Singularity Countdown

Possible ethical concerns aside, the exhibit Our Body the Universe Within is a fascinating reminder of the potential for modular, replaceable limbs and organs of our post-human future. The stark collection of preserved bodies and organs bring the cadaver to the layperson, nearly an open source anatomy.

Just as interesting as the specimens on display is the history of anatomy and medicine itself. The exhibit describes how Galen performed brain surgery and removed cataracts in the second century AD, and emphasizes that research into further improvements were suppressed for over a thousand years by the Catholic church.

It fails to mention that Galen himself worked as well under religious suppression, and that his techniques for cataract removal were documented in De Medicina, a text written over a century before Galen's birth.

However, the process of cataract removal was actually developed by Sushruta, an Indian physician in the 6th century BC, considered the father of surgery. Sushruta, in fact, developed plastic surgery, with many techniques remaining unchanged into modern times.

And what's this to do with the Singularity?