So I'm sure most of you understand the basic underlying concept of what Transhumanism is.

If not, take a minute to watch this:

Link

^^That video covers Ray Kurzweil's views on where technology is going to get. Personally I think his expectations are a bit too high. I don't believe speed would be so fast. However, I do love the concept of Transhumanism.

What you people need to do is, and this is homework. Srs homework: Go watch "Transcendant Man" It's a short film on Transhumanism, inspired by the book "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil. (The book's a bit large; I wont expect you to bother reading it.)

Now instead of discussing conventional stuffs, some unrelated, disconnected thoughts and chiz:

As a friend of mine and I were discussing earlier, it might be pretty neato to tech up human sexual organs. The basic idea: Install wifi routers in every penis, LED’s in every vagina, and communicators in the chest area. Now give all people optional breast implants, surgically give women penises and men vaginas. Our population turns into a gender neutral empire. The spectrum of electronically efficient sexual possibilities is endless. Yay for humanity transcending into an age in which you can fuck like rabbits, in several unique and interesting ways without having to worry about pregnancies, STD’s, etc. Okay, I was sort of kidding about the first half but I do think humans should be stripped of reproductive ability if immortality were attainable. If population faces diminishing, we can simply produce children via good old test tube.

Anyways, the main development I expect in the recent future is the development of nanotechnology. If nanotechnology was mastered and it was made possible for us to manipulate molecules at the most basic level, technology would be pretty invincible. We’d basically overlord the quantum level, and in turn, gain a nice amount of control in the macro universe. First issue nanorobotics could handle: pollution. Carbon and such in the air could be easily manipulated into oxygen, nitrogen, or other vital atmospheric gases. We simply release nanomachines into the air that go around cleaning the air, maintaining a perfectly balanced atmosphere. Another thing that makes nanorobotics extremely significant in the process to singularity would of course be their ability to overwrite DNA. We take the basic structure of a virus, manipulate nanomachines to become like viruses of sorts and manipulate cells in the human body to become what the nanos program to become. With enough mastery, immortality would be a pretty reasonable ideal.

Now straying off topic for a minute, in accordance to possible futures, I’m reminded of the book “Extras” by Scott Westerfeld. The book is fourth in a futuristic series known as “The Uglies”, some good books. The series is about a future society started after a viral explosive makes its way into the world’s gasoline supply and explodes when coming in contact with air. Basically, our current world is destroyed and the survivors develop a new world, trying to figure out a way to develop a society in which things can remain peaceful. And so self-sustainable communities are made with usage of nanotechnology, recycling material and providing for the populace in a sort of communism. Now the main issue with humans is that we’re prone to conflict, wars, and all hell. So a scientist comes up with a potential solution: making everyone pretty.

[quote=Quote from the book]The big eyes and lips said: I’m young and vulnerable, I can’t hurt you, and you want to protect me. And the rest said: I’m healthy, I won’t make you sick. And no matter how you felt about a pretty, there was a part of you that thought: If we had kids, they’d be healthy too. I want this pretty person.[/quote]

Basically, as humans we feel attracted to beautiful people. Whether because their face is symmetric(a sign of good health), because we find their face familiar and/or comforting, or because their features are ideal. In turn, [i[The Halo Effect[/i] takes course. The Halo Effect is the result of a study done by several Sociologists which reveals to us that people who are good-looking tend to be happier, get better grades, and have more friends. The idea of the series is to make everyone surgically beautiful at the age of 16. Now, obviously this isn’t enough to make people completely walk away from conflict. So, for over a hundred years, the board puts lesions into the minds of all humans at the time of surgery in order to put them in a constant bubbly, happy state. Certain people have their lesions weakened in order to let them work as cops and such, but asides from that, it’s a community of happy, pretty, stupid people with no creativity. Of course, the main character Tally escapes before getting surged and overthrows the government in the course of the first three books. Blah blah, etc.

The book “Extras” in specific is a bit different than the first three books. It’s in the perspective of a different person for one. Secondly, it takes place in an after-pretties era. The brain surgery is reversed and the Japanese-influenced city of Diego develops a new form of society. Every person has a human interface installed into one of their eyes and their society is a giant internet-like community that recognizes the amount of fame every member has. They are ranked by how famous they are in the community. The currency in the community is merits, earned by going to school, working, or helping in the community. Everything is individualistic as opposed to family-oriented. The protagonist Aya Fuse is a “kicker”, sort of like a reporter, trying to make it big. She has a floating webcam she calls Moggle that follows her around, whose line of vision she can access with her interfaced eye. Another neat part of their era of technology: hoverboards, and hovering objects in general. The entire ground of all large cities, even back in the pretty era, is over a magnetic grid. Hovercraft has overtaken cars and solar-powered hoverboards are used as sort of floaty surfy things. Fun stuffs. Back on topic, people are still getting prettifying surgeries. Now on option. Their expressing their creativity in the design of their surgeries. Some people get surged to look like manga characters, others to look like dog knows what.

What I’m getting to here is that the society of Diego had a lot of things going right. I think it’d be firetrucking awesome if reality could be like a giant internet forum and simulations made for virtual realities that could actually let us experience physically, or at least seemingly physically, real life things. Of course that much has already been mentioned, but it’d be sweet damnit. Another thing that’d be cool would be if people could choose their appearance. If everyone is pretty and sexually attractive to some degree, then people have the incentive to be less shallow. Since everyone would be good-looking, you’d be looking for people who were interesting, intelligent, relatable, etc. as opposed to simply “pretty.” Of course all of this come to be more in the pathway of full transcendence as opposed to at the time of the singularity. Either way, stuff fits.

And in the pathway, a look at current solutions: Well first of all, get fucking done with gasoline and replace the car industry with electric cars. Now of course, the whole converting the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water doesn’t work out. Their lack of moisture doesn’t provide much lubrication and so they’re used up pretty fast. A shit ton of energy is put in and what’s produced is a very small amount. Possible solution: Threonine. The idea’s been thrown around for some time now, and was sparked by recent talk of a $2 billion project in India to replace Uranium with Threonine.

Australia is the biggest producer of Uranium in the world. Now the issue is, all Uranium given to India is exponentially expensive for them because after they filter the Uranium, they have to return it because filtered Uranium has the potential to be turned into bombs and they don’t want them filthy, job-stealing currymunchers to start bombing the world in the name of Holy Cows. And so the project is launched. The pros of threonine over uranium? For one, it doesn’t emit pollution. Zilch, no pollution. Secondly, it doesn’t have to be purchased from those pesky Aussies.

Now back to cars: A very small amount of threonine, I’m going to guess and say about a few fluid ounces, holds enough energy to run a car for over 300,000 miles. No, I don’t have anything to back this up at the moment. I’m simply recalling from memory; I could be wrong. However, even if the number is smaller, it’s obviously a shit load more efficient than gasoline. Personally I think what America for one needs to do is cut off oil imports from the Middle East, start selling our oil, asides from what is needed for plastic and other such products(until, that is, alternatives for said products are found), and replace gas-powered cars with electric cars. Of course, America’s never going to do that. So piece of advice to everyone, move to either India or Japan.

To say, I hope more people begin focusing on and addressing current problems and looking for ways to aid our journey to singularity. Even the biggest optimist will acknowledge that things cannot be changed by being left alone. Regardless, exciting shit. I can’t wait to get out there and do my part.

My opinion on transhumanism is that it's already happening. We already have RFID tags on our skins.

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I know about the singularity, I expect it to happen by accident as it's way too complex for us to create it in understanding of creating it. And that's less saying we won't be able to but that chance will push it forwards. And it's still on my queue. I'll read the rest of this later.

but i wanna be different...

honestly, im not sure i like this whole singularity idea, i like interacting with people and being different then them, unless im missing the point of singularity, if i am, explain it to me, wtf, do we all become one like that unitarian stuff in deadspace?

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Um no. Singularity refers to merging of biology and technology. Humans would still be independent, just smarter and more enhanced by technology in order to be able to live forever, look how they want, etc.

singularity means when we create the first self aware piece of tech. Think Skynet. We don't know if it'll be evil or not, just that it will be intelligent. The creation of that is the singularity.

oh, im all for it then

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Personally I am not a fan of transhumanism as it is not for the regular people, but rather for the elites to control us. (http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-05 ... m-and-you/)

the elites already "control" us, but the thing about technology is that it can be modified. it can be reprogramed, id love to see some lifehackers and true cyber-pirates running about

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