like
beings. Each week we would post a written response on the class website to a given section of

the book, and then have a discussion about it in class. This was very beneficial to me because
discussing the novel with other people gave me new perspectives on the story, and improved my
critical thinking. The Windup Girl was a great segue into spring terms main topic Transhumanism.
Spring term was by far the most fascinating term for me. During these months we
discussed the possibility of genetically and robotically altering ourselves to increase lifespan and
physical capability. At the beginning of the term we were given an assignment to find an article
relating to transhumanism, present it to the class, and discuss it. This was a great learning
experience, since everyone in the class chose something different and everyone had something
unique to say about it. We discussed many upstream ideas such the top ten transhumanist
technologies including gene therapy, mind uploading, and even space colonization! We also
discussed potential problems associated with everlasting human lifespans such as overpopulation
and natural resource scarcity. We learned about what legislation is being written this very day and
what steps people are taking in research. One interesting aspect of the transhumanism section of
the class was learning about and discussing the politics of altering ourselves. How would it affect
socioeconomic trends? Would transhumanism only be a technology that the richest citizens could
afford? Questions like these were brought up often, and discussing futuristic ideas was
fascinating. Spring term was great in helping me think about hypothetical ideas and theories, and
figuring out how they would play out in the real world.
Life Unlimited taught me many things I was oblivious to about the natural world we live
in, the new and thriving industry of synthetic biology, and the revolutionary transhumanist
movement. Through reading academic articles, researching for essays, and discussing the
material in class, I developed new critical thinking and communication skills that I didnt have
before. The class also opened my eyes to the new advancements in genetic modification and gave
me a new perspective on GMOs, synthetic biology, and genetic engineering as a whole. After
taking this class I feel much more accurate and efficient at being able to find and decide whether
a piece of information is legitimate. Freshman inquiry was a great way to get into the social and
academic community here at Portland State University, and I definitely feel more knowledgeable
about the community after taking this class. Life Unlimited provided me with many academic
skills and strategies that I will carry with me for the rest of my collegiate career.