1

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE A HUMAN

VoxelBlox's Avatar VoxelBlox10/18/14 12:50 am
1 emeralds 2.5k 53
10/24/2014 11:55 pm
87man's Avatar 87man
How would you define a human being?
Living, breathing, organic, emotions, pain, love, fear, hope.
How would you define it?
Think about this and your answer will depend on what you personally define as a human.

If you were to create a machine
Not a robot, but a machine.
It would have no programming or anything of the sort.
And it asked you "What am I."
Would you say it's human?
Posted by VoxelBlox's Avatar
VoxelBlox
Level 36 : Artisan Procrastinator
154

Create an account or sign in to comment.

53

1
10/24/2014 11:55 pm
Level 21 : Expert Network
87man
87man's Avatar
It's an idiot. That's all I have to say about a human.
1
10/22/2014 8:45 pm
Level 26 : Expert Princess
Snowyfox
Snowyfox's Avatar
Are you referring to our species or are you referring to the concept of "human"?

If the concept, I consider anything that is self-aware and can understand a human-created language human. Therefore once machines with learning capabilities are finally completed in a proper finished version, I'd consider that machine a human. I would call our usual computers humans but they are incapable of "human thought", a factor that most of us consider mandatory to classify something as "human".

*EDIT* To me, Watson is a human. An incredibly boring nerdy cheater, but still a human.
1
10/22/2014 8:41 pm
Level 25 : Expert Artist
Amgini
Amgini's Avatar
A Human; is a being driven by curiosity, and it's own specific wants and needs. Something that is born knowing nothing, but survives on it's desire to know more.

To answer the question by OP; my answer would be no. A machine is something that a single man can make; whilst it takes two to both make, and raise a human child.
1
10/22/2014 8:25 pm
Level 21 : Expert Network
87man
87man's Avatar
Humans are intelligent, but not the only intelligent ones. Cats, dogs, monkeys, and birds are intelligent. Humans are wrong for thinking they are the best. I think there is no best.
1
10/22/2014 7:43 pm
Level 1 : New Explorer
AshuriRed
AshuriRed's Avatar
"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!"
- Dracula
1
10/22/2014 7:37 pm
Level 38 : Artisan Engineer
FirmusPiett
FirmusPiett's Avatar
VoxelBloxWhen I asked this question to 60 people at my school, only 2 people, not including myself, said yes. I asked them why they thought that and they told me: "You have a machine, as you said it has no programming, so it knows nothing, but it asked you "What am I?"
"Could you honestly tell it that it wasn't human? After all, it gained itself an intelligence without anyone's help."


Reminded me of this. I think it could be useful for the discussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PMlDidyG_I
he provides a useful definition of sentience. Indeed, humans are basically sentient animals.
"Intelligence, self awareness, consciousness."
1
10/22/2014 7:27 pm
Level 8 : Apprentice Necromancer
creeperinmyhouse
creeperinmyhouse's Avatar
atoms organized into molecoles organized into cells organized into tissue organized into organs organized into organ systems organized into organisms.
1
10/22/2014 7:45 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Programmer
Techdoodle
Techdoodle's Avatar
So nice to know that my cat is now a human.
1
10/22/2014 7:18 pm
Level 26 : Expert Cowboy
sidtom
sidtom's Avatar
I would define a human as stupid.
1
10/22/2014 7:11 pm
Level 11 : Journeyman Miner
Phyroxzenoid
Phyroxzenoid's Avatar
Humans are impossible to define. Everyone of us has such different looks, personalities, and interests, I find the diversity of our species the most amazing part of nature.
Huh that was pretty deep
1
10/22/2014 7:34 pm
Level 28 : Expert Pirate
HassanPCMR
HassanPCMR's Avatar
deeeeppppp stuff on this thread.
1
10/22/2014 7:08 pm
Level 29 : Expert Princess
ItsMorgan
ItsMorgan's Avatar
Good question. What is a human? Are humans measured by their ability to think? To develop a culture? To create Bacon? Can a robot, if sentient enough, be considered human?

^^^To all the peeps saying we are selfish bags of poop: Yeah, we are. And that's good. We are selfish. Pragmatic. We do stuff because it suits us. And the good of the populi suits us, because we are the populi. Living in society enables us to thrive as a civilization, ensures our survival as individuals and as a species. We are pragmatic, we help people because helping people is good for us and for our kind. We need society to live. People who disrupt society (i.e. "arrogant, mindless,rebellious, and overall evil lumps of matter") are deemed as undesirable to our advance as a species, because, in one way or another, they hurt either us or the people we care about.

TL;DR: I define a human as a being that can build culture from nature and live in society.
1
10/22/2014 8:42 am
Level 38 : Artisan Modder
Calm_Hawk
Calm_Hawk's Avatar
humans are arrogant, mindless,rebellious, and overall evil lumps of matter, the human body may be close to perfect as anything. But that's human, shutter.whenever we get the freedom to do something, even if we know it's wrong, let's begin to obvious consequences, we do it anyway.
1
10/22/2014 7:42 am
Level 12 : Journeyman Skinner
KingRex35
KingRex35's Avatar
Your a 5 feet 6 inch bronze robot. You got lazer eyes and chainsaw hands. Bacon=Heaven. Humans steal your bacon. Go kill them all except me. I give you bacon.Unlimited bacon. How to take over the universe.
1
10/22/2014 6:25 am
Level 25 : Expert Zombie
Halorules555
Halorules555's Avatar
Horrible.
1
10/22/2014 6:23 am
Level 6 : Apprentice Pony
icestar96
icestar96's Avatar
Humans are the dominant potato.
1
10/22/2014 6:14 am
Level 6 : Apprentice Crafter
AnarchyDesigner
AnarchyDesigner's Avatar
Greedy
1
10/22/2014 6:04 am
Level 38 : Artisan Crafter
Chikerenaham
Chikerenaham's Avatar
Predators, ruthless, emotional
1
10/22/2014 5:05 am
Level 43 : Master Spider Rider
SpiderMatty
SpiderMatty's Avatar
Stupid...
1
10/22/2014 2:52 am
Level 53 : Grandmaster Network
NathanLithia
NathanLithia's Avatar
Hairless Monkeys that start fires
1
10/22/2014 2:42 am
Level 31 : Artisan Geek
MaxBFalcon
MaxBFalcon's Avatar
It's complicated.
1
10/22/2014 2:36 am
Level 48 : Master Botanist
Sbia
Sbia's Avatar
souls arent a thing humans just want to think we're speshal when we're just self-aware
1
10/19/2014 12:20 am
Level 48 : Master Botanist
Sbia
Sbia's Avatar
thingies
1
10/19/2014 12:15 am
Level 36 : Artisan Architect
jgrocks2
jgrocks2's Avatar
What's a human.

Wait a moment. . .

Yeah what's a human.
1
10/18/2014 11:59 pm
Level 38 : Artisan Programmer
deadrecon98
deadrecon98's Avatar
A human is anything with the following genome:
(Right click, open in new tab)


1
10/18/2014 11:36 pm
Level 14 : Journeyman Narwhal
DjbossMC
DjbossMC's Avatar
Human (Hyew-Man)

A terrifyng creature capable of destorying the Earth.

Examples of usage: The human wiped out my home. The Human killed my family.
1
10/18/2014 11:31 pm
Level 22 : Expert Modder
Kickbuttkaleb12
Kickbuttkaleb12's Avatar
A center of intelligence in a world of animals with out the intelligence we have achieved. A fascinating genetic creation. An evolutionary advancement to life.
1
10/18/2014 11:31 pm
Level 7 : Apprentice Explorer
ZasphasTheGod
ZasphasTheGod's Avatar
I would define a human as something that is constantly making mistakes and then learns from those mistakes to better themselves in life.
1
10/18/2014 11:29 pm
Level 15 : Journeyman Explorer
K47
K47's Avatar
Who said I couldn't say something I've heard before?
Click to reveal
For the rest of the earth’s organisms, existence is relatively uncomplicated. Their lives are about three things: survival, reproduction, death—and nothing else. But we know too much to content ourselves with surviving, reproducing, dying—and nothing else. We know we are alive and know we will die. We also know we will suffer during our lives before this—slowly or quickly—as we draw near to death. This is the knowledge we “enjoy” as the most intelligent organisms to gush from the womb of nature. And being so, we feel shortchanged if there is nothing else for us than to survive, reproduce, and die. We want there to be more to it than that, or to think there is. This is the tragedy: Consciousness has forced us into the paradoxical position of striving to be un-selfconscious of what we are—hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating bones.

But to be original:
I'd say no, unfortunately, you are not. You are robotic, inside and out, synthetic, flexible, but not a person. That does not mean you're not worthy of being called one if you wish that, my friend, but not many of us are respectful enough to your ingenuity to take in mind and remember, at any constant, to say that exactly 'you are human'. A simple phrase it is, yes, but you must remember that human beings deteriorate at a fair pace as somnatic cells reproduce-- snippets of DNA are cut off. Your cells, they do not reproduce! Your DNA is never cut off, not unless you are turned off or dismantled, things that I would never do to you, and that would never happen to you. I wouldn't let that happen. I'll protect you. But understand, you are not human. You are like us, but you're better. That gives you no right to belittle us, though. And no right to approve yourself authoritative over us, us as a combined force can wipe you off the rotating wheel you call Earth. Moreso, human beings are not designed in perfection-- human error is always present. For you? No, that's not true, you're designed not to make as many errors as us, as little as possible, actually. I'm sorry, but no.
1
10/18/2014 11:22 pm
Level 6 : Apprentice Skinner
dablogguyyum
dablogguyyum's Avatar
Mean
1
10/18/2014 11:19 pm
Level 48 : Master Artist
janidorr
janidorr's Avatar
A human is something that understands its own mortality.

And isn't geared for only reproduction, but also other things they enjoy, such as video games and talking with old pals at Starbucks.
1
10/18/2014 11:12 pm
Level 49 : Master Modder
minecraftjames222
minecraftjames222's Avatar
I'd say something like: "An ongoing fight against itself"
1
10/18/2014 11:07 pm
Level 42 : Master Droid
GigabyteGiant
GigabyteGiant's Avatar
#define HUMAN
#define EXTRATERRESTRIALBEING
#if (HUMAN)
Console.WriteLine("You'd laugh.");
#endif

#if (EXTRATERRESTRIALBEING)
Console.WriteLine("You'd run screaming.");
#endif


Edit: Maybe I should give an explanation.
I typically like to define humans as constants (meaning they never change), although that isn't always true.

I know, complete geek freakout, pointless C# syntax and all.

I couldn't resist...
1
10/18/2014 10:47 pm
Level 46 : Master Mlem Mlem Bat
Midnight
Midnight's Avatar
No.

Humans have souls, robots do not.
1
10/19/2014 12:24 am
Level 11 : Journeyman Architect
MayorMeow
MayorMeow's Avatar
That's debatable. I mean, what exactly is a "soul"?
1
10/18/2014 2:58 pm
Level 29 : Expert Artist
Narotiza
Narotiza's Avatar
I would probably say no. Maybe it is aware, but not human.

The_Big_Dish
funny bunnyAn animal that can make sounds to communicate, and has a complex nervous system.

that makes a good portion of animals human by your definition lol


^ HUMAN ^
1
10/18/2014 2:06 pm
Level 30 : Artisan Dragonborn
funny bunny
funny bunny's Avatar
An animal that can make sounds to communicate, and has a complex nervous system.
1
10/18/2014 2:10 pm
Level 33 : Artisan Dragon
The_Big_Dish
The_Big_Dish's Avatar
that makes a good portion of animals human by your definition lol
1
10/18/2014 2:04 pm
Level 12 : Journeyman Mage
Deleting account
Deleting account's Avatar
I don't know exactly, but to be honest, we are but a mass of atoms, and electrical systems that create something that does things, our brain, which tells everything else what to do. That is what we are, and that is all we can ever be. Just atoms that make up cells, that make up tissues that make up organs that make up organ systems, that make up us. What I don't understand is how we can be alive, why are we alive, surely something must have sparked that off? We cannot have just existed, therefore there must be a higher power that made us possible, made life possible.
1
10/18/2014 1:58 pm
Level 58 : Grandmaster Paladin
CommanderNeville
CommanderNeville's Avatar
In the words of a wise man:
"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." -Stephen Hawking
1
10/18/2014 1:39 pm
Level 54 : Grandmaster Necromancer
Hydraheads
Hydraheads's Avatar
It is "human" as soon as it knows right from wrong.





Edit: It would be a person, not a human.
1
10/18/2014 1:33 pm
Level 21 : Expert Dragon
DragonsForce
DragonsForce's Avatar
Human? No. Human means having a human body, a brain and specific DNA.
But alive? Intelligent? Yes, definiteley.
1
10/18/2014 1:21 pm
Level 36 : Artisan Procrastinator
VoxelBlox
VoxelBlox's Avatar
When I asked this question to 60 people at my school, only 2 people, not including myself, said yes. I asked them why they thought that and they told me: "You have a machine, as you said it has no programming, so it knows nothing, but it asked you "What am I?"
"Could you honestly tell it that it wasn't human? After all, it gained itself an intelligence without anyone's help."

This is what I initially thought of and these two other people told me what I thought of, and it really depends on what your definition of human really is, and this question can hit deep in yourself, and make you think.
1
10/18/2014 5:37 am
Level 48 : Master Blockhead
Happs
Happs's Avatar
Humans are humans.

They are selfish but they are giving.
They leave their mark on society by cutting down wildlife, but also leave their mark by preserving it.
They make animals extinct, but they also save the animals that would have been extinct and do their best to keep them around.

Inevitably all humans and life will die out on this planet(I say this planet, hopefully we can find permanent residence elsewhere) but I guess Humans are having fun and doing what they want until another species takes over.
1
10/18/2014 5:34 am
Level 34 : Artisan Steve
starrynight
starrynight's Avatar
Advanced but abusive.
1
10/18/2014 5:23 am
Level 38 : Artisan Engineer
FirmusPiett
FirmusPiett's Avatar
Advanced members of the primate family.
Bipedal, long gestation and growth period, most powerful brains on earth allowing humans to grasp concepts and imagine, opposable thumbs. Distinctly furless despite not being reptiles. The power of the brain means an unusually good (in the animal kingdom) ability to adapt to circumstances.

Some overlap with other species but the brain one is the most important I think.
1
10/18/2014 2:12 am
Level 18 : Journeyman Network
xmx1024
xmx1024's Avatar
Homosapien
1
10/18/2014 1:15 am
Level 45 : Master Engineer
usa
usa's Avatar
The only still existent member of the hominin clade.

A machine would not apply to this because it did not result from the fertilization of a human egg, like you and me, or the mutation of the egg of our ancestor species, like the first humans. Speaking of which, there are thought to be 7 original branches of humans (which are thought to originate in middle africa). We get 7 branches because analysis of our mitochondria in our cells show there are 7 different "types" of mitochondria. Of course, they all serve the same purpose, but they have slight variations.

Hope you learned something new today.
1
10/18/2014 1:32 am
Level 62 : High Grandmaster Cyborg
Knightsundere
Knightsundere's Avatar
I kept reading "midichlorian" where you put mitochondria. Star Wars people will know what I'm talking about o;
1
10/18/2014 2:00 am
Level 47 : Master Cowboy
Chron
Chron's Avatar
I see what you did there

I know this is going to be like the stupidest and most boring answer ever, but this is my favorite story of what defines us humans (and has very little to do with machines; more on that later). I also forgot it mentioned God, so I hope no one takes offense to that. I didn't write this story.

The Badger's Parable from The Once and Future King
"When God had manufactured all the eggs out of which the fishes and the serpents and the
birds and the mammals and even the duck-billed platypus would eventually emerge, he called the embryos before Him, and saw that they were good.

"Perhaps I ought to explain," added the badger, lowering his papers nervously and looking at the Wart over the top of them, "that all embryos look very much the same. They are what you are before you are born—and, whether you are going to be a tadpole or a peacock or a cameleopard or a man, when you are an embryo you just look like a peculiarly repulsive and helpless human being. I continue as follows:

"The embryos stood in front of God, with their feeble hands clasped politely over their stomachs and their heavy heads hanging down respectfully, and God addressed them.

"He said: 'Now, you embryos, here you are, all looking exactly the same, and We are going to give you the choice of what you want to be. When you grow up you will get bigger anyway, but We are pleased to grant you another gift as well. You may alter any parts of yourselves into anything which you think would be useful to you in later life. For instance, at the moment you cannot dig. Anybody who would like to turn his hands into a pair of spades or garden forks is allowed to do so. Or, to put it another way, at present you can only use your mouths for eating. Anybody who would like to use his mouth as an offensive weapon, can change it by asking, and be a corkindrill or a sabre-toothed tiger. Now then, step up and choose your tools, but remember that what you choose you will grow into, and will have to stick to.'

"All the embryos thought the matter over politely, and then, one by one, they stepped up before the eternal throne. They were allowed two or three specializations, so that some chose to use their arms as flying machines and their mouths as weapons, or crackers, or drillers, or spoons, while others selected to use their bodies as boats and their hands as oars. We badgers thought very hard and decided to ask three boons. We wanted to change our skins for shields, our mouths for weapons, and our arms for garden forks. These boons were granted. Everybody specialized in one way or another, and some of us in very queer ones. For instance, one of the desert lizards decided to swap his whole body for blotting-paper, and one of the toads who lived in the drouthy antipodes decided simply to be a water-bottle.

"The asking and granting took up two long days—they were the fifth and sixth, so far as I remember—and at the very end of the sixth day, just before it was time to knock off for Sunday, they had got through all the little embryos except one. This embryo was Man.

" 'Well, Our little man,' said God. 'You have waited till the last, and slept on your decision, and We are sure you have been thinking hard all the time. What can We do for you?'

" 'Please God,' said the embryo, 'I think that You made me in the shape which I now have for reasons best known to Yourselves, and that it would be rude to change. If I am to have my choice I will stay as I am. I will not alter any of the parts which You gave me, for other and doubtless inferior tools, and I will stay a defenceless embryo all my life, doing my best to make myself a few feeble implements out of the wood, iron and the other materials which You have seen fit to put before me. If I want a boat I will try to construct it out of trees, and if I want to fly, I will put together a chariot to do it for me. Probably I have been very silly in refusing to take advantage of Your kind offer, but I have done my very best to think it over carefully, and now hope that the feeble decision of this small innocent will find favour with Yourselves.'

" 'Well done,' exclaimed the Creator in delighted tones. 'Here, all you embryos, come here with your beaks and whatnots to look upon Our first Man. He is the only one who has guessed Our riddle, out of all of you, and We have great pleasure in conferring upon him the Order of Dominion over the Fowls of the Air, and the Beasts of the Earth, and the Fishes of the Sea. Now let the rest of you get along, and love and multiply, for it is time to knock off for the week-end. As for you, Man, you will be a naked tool all your life, though a user of tools. You will look like an embryo till they bury you, but all the others will be embryos before your might. Eternally undeveloped, you will always remain potential in Our image, able to see some of Our sorrows and to feel some of Our joys. We are partly sorry for you, Man, but partly hopeful. Run along then, and do your best. And listen,
Man, before you go ..."

" 'Well?' asked Adam, turning back from his dismissal.

" 'We were only going to say,' said God shyly, twisting Their hands together. 'Well, We were just going to say, God bless you.'"


tl;dr we're special
Planet Minecraft

Website

© 2010 - 2024
www.planetminecraft.com

Welcome