Human Iterations 2008-07-30 10:41:00 2:41 am / 30 July 2008 by William, at Human Iterations
(You Cannot Buy Creativity. You Cannot Make Creativity. You Can Only Be Creative.)
Ironically, one of the things I love about transhumanism is its limitations. Transhumanism can never be a political movement, it can only ever be a matter of personal action. How do you stage a protest to call for more invention and ingenuity? You can't. As the statist transhumanists are learning, you can't even pass a law to make it happen. The only option you've got is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Sure a lot of people talk about the accelerating pace of technological development. But that no more makes them transhumanists than talking about ninjas makes you a ninja. To be a transhumanist you have to do something to further the transhumanist ideal. "Converting" people behind some banner doesn't really count because numbers are irrelevant. You can't vote the Singularity in.
You can only do your part.
On a somewhat tetchy note of self-defense, Michael Anissimov at Accelerating Future has posted a list of transhumanists in high ranking academic and corporate positions. The implication is that they're actually applying themselves to open new possibilities for human growth. And that's all very fine and well. Some of those names are quite impressive. But I'm interested in the people that aren't professors or CEOs. Because frankly, those are the people least likely to have the eureka moments that count. The real transhumanists are the wide-eyed girls in the observatory and the stubborn boys splicing genes in the basement. I want to see a list of the hackers whose direct action is keeping the Internet open. Or the backyard engineers in the third world who are inventing monumental improvements to our infrastructure with scrapped bicycle parts. Those are the people bootstrapping us to the future. Not some blowhard in front of a podium or pedantic lab tech cranking through instructions.
Ironically, one of the things I love about transhumanism is its limitations. Transhumanism can never be a political movement, it can only ever be a matter of personal action. How do you stage a protest to call for more invention and ingenuity? You can't. As the statist transhumanists are learning, you can't even pass a law to make it happen. The only option you've got is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Sure a lot of people talk about the accelerating pace of technological development. But that no more makes them transhumanists than talking about ninjas makes you a ninja. To be a transhumanist you have to do something to further the transhumanist ideal. "Converting" people behind some banner doesn't really count because numbers are irrelevant. You can't vote the Singularity in.
You can only do your part.
On a somewhat tetchy note of self-defense, Michael Anissimov at Accelerating Future has posted a list of transhumanists in high ranking academic and corporate positions. The implication is that they're actually applying themselves to open new possibilities for human growth. And that's all very fine and well. Some of those names are quite impressive. But I'm interested in the people that aren't professors or CEOs. Because frankly, those are the people least likely to have the eureka moments that count. The real transhumanists are the wide-eyed girls in the observatory and the stubborn boys splicing genes in the basement. I want to see a list of the hackers whose direct action is keeping the Internet open. Or the backyard engineers in the third world who are inventing monumental improvements to our infrastructure with scrapped bicycle parts. Those are the people bootstrapping us to the future. Not some blowhard in front of a podium or pedantic lab tech cranking through instructions.
“Laws of the Jungle”
