Date sent: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 19:33:52 -0700 (PDT) To: extropians@extropy.com, extropians@extropy.com From: Kathryn Aegis <aegis@igc.apc.org> Subject: Re: FAQ: TRANSHUMANIST CONCEPTS Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
> I have missed something about the way this FAQ was originally organized, but
> aren't most these actually 'transhumanist technologies'? When I hear the
> phrase 'transhumanist concepts' I think of 'transhuman', 'posthuman', as
> well as the 'singularity' and the various paths of evolution. This may be a
> function of the manner in which the English language is used on my side of
> the Atlantic--North Americans tend to use the word 'concept' to indicate a
> broader idea rather than a concrete manifestation. Can someone clarify this?
>
> Thx, Kathryn Aegis
>
> At 01:26 AM 8/5/98 +0000, Nick Bostrom wrote:
> >This is the second to last section of the FAQ... There are of course
> >many more "transhumanist concepts" that one could explain (e.g.
> >cryonics), but the FAQ is already rather long.
> >
> >
> >TRANSHUMANIST CONCEPTS
> >
> >What is nanotechnology?
> >
> >What is superintelligence?
> >
> >[I'm made a separate posting of my answer to this.]
> >
> >
The Virions (to whose mailing list I also belong) would claim that
each of these categories is a component of the structure of the
Extropian meme system, and that they interact with each other and
cannot be strictly separated. The realization of Extropian physically
transformative (or posthuman) goals, such as uploading,
superintelligence and immortality, depends upon the achievement of
certain technologies, such as nanotech and coherent light
computation, and the instantiation of Extropian social ideals is more
likely to be facilitated in groups whose members accept Extropian
principles. Salamantis