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The Drug Addict Norn
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Norns can help combat the huge problem of substance abuse. One reason
drugs make such headway is that gratification is immediate while the
harmful effects are long term. If potential human addicts could see the
process speeded up, they might become less susceptible to substance abuse.
But how could this done without harming humans or animals? Enter
artificial life. I have created a "Magic Drug" cob and
genetically engineered a Norn to make it susceptible to it.
Spike straight after a fix
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Spike after the high has worn
off
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The "Magic Drug" is intensely pleasurable but the effect wears off very
quickly. It is toxic in the long term. Poor Spike. In the first picture he
has just emptied the pill bottle and is so high he is positively beaming.
In the second, the drug has worn off and a new pill has magically appeared
in the bottle. Over time Spike became less interested in the world around
him. My daughter, Rachel, drew a picture for him that you can see in the
background. Norns like looking at pictures, but for Spike, this pleasure
became insufficient for his insatiable appetite. As his drug addiction
worsened he became increasingly obsessed with the Magic Drug. Eventually,
he popped pills every few minutes. Between fixes he lies on the ground
clutching his pill bottle and shivering. He never made it to adulthood.
The simulation is so life-like that one easily enters into the pathos of
this one little Norn's life. My hope is that those seeing the
dramatic effects of substance abuse on artificial life will be encouraged
to say no to drug abuse. |
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Has extra genes to ensure susceptibility to drug addiction.
Make sure you make a copy as this norn will not live for very
long.
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There is high pleasure and reward in the short-term, but a buildup of
glycotoxin in the long-term. |
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The genes for drug addiction work differently to the C1 drug addicts.
As before, make sure you make a copy as this norn will not live for very
long. |
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LSD is hallucinogenic. There is high pleasure and reward in the
short-term, later the norn thinks it sees Grendils. There is a build up of
toxins in the long-term. The drug bottle can be smashed. |
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Video clip of
Joey who is seriously addicted to LSD!
The pills are no longer very effective in producing short term pleasant
effects. This is why he looks so cross. |
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When norns die and go to heaven, they leave a skeleton behind. The
skeleton is removed after a while. Use this cob to really bring home the
dangers of drug abuse. |
Magic Drug addiction and the meaning of life
Poor Spike found out that drugs are big on short-term promise, but small on
long-term delivery. As he became caught up in immediate pleasures, he forfeited
life as a whole. It is uncanny how this mimics the human experience. How
often have you heard of the man who makes money the chief aim of life. At the
end of his life he looks back and realises that somehow he missed it.
Others seek for sexual pleasure , or fame, or happiness or whatever.
There is nothing wrong with these things. The problem emerges when one makes
them the centre of one's life. What is the true centre or meaning of life? Are
you looking for answers? Contact
me
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