I'm working on a British documentary today for Discovery Channel on "Raw
Beauty", or more recently titled "Science of Beauty."
If anyone has any suggestions for the future of physical beauty, mental
aesthetics, or any area of the science of perceptions of beauty and
recognition, please send me your comments for inclusion!
I'd really appreciate input from the technological and scientific oriented
extropians and other transhumanists.
I will be focusing on transhumans and posthumans. Here is some of my topics:
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As cogently as possible from general to specific:
(A.) Extropic Art - genre of art that is an aesthetic take on the future.
(1.) Automorph Art - shaping the self.
(a.) Technologies: nanotechnology, AI, genetic engineering,
human/computer interfaces, virtual reality, virtual selves.
(i.) Physical beauty: outer appearance, emotional appearance. Changing
body and brain to extend our lives.
(A.) My thoughts stem around the art concept of Extropic Art which
incorporates the aesthetics, the science and the technologies of
superlongevity.
My deep interest in pursuing knowledge about life extension sciences and
technologies is steered by a practical optimism. It is essential to
continue evolutionary advances by using technology to extend life, augment
intelligence, optimize psychology, and improve social systems. We are
changing and we will continue to acquire greater capabilities with which to
enjoy our lives and the universe around us. In doing so, I find it
advantageous to challenge conventional thinking about human limits and
think about how technologies will improve our future. The footnote here is
that attempting to change conventional thinking requires both sensibility
and understanding. Many people find it difficult to adapt to new ways of
thinking, especially when it involves biotechnology. Rather than alienate
those who question the ethics or the direction of science and technology, I
try to understand opposing views and deal with information on advanced
technologies and their positive potentials, their challenges, and their
possible dangers.
Thus, the concept is to seek the continuation and acceleration of the
evolution of intelligent life beyond its currently human form and limits.
The integration of technology seems to be a positive way to do this as
evidenced by any heart transplant and prosthetic limb.
(1.) Automorph Art is the Extropic Art of consciously and
comprehensively sculpting one's physiology and psychology. The focus of
Automorph Art is shaping appearance, the mind, feelings, intellect,
identity to make one's whole self an object of beauty, not just physical
appearance, although this is part of it. (general philosophy)
(a.) In explaining what this means: shaping entire identity: physical
appearance, identify, emotions. This will be enabled by new technologies:
nanotechnology, genetic engineering, computer interfaces. The technologies
that will make this a reality.
(i.) Physical possibilities: superlongevity. The particular is the
physical beauty.
Stress the uniqueness of using advanced technologies to alter ourselves
in ways not possible before. If we are not psychologically beautiful, we
can alter our brain and our genes. To be ethically beautiful by shaping
psychology and behavior through modifying psychology by responding with
emotional refinement. (Rewiring the way the brain works.) Put in context
that beauty is more than skin deep. I take this very seriously. Beauty is
the whole self and by sculpting the whole self, one can be dimensionally
beautiful. Aesthetic means healthy, vigorous, strong, elegant.
In summation: If we can choose what our individual beauty is: we can
determine what we want to look like and such is my perspective about beauty
and superlongevity.
Further, my future body design Primo 3M+ is an artistic vision of what
types of changes could be made to alter our bodies (located at
http://www.extropic-art.com/aesthetics2.htm:
** 20th Century Body
limited life span
inherited genes
wears out
random mistakes
intelligence capacity 100 trillion synapses
single tracks circuits
gender restricted
prone to environmental damage
corrosion by irritability, envy, depression
elimination messy and gaseous waste
** Primo 3M+
ageless
replaceable genes
upgradable
error correction device
intelligence capacity 100 quadrillion synapses
multiple viewpoints running on parallel
gender changeability
environmentally friendly
turbocharged optimism
recycles and purifies waste products
This, of course, is a conceptual project, but not too far off from what may
occur in the future. This mock up design would put good use to
nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence with
prosthetic parts and augmentations.
* * * * * * * * *
Thanks,
Natasha
Natasha Vita-More: http://www.natasha.cc
To Order the book: Create/Recreate: The 3rd Millennial Culture
http://www.natasha.cc/books.htm
Extropic Art & Transhumanist Arts Center: http://www.extropic-art.com
Transhuman Culture InfoMark: http://www.transhuman.org
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