If you could design your own body and hit a button and have it immediately implemented, would you keep your natural self or would you make changes?

bizarroland@fedia.io to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 165 points –

We'll just all assume that every person who gets this would make themselves early twenties with flawless skin, perfect organs, appendages and functionality, and no excess weight.

My question is, would you change yourself from your genetic baseline, and if so, how?

236

I’d get a new bum. Mine’s cracked.

That's nothing, mine has a hole that goes all the way through!

If you really think about it, people are just donuts with anxiety

Hold on, just a thought. If a straw only has one hole because it goes all the way through, then anus and mouth are both the same hole.

We are NOT having the "how many holes does a straw have?" arguement again!

Why not?

I thought we all agreed that a straw was a tube with one hole all the way through it, and that one hole has two openings.

Do I have to have a biological body? I don't want to be carbon based anymore.

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel.

-MisterNeon

That quote gets thrown around at me alot. Which is weird since I paint Orks.

I mean I've heard that arsenic-based life forms are plausible but I think you have to live in a methane Rich environment to survive so you would basically like collapse into a puddle of toxic goo

I was hoping for something more mechanical or digital. If I'm going through all the hassle of getting a new body then I don't want to bother with the habits of the old one ( eating, sleeping, etc).

So basically just like turn you into Data.

I was thinking a bit more industrial.

But bender drinks, and sleeps.....I think he eats? Maybe? I know he doesn't have taste buds though. They did a whole episode on him cooking with lsd.

Drinking is for fuel and they've demonstrated that the robots can have alternate fuel sources. A Bender body is perfect because I can claim a major victory against entropy while not going crazy by sacrificing my human stimulus (like Metalo from Superman). I want to be unfettered from Earthly needs while still being able to party.

Good news! You are now water based! Nothing changed, enjoy your wish!

I would absolutely:

  • Get rid of anxiety (assuming there's some genetic component to this - seems like all the women in my family have it)
  • Change my eye color from hazel (mixed green & brown) to full green
  • Add about 5 inches of height (I'm only 5'0")
  • Add gills to my sides that deploy at will when under water, but otherwise are hidden
  • Fix that annoying "it went down the wrong pipe" design flaw
  • Add a nictitating membrane to help fix my dry eyes
  • Wings? Maybe!

Definitely wings. First thing I thought of. Unfortunately that would require a massive redesign. Firstly, you'd need hollow bones, as well as a very low body fat percentage. Decent chance boobs and butt don't grow hardly at all. Secondly, you'd need extremely strong chest muscles, which also still have to be light. And in order to provide enough energy for that, you'd need a larger and stronger heart with wider blood vessels. You'd also need to most likely quintuple your daily calorie intake. Possibly more depending on how often/when/ where you are flying. You would also want lungs with more surface area to absorb oxygen better, even at low altitudes. Especially at higher altitudes. That would likely mean a stronger diaphram. Stronger leg muscles for takeoff/landing. Better eyes for scoping out landing points and avoiding hazards. Most birds don't fly at night, so you may consider something akin to a cats eyes, or go the bat route with echolocation. And you're going to need a neutral remapping unless you just plan to replace your arms with the wings. Fortunately, outside of a higher energy cost, that last one might happen automatically, our brains are very plastic.

What a thorough breakdown haha

Hmm... hollow bones might negate the need for gills.

Smaller penis.

Trade?

5 more...
5 more...

No more garbage genetics please. EDS, pots, ADHD, probably autism (on the waiting list for testing), chronic stomach troubles, depression, anxiety, hormone imbalances, PCOS, chronic pain, inflammation, weak loose skin. All that can go fuck right off forever and die. Once my body actually worked, and looked like it wasn't cursed from the get go, I think I might actually like it. Mostly. Might like an androgynous unit for daily living and a feminine one for sexy times. Both thoroughly muscular of course. Gotta get that muscle tone. If we went for non human stuff on top of that, wings. Huge fuck off dragon wings. None of that Superman flying shit, I wanna FEEL the flight. Hell, I'd probably actually be able to enjoy doing any physical activity if my fucking body wasn't so, so breakable. Really I just wish I wasn't in so much pain.

Same, EDS and MCAS here. It's fairly well controlled nowadays but I'd love not having to adhere to huge life changes and needing to down 30 pills a day.

I’d get rid of the daily headaches that started around 12, all the random aches and pains I’ve had since my early 20s, and give myself better dental/oral genes so I didn’t end up with a cavity every damned year.

But the thing is those are changes I’d make with CRISPR, too, if we knew enough about genes to actually implement them. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

The aesthetics aren’t that important, tho I wouldn’t mind having thicker hair. My mom got a nose job and told me I have her old nose, and even that I’d keep.

I’d keep my adhd/autism/personality/appearance stuff, just want the rogue pain/deterioration genes fixed.

As I'm trans I would change my body to align it with my gender identity. But I would love to start at an earlier age, I want the whole experience.

  1. add tail
  2. make cell cloning perfect
  3. better error correction
  4. add error messages other than "pain here figure it out"
  5. do away with blood types
  6. all colors are now customizable

okay but have you considered that a tail would make most chairs incredibly uncomfortable for you? also do you really want to be able to fall on your ass and break your tail?

I think we lost the tail for a reason.

Never change a running system. Even small changes may have unexpected consequences, if the machine is as complex as our bodies...

Counterpoint: the cable management of the human body is fucked

90 millions years of evolution, or you: who knows better?

It looks funny on pictures, but i bet everything would go south if you would straighten it out or reorganize it.

If you don't know the intend why it looks as it currently looks i would not touch it. even if you know why it looks like that and you can somehow compensate those effects, i would not do this on my own body for the first time...

I think one thing I would change is that the nostrils would use a slightly different air path then the swallowing mechanism, so that if you were to choke on food you could still breathe and get air into your lungs to expel the food.

Pretty sure those changes were made to get us better vocal cords, allowing us more range for speech. Here's the first link I found that talks about it.

I think a minor change to my ACL to fix my knee and bring it back to normal healthy condition is a small enough change to not cause unexpected consequences, since it’s just restoring it to new condition.

hm. i did not think about serious illnesses when writing my comment. maybe we can specify this as a "not running system", but i can understand that my first snarky comment could be perceived as rude when you have problems with your body. i fear i walked right in the privileged trap without realizing it?

How do you "reboot", medically-induced coma?

you can not.

just think about it: 80 to 100 years uptime, no reboot, no fall back system, not even a cold spare. and you want to change something while its running? madness! maybe if you are very lucky you may be able to replace some of the internal components.. but not to upgrade, only if your on the risk to loose the whole system...

Let's see here, I think I would implement...

  • better cable management for more efficient routing
  • A settings menu to enable things like "abundant food" mode, set body hair preferences, etc.
  • 3 sets of teeth, make baby teeth last a little longer like my first one fell out when I was about 5 or 6, I'd start replacing them at like age 8, then the middle set would last until about 35 and then you get your last set.
  • Sperm valve with 2FA.
  • There's probably some upgrades we can make to the eyes.
  • Maybe some kind of heat pump system for urine, so if its very hot you can take a 150 degree piss and save some sweat, or if its very cold you can piss ice water to retain more heat.
  • build caliper functionality into my hands, so I can know the size of something just by holding it.

I heard they recently developed a meta material that can passively convert approximately 1500 mm wavelengths down to 500 mm wavelengths.

Incorporated into sunglasses they purport themselves as being non-powered night vision goggles.

If they could incorporate that into contacts that would be fucking stellar.

3 sets? I'll take a shark-like conveyor belt mouth of infinite teeth thank you

I would settle for exchanging baby teeth a part of puberty. Just that extra few years of wear transferred from the second set to the first set I think would make a load of difference.

I would change everything in a heartbeat. You wouldn't even be able to finish explaining what the button did before I pressed it like 7 times lol

I absolutely loath who I am, physically and mentally.

Ever since I saw Ghost in the Shell, I've wanted a full on robotic body. I'd have a few different ones to suit my mood, too. Assuming I could afford it, anyway. Which since it's a dystopian nightmare, means I probably wouldn't be able to get anything other than the shitty tank-like body and only if my insurance covered it. 😮‍💨

Ever since I knew the weakness of my flesh, it has disgusted me...

I’d keep my natural self.

I’ve been a software developer before. I know exactly how well my self-designed body would work.

Everyone would make changes you fucking snowflakes

I doubt I'd do anything major. Tweak my hair and eye color a bit. Predispose myself to a higher metabolism. Crab claw. Maybe add an inch, though I'm already pretty tall. Just simple confidence things, ya know?

I can understand the rest but.. hair colour? You can just dye it, no need for genetics smh.

Then you're always touching up the roots. I don't wanna completely change much, I wanna still be me.

Some basic QOL-fixes such as asthma, eyesight and allergies. Fix the propensity for alzheimers and heart disease. After that, probably not much.

I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to — I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more, I could experience so much more, but I’m trapped in this absurd body.

My body's fucking terrible in a bunch of both objective and subjective ways that I can't do anything about, so yes, without a shadow of a doubt

Have you tried drinking more water? Everybody says we're not drinking enough water. You're supposed to drink 42 gallons a day.

1 more...
1 more...

I'm not trans but It would be cool to have the body of the opposite sex.

Other then that, hell yeah, my genes suck and I would rather change them, fuck my soft shitty teeth and their slow agonizing journey to replacement

I'd be a head shorter and make myself a cutie lol

I'd also want to get rid of my mental illnesses, and reset my weed tolerance. And, if possible, give myself an eye for art. I love to draw, but I sssuuucccckkkkk. And be smarter. Cause I have a severe case of the dumb.

I also would ask to not be asexual since it seems like everyone else is having a good time and I wanna be involved lol

Weed tolerance varies over time and isn't something genetics couldn't change. Overall sensitivity maybe, but not tolerance.

I also would ask to not be asexual since it seems like everyone else is having a good time and I wanna be involved lol

honestly, idk about you, i'm having a great time myself (though im also asexual) so that's probably the autism speaking lmao.

Oh, I don't think being Ace equals a bad time, but I don't understand the concept of romance or sexual attraction on a personal level (I understand it in media). I feel like I'm missing out on that sort of stuff. But I'm otherwise happy with my cat 🙌🏾

I'm also gross and I think if I can't put out, no one is willing to hang out with me. I feel like if I at least put out I'd have something to offer

personally i don't understand it on a personal level, and i don't find it appealing in media either, as its just an extension of that. And i prefer genuine human interactions to hee hee hoo hoo sex scene, look these characters are intimate and close, because more often than not, it's just shitty writing unfortunately.

I’m also gross and I think if I can’t put out, no one is willing to hang out with me. I feel like if I at least put out I’d have something to offer

personally i just operate under a very specific pretense, and either inform people of it, or fuck with them because they aren't expecting it. I have oddly specific and weird standards for a "prospective partner" so it's not really something i think about or actively worry about, it'll either happen or not, and i'll be perfectly happy either way lol.

friends are weird though. I like having acquaintances more than friends, i think. I'm not sure that's related to being ace, or some flavored autism bit, or perhaps something spicier, but it's definitely something. Friendships are hard bro.

Assuming you are in a position to do so safely (given the mental illness stuff), stop smoking/vaping/eating weed for 3 to 6 months and I can almost guarantee your tolerance will reset.

But then I have to deal with the world sober for 3 6 months and I'm weak 😩

Endogenous vitamins.

I'm not sure I understand.

What would this do and how would it work?

There are things like vitamin C and D your body has to get from somewhere else. Food, sunlight. Other animals don't have this issue. Every creature is built different, i just wish we were a little lower maintenance - or failing that, a good answer why it has to be this way.

Infodump incoming:

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of life. DNA encodes which animo acids to put together in which order, and when. Ribosomes read bits of RNA that was copied from DNA and match up amino acids. The different animo acids correspond to different three nucleotides combinations (the As, Cs, Gs, and Ts of DNA). The ribosome attaches each animo acid in a chain.

When the amino acid chain detaches from the ribosome it folds into a protein. Different amino acids in different orders affect how the protein folds and what it becomes. Proteins are the structures and machinery of our cells.

There are 20 amino acids we need to make the proteins we rely on. Our bodies can make some of them and some of them we can't. The ones our bodies can't make we have to get from our diet. Those ones are called vital amines, or vitamins for short.

I'd give myself long curly hair (I'm bald), an 11 inch penis (currently only 10.5), and huge-ass angel wings (anyone that doesn't say huge-ass angel wings is a fuckin liar)

That's way too much penis.

I’m trying to remember what sci fi story that was, set in a future where genetic modifications were common and easy. The protagonist chose a “small” penis that was only 11-12”, as the biggest size that was fully functional and useable. It was kind of amusing the number of characters represented having vanity penises for appearance, even if they were too big to be fully functional or that a person they were attracted to might enjoy.

I suppose in that same theoretical future women could do something like having distendable hips so that they could accept the meaty girth of the average man.

It would probably make childbirth and smuggling popcorn into the movie theaters a lot easier too

If we're gonna go for full on fantasy bodies I'll take a dragon and we can have an epic battle in storm-rent skies as a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil.

Then back to my place to calm down with some orange slices and some foetal spooning.

  • Get rid of hair on my: chest, shoulder, back, belly, ass, pubic region and armpit.
  • Add 7 cm in height.
  • Get rid of whatever genetic code is making me bald.
  • Sightly bigger ass.
  • Make both my eyes be the same height, instead of one slight above the other.
  • Get rid of my asthma.
  • Better eyesight.

Other than that it's pretty good.

I would dial the clock back 35 years and fix my teeth. A tail would be nice too and a sot pelt and maybe cat ears to go with the tail.

Honestly, just go the full 9 lives and become a cat.

Nightmares beyond human comprehension like something out of a video game character creator with lots of liberty but even weirder and then probably the default settings again.

estrogen from the get go, the rest can do whatever

I would have 4 arms

Found Goro

Imagine goro giving handjobs to scorpian, sub-zero, liu kang, and johney cage at once!

Just.....just put that mental image into your brain!

A past me would have 100% answered in the affirmative to change myself, but I've since then, I've gained some confidence and realized I'm not as horrifically ugly as I thought I was when I was younger. I just need to take care of myself. So other than the improvements you mentioned, I think I'd keep my natural self.

Actually, maybe make myself a little taller lol. That is a huge benefit both in personal lives and in business. So mostly natural self, but optimized and some increased height.

I wouldn’t mind a more tumor resistant body, this one is my ear canal is getting old.

Straighten my spine, make my chest muscles more symmetrical, straighten my hooked nose, make my beard not grow so far down my neck, correct my nearsightedness, fix my teeth.

If adding muscle is an option, I'll take a tight 6-pack, bigger biceps etc.

So you want to transition from male to alpha male?

I don't need other men to fear me, if that's what you mean.

I'm in the process of getting all my teeth pulled for dentures.

I would make changes.

I'm honestly fine just being a brain in a jar. Give me access to books and film and video games and I don't think I need a body. Is there a name for what's wrong with me?

IMO, there's nothing wrong with that. We ARE brains in a meat suit, with bits and pieces to support ourselves and increase chances of making new brains in meat suits.

I do think that the inability to interact with anything tangible could get problematic, if unable to achieve similar simulation.

No body hair, and a higher pitch voice (because my singing is GOD AWFUL). That's all.

Higher pitch is a short sighted adjustment. Wider range, so you can keep your lower registers.

I'm one of two women in my extended family that I know of who don't have any hair in our armpits, something I'm very thankful for.

Unfortunately I do have armpit hair, and it's especially disgusting when I put deodorant. I want it gone for good.

My family won't let me even though I'm an adult, they'll say "body hair is one of the qualities of men" even though I'm not gender conforming so I DON'T CARE.

I'd remove my personal need for sleep, making it completely voluntary. But I wouldn't tell anyone about it. I could use an extra eight hours of free time every day.

Ooh, I've always wanted this. I'm basically useless if I can't get 10 hours sleep

Flesh is weak and biology sucks. I'm going to look like Atom Smasher.

Besides the common stuff, I would add an extra set of arms. Who couldn't use 4 arms?

Hell, might as well throw in a prehensile tail while we're at it

No body hair, straight hair, no scalp issues, and more feminine face.

If I can extend it to the brain, no family history of schizophrenia (I don't have it myself but it's the reason I intend to abstain from psychedelic drugs.)

would you change yourself from your genetic baseline

Yeah, I'd get rid of Celiac's for one. There are other potential inherited conditions that I'd enjoy not having as well (colorblindness, etc.).

I think I'd keep aphantasia since the opposite (and the inner monologue that is actually heard) seems like it would be hell.

The neurodivergence I'm not sure. I would probably want to keep it even though it does sometimes (often?) cause pain.

Physically, I'd repair a lot of damage done to my body (metal rods and plates hold together parts of me, among other things).

I would flip my gender to female and ensure that my hair would match my Dad's hair color. Fix my chronic pain and IBS if I can, assuming those are genetic. Fix my singing voice. I ended up the shortest of my siblings, so double down on that and drop a few more inches off my height. I'm 5'8" now, so 5' even to 5'4" seem nice. My grandma's that height, so the code is in there somewhere.

I mean, is this easily repeatable? I can think of lots of things I would try out, but a much smaller number of viable options if it was a once in a lifetime thing.

When I was considering this concept as part of a story I was working on I did consider the possibility that people would start out with having their ideal body but undoubtedly there would quickly grow a subculture of people who go for increasingly wild and interesting alterations, assuming that there are no side effects.

So in my story world, I came up with the idea that you would be molecularly unstable for several years after a change and therefore not eligible to change yourself more than once every 7 years.

My biggest wants are to have a body that at least works. Gimme garunteed function out of my stupid organs, which is admittedly a given in the prompt but ***FUCK. *** I'd honestly keep my probable autism, as I got exceptionally lucky and managed to find a career niche that effectively monetizes my neurodivergency (which is SUCH A FUCKED STATEMENT), but my ADHD is much more of an impediment to my personal and professional life- I'd turn that down considerably. Past that, if I've got the opportunity- I'm tired of my frail POS frame, and have a disposition towards giant dragon men. Give me durable scales, enormous muscles, and practical wings so I can help my friends, family, and I make reality match our dreams without fucking my skin up, needing a ton of help, or paying morbillions to just keep a vehicle OLDER THAN I AM insured. Peak male performance is being able to fly groceries home and fix your friend's shit for them no matter HOW big the appliance is. I'm gay as fuck and want the biggest dick physically sustainable, but I'd be willing to accept NO cock if meant meaningful independence and the ability to help others with major electroni-mechani-fluidi-cal infrastructure issues single-handedly and with ease. For now, I'm just going to have to pay out my ass for safe equipment or skilled labor that can do what I can't. Modern society is a technological onion of such magnitude that human ability, physical or otherwise, is only able to maintain a vanishingly tiny amount of it, and the tools that enable one to cover a reasonable amount of it are only getting more expensive and obsfuscated. Fight the enshittification of the wheels that turn society by turning yourself into a horrifically sexy monster, preferably one descended from ideas that have been playing humanity since we discovered methods of writing our nightmares down.

which is SUCH A FUCKED STATEMENT)

to be clear, i don't think it's a fucked statement.

I think the fact that you need to do that properly, is a fucked concept.

SzPD bros getting the worst end of the stick in that regard.

It would be foolish to not doing improvements. Unless you wanna die faster

I'd get rid of my chronic depression, genetically high cholesterol and bony hip impingement.

I've got 2/3 of those (my cholesterol is fine). I just had the impingement fixed in March along with the labral tear it caused, and recovery has been annoying but worth it. I'm back to all my regular activities! If you're interested, I really recommend looking into surgery.

I talked to a Dr about ten years ago and he seemed like I was wasting his time. He sent me to physical therapy and told me not to do the activities that cause pain (ok champ, I won't internally rotate my leg ever). So I was kinda jaded about it.

I have an X-ray and an appointment with an Ortho on Monday! I am so excited. Ready to get my hips ground.

What was the recovery like? I live in a 3rd story attic so I am a little worried I won't be able to walk

Recovery was a combination of frustrating and boring. I was on crutches for about 3 weeks, then down to 1 crutch for another week, then finally no crutches and I was allowed to drive. You will definitely need to navigate the stairs on crutches, but your physical therapist will teach you how.

The drive home after surgery was pretty awful (thanks, City of Philadelphia, for having such prodigious fucking potholes!) and the first few days were rough. I actually wasn't in too much post-surgical pain, but every little thing was a hassle. There are certain restrictions as to how to can move, how you can sit, etc which were not always easy to work with. For example, I wasn't allowed to bend past 90° at the waist, so my husband had to help me get dressed, or pull up my pants after I used the bathroom, etc. He was a champ but it's really frustrating to have to rely on someone for things like that. Showering was also difficult, even though I had a shower stool. I was prescribed oxycodone for the first 5 days after surgery, which gave me the most severe, painful constipation. In retrospect I probably could've gotten by with just extra-strength tylenol. Sleeping was awful - I was only allowed to sleep on my back or my nonsurgical side, and nighttime is when the pain was the worst.

For the first 2 weeks a physical therapist came to my house 2-3 times a week, and also a nurse visited 3 times. I had some simple physical therapy exercises to do twice a day for the first 3 weeks, plus I had to use a continuous passive motion machine for four hours each day. Aside from physical therapy exercises, you're supposed to make sure you get up and move around every hour to prevent blood clots, but otherwise you're more or less bed bound for the first few weeks. I read so many books and watched soooooo much Star Trek!

Once I was off the crutches and allowed to drive, I made quick progress. I went to physical therapy twice a week and made sure to do my exercises every day. I think it helped that I was already in good shape before the surgery due to weightlifting, and I was really motivated to get back to lifting as soon as I could. At around 5 or 6 weeks after surgery I was doing kettlebell squats in physical therapy, and by 8 weeks I was doing deadlifts in PT. At that point I started back in the gym with my personal trainer, and I also continued seeing my physical therapist twice a week. No jogging/running or jumping until the 3 month mark.

At 3 months post surgery, I had a follow-up with my surgeon, and he cleared me to return to all activities with the caveat that I ramp up slowly. So now I'm 4 months post-surgery and I can do everything I was doing before surgery - weightlifting, hiking, biking - but I'm still working my way back to the weights and intensity I was at prior to surgery.

I definitely notice an improvement in my hip. I'm middle-aged, and the surgeon made sure I understood that the surgery wasn't going to give me a perfect hip like a young person would have, which helped set reasonable expectations. And despite the frustration of surgery, I'm glad I did it. I still have some pain if I overdo it, or if I sleep on it weirdly, but it's a lot more flexible and resilient than it was before surgery.

This turned into a wall of text, but I hope it's useful to you. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

We'll just all assume that every person who gets this would make themselves early twenties

Nooope. Hard pass on that.

My question is, would you change yourself from your genetic baseline, and if so, how?

Really, only fix some funky hormonal stuff, I'd not even heal my bad ankle, even though it sometimes causes discomfort - it provides me with an extra sense that I didn't have before; barometric pressure.

It would be cool to have a "built-in" HUD with metrics about my body, sensory input, and a few other things that could be switched on or off at will.

The "gear" that I was born with has shaped my experiences in life so far. Any major change and I'd probably be someone different.

I would like to have the enzymes that would allow me to drink alcohol. :(

Alcohol sucks and makes people feel bad, you're not missing anything

I agree. Everything people think it improves, it does not. Its an illusion

I'd fix my feet, ankles and legs. Not out of vanity, but for function. I long to walk easily again, to be nimble on my feet.

So many ideas popping into my head, but no I wouldn't because I like my body as is. Even with all the defects, I'm still proud of my fat ass.

I'd rather have a dedicated, hidden tube for breathing so I can't choke on food. maybe have it filter pathogens and stuff too.

and the for plumbing, I'd like an extra pee hole dedicated for cumming and/or designer pee fighting.

Yeah... Food is definitely what I'm worried about choking on the most...

totally change stuff. remove the miopia. give me the ability to tan. anything else I could do what is clearly improvements. I would keep the overall look the same. like I would not change anything that could not do better practicality wise. I would not just change for looks.

There is some stuff you can buy called Melanotan that will give you the ability to tan.

It's what Rachel Dolezal used to impersonate a black person

Apparently it also makes you super horny but this is highly suspicious and it go to evidence at best

A good way to increase your risk for melanoma as well.

I wonder if that's true because it increases the amount of melanin in your skin which makes you 10 quicker which increases your resistance to UV radiation, so it seems like it should decrease your risk for melanoma.

I would change. I've always loved character creation so I'd spend a good chunk of time designing just looks alone. Then, I'd focus on attributes and stats. What sort of person would I like to be? What do I want to be good at? What's the best build for the life I'm about to lead? Artist? Philanthropist? Genius? Smooth talker? Or a jack of all trades? Would I have perks that I can implement? Perfect pitch? Ambidextrous? Perfect eyesight? Double jointed? Heterochromia? A dude with a big penis? A chick with a large set of boobs? That's not to mention if I can include fictional things like super strength, the ability to fly, stretchiness, elf ears, cat ears, bunny ears, claws etc. So, to answer the question, yeah I'd change myself

Balls the size of peas and a cock fat as a cigarette. That oughta get the guys and gals going

It might be nice to try out different hair textures without having to put any work into it.

Other than that, the only scifi dream I would have is a proper GUI/HUD reporting system so I can just get the raw data about when things are going wrong.

That would be freaking awesome!

Constantly see your brain waves, blood pressure, blood sugar, heartbeat, respiration, the amount of lactic acid in your body, you're various creatinine levels, just basically everything they would check if you were in the hospital but always visibly available to you so you can see and get direct feedback on what actions you take and how they affect you.

I'd pay thousands for that.

Become monke that way I don't have to think anymore.

I would love a character creator.

I'd resolve my numerous health issues and take on a youthful appearance.

I'd imagine if this was ubiquitously available to everyone we would see a majority switch to their likeness to their favourite characters from whatever media they prefer.

I can see a classroom full of Harry Potter's and Hermione Granger's

Ignoring the obvious "change myself into a magical wolf man which ends up getting dissected by some government agency", probably just a tune up.

There's a lot of mostly minor and cosmetic stuff I'd fix. Removing the need for glasses. Fixing my teeth. Ridding myself of a genetic thing my chest does. Fixing that weird pop my toe does every one in a while. I'm not really interested in being mr muscle strongman who people think women flock to; it's just not me.

Mentally though, I'd like to see about removing my depression/anxiety stuff, although I'm not sure if that's allowed or not by the rules. That's honestly probably the biggest thing holding me back. I'd keep the autism though; being neurodivergent isn't a crime.

I assume that at the very least you would walk away with as healthy of a body and brain as a human can have, so if you were still depressed at that point it would not be due to your own genetics but as a reaction to your lived experiences and the environment you find yourself in.

Hopefully things will get better

I'd improve the efficiency of my uric acid processing, decrease cardiovascular pressure, and throw in a cat's spine just for fun.

From the genetic baseline, totally, if that'd fix my hair loss and dandruff, also a fuller beard. I'd probably give my hair slightly lighter brown color, too.

Just gimme the character creator and a super long time to work with it.

If I choose to remain a woman: add 2 more inches to my height, lose the genetic stomach fat, improve ability to build muscles. Maybe less curlier hair.

If I choose to become a man: late 20s, dark wavy hair, 6'5, lean build but not skinny. Wanna be a target version of Michael Scofield, basically.

I’m not even that tall and my height causes issues. People love tall until you try to fit in an airline seat, regular sized car, fit on a bicycle, or buy clothes that don’t need to be custom tailored. Not to mention how often I hit my head on things. And finally it kind of sucks that people are almost always initially intimidated by me based on size, hard to get part that first impression.

Yeah. But, you know, most girls like a tall dude. And I wouldn't mind being part of their fantasies.

If this machine existed, overnight you'd see so many 10 foot freaks with 5 foot dongs bulging out. We'd morph into supermutants from Fallout 3 due to all of our insecurities.

To help moderate that, I have decided in my little head canon that you can only make this change once every 7 years, otherwise you end up with like super cancer or something I don't know.

Make my spine double jointed and I'd never leave the house.

Heck yeah... I'd get better vision, better spine, ... there's a plethora of quality of life things that I think most people would be insane to pass up. On another side, having a sweet of powers that effectively made me Batman levels of ability... How could anyone actually pass that up? Literally just a peak human... Yes please.

"I AM A GOD!!! THE GOLDEN GOD!!! I AM UNTETHERED AND MY RAGE KNOWS NO BOUNDS!!!"

Every woman would want to date me... because of the implication

Well, aside from the obvious "make myself my fursona" bit...

I'd get rid of my ADHD, or at the very least get rid of its interaction with food and exercise. It's been such a burden, to the point where it's singlehandedly prevented me from taking up new hobbies (because I know I won't stick to them and can't afford to waste the money), kept me from focusing on new certs (because I suck at self-directed study), and it's the single biggest reason why I'm overweight. I fucking hate it. ADHD superpowers, my ass. This is a fucking debilitating disease, and even with medicine it still sucks.

I'd have everything the same except there was one hair on my head that I could control like a tentacle.

Like a tiny little itty bitty hair or would this be a larger hair?

It would grow and behave like any other hair I think, just be movable.

You could use it to hold some snacks up there or something.

Hmm. Can I revert to preadolescence like an immortal jellyfish?

I don't relish the idea of doing puberty again, but it'd probably be easier the second time.

Do you retain your memories? Is this like a time travel thing? Are you essentially immortal, but in a loop?

It's more like biotic reversal so no time travel, just suddenly de-aging until just before biological puberty in a similar fashion as turritopsis dohrnii, the immortal jellyfish. Ideally, memory and personality remain intact. Afterwards, aging begins again normally so it's effective biological immortality.

So my question would be what would you get out of that?

Your current mental state would alienate you from your age identical peers, and you would quickly out yourself as not belonging unless you were in a crash with a full group of similar people who were all simultaneously reverted to whatever age that would be 6 years old / 8 years old, whatever.

It would be an interesting science experiment though to see if a human being who went through a rough transition into adulthood were suddenly reverted to childhood age and placed into a supportive and encouraging environment would the resulting person that they become even though their memories are intact be a better person in some measurable way?

It's just a plausible mechanism for immortality since it exists in nature and it lets you be young again. It would be nice not to have all the random pains and aches that come with age and get a reset on physical youth when needed.

I'd like to have fewer moles on my skin and wouldn't mind the little chest hair I got to stop growing but other than that I'm pretty satisfied with it.

fix my heart and make myself cis. no "improvements"

I'd not change much, just my suicide weight, a couple of functional issues, and a few troublesome moles.

How much does suicide weigh?

I don't know but I do know that suicide is painless but it brings on many changes and I can take or leave it as I please.

how many of us would be furries? Statistically speaking, i want an answer.

i love fucking with people, so it's an obvious choice.

Lots of changes. Not much on the outside, but fix breakable/broken stuff, be more efficient, this kind of things. Not having to worry about your own body betraying you seems like a good idea.

Can I use the button multiple times? If so, I have several experiments / experiences to do / have.

If it's a one time thing, I'd probably stick with the same genetics. I got pretty lucky, and I'd hate to make a change that I later felt negative about.

Once every 7 years. You have to wait that long for your body to stabilize after using it.

Hmm. That's a long commitment for something I can't try out. Still, yeah, if it can restore any "youth" I might lose during that seven years, I'd experiment. Lots of changes I'd be curious to experience.

i mean yeah, i'll take just having the same body but made of nanites please. There are just no downsides to that: i'd be immortal, impossible to damage since the nanites would just flow back into place, i could reconfigure my body at will, and extremely cool shit like extruding tools from my body (either made of nanites or effectively 3d printing them).

nanomachines son

Depends, if it's only biological changes, I'd get myself two hearts, and minimize the chances of any disease or aging knocking me out, then become an anthro folf because being hooman is overrated

If cybernetics are allowed, I'd probably get rid of the damn body and just have a virtual one, with my brain connected to some machine deep underground

I ain't judging the furry thing but man, I just cannot imagine wanting to trade the best graspers on land (human hands) with paws

I think hands with pawpads and some proper claws are a good compromise :3

I'd be an anthro, so all the benefits of being hooman without being hooman (except sweating, so you'd be able to outrun me eventually)

I guess I shouldn't have assumed what the hands would be like since I'm not well-versed in fursonas lol sorry

Mostly curious, but if you added simple opposable thumbs to say a cat or a dog paw, would that be bad or good?

Maybe that's a simple way to put it but like what would the consequences be it's what I'm asking.

Ye Ye body that stays perfectly healthy with no maintenance. Would be sick. We are all alive so of course I want me my body to be better at being alive. I want to be able to be poor and "malnourished" but thrive despite that and keep living my vest life without having to participate in capitalism to depend on my wellbeing

I would make small changes untill I sm happy with it.

I would make a small change one month, adapt and learn to live with it, make another change next month, and so on.

I would start my reducing my weight by 2kgs a month and make my psoriasis recide slowly.

I would also make a few old scars start to fade.

Natural body, except healthier. No dry eyes, no stomach problems, no nerve problems in shoulders and legs.

I love my body, I am very content with every detail of it, but I would make my tongue smaller in my throat.

It's a tiny detail but it is ruining my life by slowly choking me to death at night. Some nights are good, others suck, and it's a crap shoot.

The vast array of problems this causes are difficult to properly describe, and the damage it's done to my life overall is incalculable.

If that one thing stopped being a problem and I could plan knowing it wouldn't come back, my life would change virtually overnight.

Seriously, ask your doctor for a sleep study or a referral to a sleep medicine specialist.

How do you think I know it's my tongue?

This is the condition after I've spent 10 years and thousands of dollars learning to treat it.

Other than the assumptions OP mentions in the prompt, I would actually add a prehensile tail... I think that would be a super fun and useful appendage to have hehehe

Make myself taller, of course. Probably adjust my wingspan a bit too, tweak my good cholesterol, things like that

But when everyone's taller, no one will be.

All the more reason to do it, no?

No. The actual benefit stops as soon as you can reach the highest thing you regularly need to.

Being shorter keeps away a large amount of shallow people who seem to think 6 feet is a magical number.

Sure, but I want to get taller for sports reasons. I'm not really considering dating.

Honestly if this scenario was happening, how long before they standardized what your height must be to participate and rebalanced games in relation to that?

But I forgot about sports. I never got the draw and I never will.

Tbf you can kind of see this standardization happening with what's available today, like rhinoplasties or PEDs.

If we get to the point of making it easy to just have whatever body you want at any time you want, then I'm totally ok with athletes being required to use Sports Mode"

People will probably (FINALLY) get bored of sports in general and we can move on as a species.

I'd give myself a nice set of teeth. Not 100% perfect cause I find that off putting, but 90% perfect. Slight imperfections are what make a beautiful smile imo

Limbs.

Biceps/triceps are 18" would rather 20" Quads/hamstrings are 27" would rather 30"

Even with 18" arms, from a side view, even flexed they look small compared to my upper body. So they look disproportionate. Same with legs, because I have long legs (I'm 6'0), 27" looks small-er compared to someone who is only 5'8 tall with 27" legs.

That's about it, really.