Transhumanism and effective use of the Web

March 13, 2005 6:48 PM

More than Human - Ramez Naam's site promoting his new book (about emerging technologies for engineering human biology, more or less), has excerpts, a list of upcoming appearances, and even a full-fledged blog linking to articles and commentary that might be of interest to people curious about the book's transhumanist ideas. Now this is the way to do it.
posted by Mars Saxman (11 comments total)

He has even had folks taking him on - think he'll link to that?
posted by twsf at 7:42 PM on March 13, 2005

Nice chapter on the birth of genetic engineering and its first success with that poor little girl.
posted by skallas at 10:19 PM on March 13, 2005

Wow, I work with this guy! On a trip to a datacenter our company has down in San Jose back in April/May of last year, another of our co-workers was flipping through an early manuscript of this book on the ride down that Mez had given him to read on the trip.

It's just kind of weird, seeing someone you know as a FPP at mefi.
posted by hincandenza at 1:51 AM on March 14, 2005

Ah yes, it's a brave new world. Resistance is futile. So save up your pennies....the eugenics revolution will be televised and it will,I'm sure, cost a bundle.
posted by The Infamous Jay at 5:36 AM on March 14, 2005

So Infamous Jay, you would characterize "eugenics" as any new assistive technology, such as regrowing damaged spinal nerves, or optic nerves, or auditory nerves? Or allowing quadreplegics to connect to computers, or even simply communicate. Correct?
It's "eugenics" to change the "will of god" and remove obstacles for people who want to get up out of their wheelchairs, or drop their canes, or live less-dependent lives?
Hmmm. So wouldn't pain management fall under this same definition? It seems likely. How is it different to alter divine will, in your view?
Yeah, I forgot, pain and paralysis are GOOD THINGS, given to us by a "god" who loves us.
Frankly, I'm ecstatic when I think about the day I get to move into my new cyborg body, and live for 10,000 years.
I'll be sure to dance on your grave, puny human.
posted by mooncrow at 8:24 AM on March 14, 2005

Mez even used to be head of his own church.
posted by Fstop at 10:51 AM on March 14, 2005

About damn time this book came out. I've known Mez for a while; he worked with some good friends of mine, all of whom were saints in the Church o' Mez, back before it declared moral bankruptcy and went belly up. I agree, hincandenza; it is weird to see the peeps you know make an FPP.

And I, for one, welcome our transhuman overlords, as long as they'll help fix my eyes and my bum knee and give me a cyborg body straight out of a Boris Vallejo trading card.
posted by RakDaddy at 1:20 PM on March 14, 2005

No mooncrow,no. I'm all for it. I just wonder how we are all going to pay for it. Me?I don't have 6 million dollars for bionic limbs! So, the super rich become supermen and the poor and uninsured middle class gets what?

And a....if Oscar is out there reading this.....you front the gear and I'll work for your black op any day.
posted by The Infamous Jay at 3:52 PM on March 14, 2005

mooncrow, I will leave Jay to defend himself, but here's a quote from Eugenics Archive that sums it up pretty well for me:

Eugenics was, quite literally, an effort to breed better human beings – by encouraging the reproduction of people with "good" genes and discouraging those with "bad" genes. Eugenicists effectively lobbied for social legislation to keep racial and ethnic groups separate, to restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and to sterilize people considered "genetically unfit." Elements of the American eugenics movement were models for the Nazis, whose radical adaptation of eugenics culminated in the Holocaust.

I haven't had a chance to read thru the whole post yet but I will comment after I have a chance to.
posted by daHIFI at 3:54 PM on March 14, 2005

Thanks daHIFI. I didn't want to go into the whole Nazi Uberman thing.

Did anyone else here ever read " Brave New World"? I'd really rather live with the "savages".
posted by The Infamous Jay at 4:05 PM on March 14, 2005

The title reminds me of another good read
posted by glug at 1:05 PM on March 16, 2005