Brave New World (Transhumanism)

[photonlust]

I wish you a merry transhumanist christmas filled with pony play hand hooves, buttplug tails from the Great Santa Claus machine.

[AbattoirDream]

man this video says alot, i think before anyone decides to do this we ALL need to have a say in it, and those who dont want to participate need to be catered for, which they wouldnt knowing how greedy and psychopathic people really are

[PostHuman2113]

"...there is nothing you can do to communicate with me how you experience the world.."

Future technologies will refute that, no doubt.

Are you afraid you will be refuted into nonexistence in the future?

[PostHuman2113]

You are not coming up with logical solutions to the problems you see resulting from the imminent transhumanist future. You are quite right in thinking about them, and it is dangerous stuff, however it is going to happen anyway, and solutions are what are needed, not mere ludditic negativity!..

These things WILL come to pass, it is inevitable....

Otherwise, you side with Theodore Kaczynski - the Unabomber - that we must all go back to log-cabins and hunt fish or we are doomed.

[dndn1011]

@PostHuman2113 In your future world, people like you, so protective of the brave new world, a programmed machined existence, will accuse anyone who thinks differently a threat, a terrorist, something to be rooted out and destroyed at all costs. See, you have begun this process already.

These things need not come to pass, if we remember that life is more than logic. I fear however there may be no stopping those who would destroy the world attempting to reduce it to a mathematical equation.

[PostHuman2113]

Well you've already accused me of thinking in a way in which I don't think at all, so are you talking about yourself or someone other than me?

Attempting to reduce the world to a maths equation, eh...? BORING!

PS: I hope it's not a quadratic equation - those are a pain in the arse.

[dndn1011]

@PostHuman2113 grow up. Oh in your world, machines would grow you up for you.  You lost all credibility when you claimed I sided with the Unabomber.

[PostHuman2113]

You seem to be struggling to clearly state your idea that bio-ludditism can be positive for the world.

Keep cancer, agony, the infinite depths of human suffering etc....yes, that's good! Logical argument. No.

[BlondieParisan]

very great insights sir! transhumanists are crazy ass ppl: furries (people which want to be animals) and trekkies (star trek fans) - these are the ppl which are the "elite" in transhumanist world :)

[evgeniy13]

no no, I think old people are not "fresh" and "advansing" because they are beeing slowly killed by nature. They are merely sick. Brain cells are dying.

Sex and death were invented by species for better adaption the the inviroment. Now we on a verge to chanhe our DNA voluntarily. Death is no longer needed. You may, of course rationalize it's still needed, but that is your defence mechanism againt harsh reality, Stockholm syndrome. You on a side of death thinking you can't beat it.

[gukonni]

Along with all this is the broadening of our knowledge base. It's true that we'll always find new problems, but the one thing that can give us purpose is the knoweldge that we're learning more about our universe and that we're giving our children an advantage in the evolutionary war. If we give up and stop trying to broaden ourselves in challenging ways, then we will die here! We will grow stale, and probably blow ourselves up in a big war.

[dndn1011]

There is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom.

[gukonni]

Lol! Transhumanism is NOT about perfection or utopia!!!!! Why do so many people think that? My feeling is that they're conspiracy theorists or fundamentalist christians and think this is somehow an evil sinister plan being forced on us. It's not! It's just change Transhumanists embrace change, not perfection! Solving problems is a necessary part of changing, but transhumanists know as well as anyone else that as we solve old problems new ones will present themselves! Thats' the way it goes!

[particleion]

TransAlchemy

[captainhampton]

Oh one other small thing, you stated that something inherently intellectual is not art. I offer you this equation:

e^i*pi + 1 = 0 (Euler's Identity)

Hailed as one of the most beautiful mathematical equations due to its use of all of the branches to obtain the result.

And what about the Mandelbrot set? Which produces incredibly complex and intricate fractals to produce lovely images?

[dndn1011]

Easy. An intellectual path may be beautiful, but that does not make it art. Intuitions to discover a path maybe art but the path itself is not. The mandlebrot set it a mathematical formula, but the representation of it provides images that appear to communicate more than can be communicated by the formula. Therefore it is art: however it is one sided art. There is no artist, the art comes the interpretation of the observer.

[captainhampton]

Transhumanism is not a non-acceptance of death, it is the inevitable leap of evolutionary human biology to a different plateau. Death as it sits right now is a disease, and just like a disease it will eventually be "cured" with the help of this bound of technological evolution. If a bus was heading towards you, would you not want to get out of the way? It is inherently the same logic which seeks ways to extend human life and transcend into our non-biological counter parts.

[dndn1011]

If death is a disease, then we did we evolve it? According to evolutionary theory we should evolve to be as long living as possible. Have you ever wondered why there are plants and animals that live longer than us?

I do not doubt that science may one day allow us to live forever. However, the consequence of this is very likely to be catastrophic. We will not be allowed to choose our time of death... it will end up being prescribed by the rules of society... and those who can will cheat.

[captainhampton]

"According to evolutionary theory we should evolve to be as long living as possible", and it seems to be running its course quite well, technological enhancements and non-biological counter parts will dominate and become our next step down the evolutionary scale.

Transhumanism as a whole has numerous benefits as does any science or technology. However, with great advancement comes great responsibility. Science, as it has always been is a double edged sword and this certainly is no exception.

[dndn1011]

I think that the likely result of us living forever is eventual stagnation, which will eventually cause the whole human race to become extinct. This is the real reason why evolution restricts age. Because a species that is out of balance with the ecosystem will eventually get wiped out when it can no longer sustain itself. Sound familiar? Let's all live forever is as stupid a concept as making everyone billionaires. It will not work!

[captainhampton]

Evolution(medicine/tech) has been increasingly extending the age cap limit for the human race, just look at the average life span of a person today compared with that of the past. The technological singularity just offers the next leap.

Our lives are so short in retrospect in comparison to the universe, to fully understand it we need more time to soak in the knowledge. However, I am a pessimist and I do believe that before any of this comes to fruition we will have killed ourselves.

[memoryhero]

Transhumanism is an approaching state of affairs. It is not an approaching state of affairs because it is "perfect". It is approaching because it is unstoppable. "I have long posited that in fact death is the thing that gives life its meaning." ...said the living man.

[dndn1011]

You speak take a narrow view. The larger view: The skin cell that wants to live forever, does not. It is expendable. Who is to say that each of us is not equally expendable in the organism of the human race?

And further, without constraints, life looses its meaning. And *that* is quite an advanced philosophical concept. Be careful about dismissing it before you fully understand it.

[brokennarcissist]

Science produces and evaluates its own objects, it does not educate us on how to live our lives. It doesn't produce meaning nor does it give a framework to judge meaning.

From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Brave New World, the history of literature is the attempt to teach man moderation and embrace our finitude, but hubris remains in vogue.

[TheMathGuy]

I tend to be suspicious of any arguments that say "such and such will never be understood by science". I think this is merely an excuse for superstition, religion, and intellectual laziness. And plenty of such claims have been made in the past that have since been disproven (when science finally DID explain the thing that was supposedly unexplainable).

[dndn1011]

Science has already PROVED that science cannot explain everything. Welcome to Godels theorem.

[captainhampton]

This is true, due to the incompleteness theorem or even the halting problem pertaining to Turings work. However, this is with the mindset that technology will remain static and unchanging.

Technological paradigm shifts will allow for most of the ideals of the past to break down, i.e. Quantum Computing offers a model by which a Turing Machine does no give an accurate representation of.

We may not be able to prove everything, yet I still would like to see where we end up in time.

[dndn1011]

ah! but the point of quantum models is that they are non deterministic and thus cannot be formalized beyond an expression of probability. In other words, you can't create a machine that will model individual outcomes, such as where a photon will hit a screen. Science cannot unravel that because it cannot be formalized. Godel proves it can never be completely formalized. Such a proof is a proof and cannot be disproved not can technology solve it. Only philosophy remains.

[captainhampton]

Agreed, as Heisenberg has stated not even "god" can know the speed and position of a photon of light via the Uncertainty Principle.

However, philosophy remains only as a crutch until we have a better understanding of the quantum world and possibly a unified theory which will finally unite quantum gravity and classical physics.

Philosophy, not unlike religion, creates a fondness for gaps of temporary ignorance until a scientific explanation can be provided to fit the missing piece.

[dndn1011]

You do Philosophy injustice. Without it there would not be science.

[TheMathGuy]

I may not be able to convey my experience to you today, but if I were somehow able to set up a direct link from my brain to yours, why shouldn't it be possible to "play" my experiences upon your brain? In that case I could communicate to you _exactly_ what it is like to have the experience of being me.

[TheMathGuy]

Actually, science is beginning to unlock even that secret. Have you read any of the works of Daniel Dennett? My "subjective experience" is an illusion created by my brain as an interpretive framework for the sensory input. In reality there are dozens of processes running independently in the brain, not one single "experience".

[Wishazu]

Most transhumanists, when actually talking about "immortality" are not deciding to use genetics/technology etc. to live forever indefinately, only to extend life or decide for themselves when to die.

[xxmonickkkkaxx]

Pure left brain thinking is extraordinarily dangerous, we are experiencing the consequences of this now

[dndn1011]

Absolutely...

[2bsirius]

Yes, the existence of subjective experience is an intractable problem. Philosophers like David Chalmers have tried to make the subjective a legitimate part of inquiry. He called the subjective the 'hard problem'...A brilliant video! Thanks for making it.

[dndn1011]

Thank you for watching! :) Looking forward to you next video!

[analiasahotmail]

Human beings are energy trapped in matter.

We're diamonds buried in shit.

the mortal coil is a prison.

[cosmanthony21]

Not accepting death. Agree

[seanbedlam]

Thanks for the brain massage.

[dndn1011]

you are welcome :D

[Ceadem]

the subject of art as communication is interesting as it uses the 'creative' side of the brain as opposed to linear language i.e. our writing style, hieroglyphics are interesting in this respect as they operate within the 'creative' side which may be more suited towards subjects such as consciousness etc.

[dndn1011]

Language is an attempt to formalise what we percieve, the problem is that a lot of what we percieve cannot be formalisd. Hence the purpose of art. Poetry is very interesting in this respect as it uses words to identify what can not be explained :)

[Ceadem]

i agree with you, i'm just curious as to whether reading hieroglyphics or something like chinese would engage the same areas of the brain that reading poetry does. i.e the creative side (left or right?) which is more adept at metaphors etc.

e.g. i could write: awareness. in linear language it doesn't really have an effect but I wonder what glyphs there are for it and how they employ spatialization and form etc. written as a glyph would it encourage you to read into it more

[dndn1011]

Maybe, but even with their limitations words can be very powerful. Haiku is a great example.

The hater sitting

Among lily flowers, blind

Sinks without question

Sorry I had to try hehe

[b1heqh54]

I think you hit the nail on the head with realizing the potential to profit from an irrational fear of death. There are those who would reserve death as a privilege of those who own the right to feed the perceived needs of a consumer based society of immortals. I often wonder if the seeds for centralized power have not already been sown in the creation of the corporate entity. Thanks for the vid Dino - Once again you have me thinking; maybe that's what we need a little more of in the present.

[dndn1011]

When we are all trained to want to own things and then defend what we own and try to keep it forever, fearing losing it, we cease to act like individuals and more like machines.  Sorry that just came to mind, so I said it hehe. Glad you found the video stimulating.

[2bsirius]

Drat! I had my video set so that I had to approve videos attached to mine. I did approve yours immediately, of course, but I just checked and it still isn't there. I've changed it to the default option of automatic upload. Could you try to attach this again? I so SORRY!

[dndn1011]

No problem at all! Glad you liked it.

[2bsirius]

I like your definition of art. Very interesting. I'll have to think about this...I love videos like this one, but I just keep thinking about them...and that is both good and bad. I have 2 million other things I MUST do! Thanks for making me think.