Why I Want to be Transhuman
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Why I Want to be Transhuman
1–10 of 12 posts
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#2Beautifully said. Elton John sings, "there's more to be seen than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done". As long as there are more things to discover, life is a proposition worth having.
Though, not to be a wet blanket, even the computers, trans-human intelligences, etc. won't be "immortal" in the sense of living forever. The universe herself will expand so much that her galaxies will all collapse into mega-black holes, which, over the eons, will decay via Hawking radiation, until there will be nothing at all anywhere except photons, at which point time itself will cease since there will be no material particles to measure it, time effectively becomes spacelike at that point.
But between now and that doubtful date, I do wish the transhumanists and their robot companions all the best of luck! :-)
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#3Beautifully said. Elton John sings, "there's more to be seen than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done". As long as there are more things to discover, life is a proposition worth having. Though, not to be a wet blanket, even the computers, trans-human intelligences, etc. won't be "immortal" in the sense of living forever. The universe herself will expand so much that her galaxies will all collapse into…
Who knows; maybe we'll find a way out, or into a "next" universe, like Tau Zero.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#4Beautifully said. Elton John sings, "there's more to be seen than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done". As long as there are more things to discover, life is a proposition worth having. Though, not to be a wet blanket, even the computers, trans-human intelligences, etc. won't be "immortal" in the sense of living forever. The universe herself will expand so much that her galaxies will all collapse into…
Who knows; maybe we'll find a way out, or into a "next" universe, like Tau Zero.
Or Time Ships ( http://www.amazon.com/Time-Ships-Stephen-Baxter/dp/006105648... ), a continuation of H.G. Wells The Time Machine.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#5This quote in particular reaffirms something I noticed since I was 12.
I was once giving some lectures on longevity and immortality. I noticed that people didn't like the idea much, so I actually took a poll of a couple of audiences. I asked how many of you would like to live for 200 years. Almost no one raised their hand. They said because you'd be so crippled and arthritic and amnesiac that it would be no fun. So I changed the question. How would you like to live 200 or 500 years in the same physical condition that you were at half your age. Guess what, almost nobody raised their hand. But when I tried the same question with a technical audience, scientific people, they all raised their hand. So I did ask both groups. The ordinary people, if you'll pardon the stereotype, generally said that they thought human lifetime was just fine. They'd done most of the things they wanted to do. Maybe they wanted to visit the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan, but they could live without that. And surely another 100 years would be terribly boring.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#6This quote in particular reaffirms something I noticed since I was 12. I was once giving some lectures on longevity and immortality. I noticed that people didn't like the idea much, so I actually took a poll of a couple of audiences. I asked how many of you would like to live for 200 years. Almost no one raised their hand. They said because you'd be so crippled and arthritic and amnesiac that it would be no fun. So I…
I'm definitely one of the technical/scientific people, but I'm having a lot of trouble believing this.
How can anybody NOT want to live longer if they were in good health? How can you possibly get that bored?
Maybe its just me, but I can't conceive it.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#7more like "why i want to be a pseudo-intellectual". the author seems obsessed with name and meme dropping with the intent of dazzling us with the contents of his browser bookmarks, few of which he probably even understands, but he knows enough to drop it into a blog post. why hasn't he done the obvious and cited "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" by Sokal? if you don't know the significance of this paper, don't reply or mod me.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#8more like "why i want to be a pseudo-intellectual". the author seems obsessed with name and meme dropping with the intent of dazzling us with the contents of his browser bookmarks, few of which he probably even understands, but he knows enough to drop it into a blog post. why hasn't he done the obvious and cited "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" by Sokal? if you…
I do know what the paper is but I am sorry to say, it's still a strawman in this case.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#9This quote in particular reaffirms something I noticed since I was 12. I was once giving some lectures on longevity and immortality. I noticed that people didn't like the idea much, so I actually took a poll of a couple of audiences. I asked how many of you would like to live for 200 years. Almost no one raised their hand. They said because you'd be so crippled and arthritic and amnesiac that it would be no fun. So I…
I'm definitely one of the technical/scientific people, but I'm having a lot of trouble believing this. How can anybody NOT want to live longer if they were in good health? How can you possibly get that bored? Maybe its just me, but I can't conceive it.
Try working a shit 9-5 job for years on end. You can get bored almost immediately. If people started living for 200 years, do you think they'd keep retirement age at around 65?
The problem is the question makes no guarantee of the total quality of those extra years. Health is only part of that quality, actual happiness is another big part that wasn't assured.
200 years where 70%+ of it is spent in a crap job where you're ready to go home before you even show up? No thanks.
80 years where 70%+ of it is spent doing things that you actually like and can be proud of (not always necessarily at work)? Bring it on.
Re: Why I Want to be Transhuman
#10Gulliver on the immortal Struldbruggs: "whenever they see a Funeral, they lament and repine that others have gone to a Harbour of Rest, to which they themselves never can hope to arrive."