Are there any other Aspie transhumanists around here?

Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Odin
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,475
Location: Moorhead, Minnesota, USA

10 Dec 2007, 4:30 pm

Transhumanism

Quote:

Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+), a term often used as a synonym for "human enhancement", is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as stupidity, suffering, disease, aging and involuntary death. Transhumanist thinkers study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.

Although the first known use of the term "transhumanism" dates from 1957, the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s, when a group of scientists, artists, and futurists based in the United States began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers predict that human beings will eventually be transformed into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman". Transhumanism is therefore sometimes referred to as "posthumanism" or a form of transformational activism influenced by posthumanist ideals.

Ultimately transhumanist foresight of a profoundly transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by one outspoken opponent as the world's most dangerous idea, while a proponent counters that it is the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity".

_________________
My Blog: My Autistic Life

lau
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 76
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,795
Location: Somerset UK

10 Dec 2007, 6:48 pm

Yes. Me. Amongst others. Although I'm a bit more far-fetched than that.

Do you have anything to say about it?

It seems to scare most people... usually into saying that it will never happen.

_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer

richie
Supporting Member

Joined: 9 Jan 2007
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 30,142
Location: Lake Whoop-Dee-Doo, Pennsylvania

10 Dec 2007, 7:16 pm

lau wrote:

It seems to scare most people... usually into saying that it will never happen.

It will happen and the only thing I see scary about it is we'll have a new class of "haves" and "have-nots".

The one thing that article didn't have was Freeman Dyson's speculations about mankind artificially developing itself into "A Million Species", a question he often asks in his book
"Disturbing The Universe" is "Will we be a million species or will we remain as one...."

_________________
Life! Liberty!...and Perseveration!!.....
Weiner's Law of Libraries: There are no answers, only cross references.....
My Blog: http://richiesroom.wordpress.com/

Last edited by richie on 10 Dec 2007, 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Immured
Snowy Owl

Joined: 29 Nov 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 158

10 Dec 2007, 7:24 pm

Well, not an active one. Let us just say I'm not opposed to the idea.
Perhaps it is humanity's only hope of having a peaceful, pain-free world, having at last transcended our bloody evolutionary past.
Or maybe something else altogether.

lau
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 76
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,795
Location: Somerset UK

10 Dec 2007, 8:15 pm

richie wrote:

It will happen and the only thing I see scary about it is we'll have a new class of "haves" and "have-nots".

I suppose I just can't envision the next step as still having the "have/have-not" divide. In a sense, that is mainly a recent (few K years

) phenomenon. This is somewhat of a waffle, but think about the moderately insane personal power that the majority of individuals in the "developed" nations have, versus 100 years ago. We live like kings - already.

richie wrote:

The one thing that article didn't have was Freeman Dyson's speculations about mankind artificially developing itself into "A Million Species", a question he often asks in his book "Disturbing The Universe" is "Will we be a million species or will we remain as one...."

I've not read that. Where is the problem? I'd say that a million species is a good idea. We need to hedge our bets. Vanishingly small though the possibility might be, we could be the only conscious beings around. I say "Let's spread!" - in all senses.

_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer

Odin
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,475
Location: Moorhead, Minnesota, USA

10 Dec 2007, 8:27 pm

richie wrote:

lau wrote:

It seems to scare most people... usually into saying that it will never happen.

It will happen and the only thing I see scary about it is we'll have a new class of "haves" and "have-nots".

I don't think so. Such enhancement and life extension technologies may be only affordable to the rich at first but the cost of such stuff should decrease rapidly. Gattaca won't happen.

_________________
My Blog: My Autistic Life

Odin
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,475
Location: Moorhead, Minnesota, USA

10 Dec 2007, 8:34 pm

lau wrote:

richie wrote:

It will happen and the only thing I see scary about it is we'll have a new class of "haves" and "have-nots".

I suppose I just can't envision the next step as still having the "have/have-not" divide. In a sense, that is mainly a recent (few K years

richie wrote:

I think Dyson's speculations of "millions of species" is a bit misleading because we will be transcending biology and become cyborgs that are less and less biological as time goes on, and thus "species" will become irrelevant, we will have merged with our technology.

_________________
My Blog: My Autistic Life

lau
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 76
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,795
Location: Somerset UK

10 Dec 2007, 8:40 pm

Odin wrote:

...
I think Dyson's speculations of "millions of species" is a bit misleading because we will be transcending biology and become cyborgs that are less and less biological as time goes on, and thus "species" will become irrelevant, we will have merged with our technology.

Yes. This is the conventional idea, at the moment. I can see many other ways we might progress. I'm fairly sure I will NOT have envisioned the one that DOES happen.

But... PS... it will be fun!

_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer

richie
Supporting Member

Joined: 9 Jan 2007
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 30,142
Location: Lake Whoop-Dee-Doo, Pennsylvania

10 Dec 2007, 8:57 pm

Odin wrote:

lau wrote:

richie wrote:

It will happen and the only thing I see scary about it is we'll have a new class of "haves" and "have-nots".

I suppose I just can't envision the next step as still having the "have/have-not" divide. In a sense, that is mainly a recent (few K years

richie wrote:

Our technology will be coming more and more biological as it develops, what biology doesn't have in efficiency is made up for with
flexibility, what technology doesn't have in flexibility is made up for with efficiency provided we choose the appropriate technologies.
Dyson argues in favor of multi-species of man....The more niches there are in a given eco-system the greater the stability of that
system.

_________________
Life! Liberty!...and Perseveration!!.....
Weiner's Law of Libraries: There are no answers, only cross references.....
My Blog: http://richiesroom.wordpress.com/

Stewie
Blue Jay

Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 76
Location: Fedoraland, USA

13 Dec 2007, 6:26 pm

This topic makes me think about Huxley's "Brave New World." Perhaps I'll read it yet again...

Quatermass
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 18,779
Location: Right behind you...

22 Dec 2007, 1:39 am

I'm more of a cybernetic transhumanist, although my motives are more selfish than anything else.

_________________
(No longer a mod)

On sabbatical...

MsBehaviour
Deinonychus

Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 341
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

28 Dec 2007, 1:36 am

Bring me a robot body with the strength of ten gorillas and I will be happy. And if I can look like Six from Tripping the Rift or Seven of Nine then bonus :twisted:

_________________
Dance at Work

gwenevyn
l'esprit de l'escalier

Joined: 6 May 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,443

28 Dec 2007, 1:38 am

Quatermass wrote:

I'm more of a cybernetic transhumanist, although my motives are more selfish than anything else.

Whose motives aren't?

I see there are a number of people I respect in this thread. You have my attention.

_________________
The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them. -Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Syd
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,280

30 Dec 2007, 3:18 pm

I'm undecided on how I feel about transhumanism.

Anyway, if you're interested in the idea of 'extending' lifespans by storing and retrieving memories, so to speak - check out Hans Moravec's book, Mind Children.

Dorkenfarber
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 27 Dec 2007
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 7

01 Jan 2008, 1:58 am

Has anyone read The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil? Some of his ideas are really cool. The ability to spontaneously change shape using nanorobots would be awesome.

lau
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 76
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,795
Location: Somerset UK

01 Jan 2008, 2:52 pm

You raise one of those points that rather spoils the Terminator series, for me. The T1000 should have found it trivial to dodge bullets.

Nanobots are going to be able to sense pathetically slow incoming bullets, a long way off, and just move gracefully out of the way. The bullets aimed at the T1000 should have just passed though neat, perfectly cylindrical holes, with possibly less bullet coming out the other side, should the nanobots chose to "harvest" them for material, as they passed by.

Blowing up a T1000 might work, though it seems a bit unlikely - for a start, you have to persuade the nanobots to let the explosives get close enough, not to interfere with the detonation mechanism, and to say around in the vicinity is clumps big enough to suffer some sort of internal stresses that damage them collectively. Scrap all that. It's just too east for it/them to switch to fog form and ignore the explosion.

_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer

Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ] Go to page 1, 2 Next

Jump to:

Are there any other Aspie transhumanists around here? Post Reply New Topic

Are there any other Aspie transhumanists around here?