Cyborg Dreams on Background Briefing

From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Sat Nov 03 2001 - 17:28:17 MST


Well, the nearly-hour-long program by Ian Walker was broadcast today in Oz.
Pretty nifty Spike/Singularity start, some odd skews (to my ear, at least)
as it progressed, closing with the mandatory invocations of Drs Faust and
Frankenstein, complete with groaning movie monster. Ah well.

Featured players included Natasha Vita More, Stelarc (with his mad
scientist laugh), Miriam English, and me, with readings from Greg Egan
fiction. I found the edited excerpts of my long shambling interview with
Ian Walker pretty fair. In one place, though, I shruggingly admitted that
trying to find a suitable analogy to immortal life (becoming a flower,
say) is hopeless; as quoted, this might create the false impression that I
am in despair at the pointlessness of *everything*. Such editing verged, I
thought, on bad faith.... but luckily it was a rare lapse.

Oh, and according to Ian Walker extropians have a secret handshake--I'm
terribly put out, as you'll appreciate, that nobody has ever shared this
mystic grip with me... :)

Audio of the show at:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/

Transcript to be posted on Thursday.

Damien Broderick



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