[HospiceNurse]

“Did We Mate With Neanderthals, or Did We Murder Them?”

Did we mate with native Americans or did we murder them? Yes and yes. If we can mate with Neanderthals, then they aren't a separate species and therefore they are us. If we couldn't breed with them, then they were a separate species, but there is no way to know if we murdered them or not. Besides, what "we" are they referring to? I am confident that no FReeper has bred OR murdered a Neanderthal. And no, we shouldn't clone anything that is extinct, especially any sentient thing. It would be cruel and possibly dangerous.

[James C. Bennett]

Lions and tigers can mate with each other, too.

[Habibi]

“And no, we shouldn't clone anything that is extinct, especially any sentient thing. It would be cruel and possibly dangerous.”

Oh, I don't know about this. How “sentient” would an organism have to be before it would be cruel or dangerous? As to bringing an extinct species back, lots of folks wouldn't mind if the Dodo came back, or the Carrier Pigeon, or the Tasmanian Tiger. I mean, if they're back, then they aren't extinct. The Geico Neanderthals get their feelings hurt all the time, but I think they'll get over it eventually.

I like the idea of bringing the Mammoths back. They would keep the bear and mountain lion population down out here where I live. Wouldn't help my landscaping much though. :-(

[AnotherUnixGeek]

And no, we shouldn't clone anything that is extinct, especially any sentient thing. It would be cruel and possibly dangerous.

Would it have to be either? Say we did clone a Neanderthal, and we accorded him or her every legal protection and every legal right that any human being gets. Why would this be cruel or dangerous? Of course the Neanderthal would have no say in his creation, but that's true of all of us. He might have limited social skills and no chance at reproduction, but that's true of millions of World of Warcraft players too. I think it'd be perfectly possible to accord a Neanderthal every respect due a human being and still learn an enormous amount about this close relative of ours.