- May 2023
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docdrop.org docdrop.org
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this era began in the mid-20th century before you and I were born with a biomedical Innovation
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Mary Harrington suggests that
- a starting point for the transhuman age
- was marked by
- the introduction of the birth control pill
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comment
- while that may mark the first time a technology has radically reshaped human physiology in such a direct way,
- the spirit of transhumanism is inherent in our nature as innovating cognitive beings
- in fact, I find the term "transhuman" self-contradictory and problematic
- as our very nature as innovative beings means we are constantly reinventing and transcending our old behaviors
- while that may mark the first time a technology has radically reshaped human physiology in such a direct way,
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we're already well into the transhumanist era
- comment
- I would agree with Mary Harrington's comment that
- we are already in the transhuman era.
- The goal of not just medicine,
- but many other fields of human endeavor
- are interventions to our "natural animalistic state" that could be interpreted as "unnatural interventions" to prolong human lifespan and wellbeing
- I would agree with Mary Harrington's comment that
- comment
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it is as if man had been suddenly appointed managing director of the biggest business of all the business of evolution appointed without being asked if he wanted it and without proper warning and preparation what is more he 00:05:49 can't refuse the job whether he wants to or not whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution on this earth that is his 00:06:02 inescapable Destiny and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it the better for all concerns
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quote
- "it is as if man had been suddenly appointed managing director of the biggest business of all the business of evolution appointed without being asked if he wanted it and without proper warning and preparation what is more he can't refuse the job whether he wants to or not whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution on this earth that is his inescapable Destiny and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it the better for all concerns"
- Julian Huxley
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Comment
- Huxley was prescient in making this observation,
- as our species
- cumulative cultural evolution, and
- the impact of our niche construction
- https://jonudell.info/h/facet/?max=100&expanded=true&user=stopresetgo&exactTagSearch=true&tag=cumulative+cultural+evolution
- does now indeed more or less determine the entire course of evolution of life on earth
- as our species
- Huxley was prescient in making this observation,
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- transhumanism debate between
- Marry Harrington
- contributing editor and writer for Unherd
- Elise Bohan,
- Evolutionary Macrohistory researcher at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute
- Author of
- Future Superhuman: Our transhuman lives in a make or break century
- https://unsw.press/books/future-superhuman/
- Future Superhuman: Our transhuman lives in a make or break century
- Marry Harrington
- transhumanism debate between
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- Sep 2018
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www.mnemotext.com www.mnemotext.com
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Monolith Encounter 3
The Monolith's act as stages throughout the movie of human development/evolution. And every monolith up until this point has seemed to be the human as a creator of technology and being able to use it, but it's at this point that the monolith represents a transition into a type of 'superhuman' as shown in the rebirth scene. No longer are humans evolving by creating something, but by improving themselves. This seems especially poignant when HAL's disconnection is considered as well. David had to 'unplug' HAL in order to get to this next step. He had to, in essence, kill the very thing that had led humans to this point of evolution.
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www.mnemotext.com www.mnemotext.com
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Many terms have been independently coined multiple times – although not necessarily with precisely the same meaning, and this is true of “transhumanism.” In 1312, in his Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri uses the term transumanare, meaning to pass beyond the human, but his usage was religious or spiritual in nature.
As I understand transhumanism comes to contrast religious beliefs. It seems to want all the attention of what mankind has done up until our time, giving no credit to "god".
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The concept of “extropy” was used to encapsulate the core values and goals of transhumanism. Intended not as a technical term opposed to entropy but instead as a metaphor, extropy was defined as “the extent of a living or organizational systems intelligence, functional order, vitality, and capacity and drive for improvement.”
It's interesting that the author chooses to emphasize the distinction between extropy as an opposition to entropy, but instead as a metaphor. However, would extropy not be the opposite of entropy metaphorically as well? Scientific definition aside, entropy is defined as the universe's tendency towards chaos in all manners of the word meaning constant expansion and disorder. Extropy is the universe's tendency towards the idea of a 'singularity' (discussed in "The Technological Singularity") so essentially the exact opposite? The universe's tendency to follow "intelligence, functional order", etc. toward a single point of "posthuman" where we've gone beyond human capability?
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- Dec 2017
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www.mnemotext.com www.mnemotext.com
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How does an insubstantial word like “apple” lead you to think of a real thing—an object of a certain size that is red, round, sweet, and has a shiny, thin-peeled skin? How could a plain acoustic sound produce such complex states of mind, involving all those qualities of color, substance, taste, and shape? Presumably, each different quality involves a different agency. But then—in view of all we’ve said about why different agents can’t communicate—how could such varying recipients all “understand” the selfsame messages? Do language-agents have unusual abilities to communicate with different kinds of agencies?
What article doesn't bring up is the context of the environment that the person grew up in. If we were to describe the word apple to someone who has never seen or tasted it, they would not be able to visualize what it is with just the word. The mind would try to relate it to an object that you have already experience to fill in what an "apple" may be.
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