I, PostHuman
Rarely does a pattern of reactions towards me incite my ire, so the fact that I’m peeved means I really ought to write.
From many different angles I’ve been confronted with a guilt-laden invective against the use of my handheld computer (i.e. iPhone) for ongoing communiques, most usually via Twitter.
Human traditionalists: I see your argument. I could go with it. But I don’t. You can go your way; I’m happy going mine.
What I experience goes beyond criticism, however. It generally breaches undercurrents of anger and fear (arguably the same thing), bringing implications of threat: that to fail to attack the exuberantly transhumanist (such as myself) constitutes tacit acceptance of subservience to technology and a rejection of such ideals as the purity of meatspace serendpity and community.
Well how about this: What if mastering a form of instantaneous global communication within a network of social peers of my own choosing isn’t dehumanizing — it’s extrahumanizing.
What if this quasi-Luddite conservatism of the everyday is nothing but quaint, irrelevant glorification of meatspace-exclusive experience, no more valid than drug war prudishness?
I honestly feel as though I’m sensing the newest incarnation of cultural backlash, a trend of discrimination against the hyperconnected that will amplify as we continue the inexorable march towards a post-human future of technological symbiosis.
I see the neuroplasticity of the brain and I disregard the Old World attitude of optimization for onboard memory; offloading to peripherals to allow for optimization of more uniquely human strengths such as pattern-matching, semiotics, and intuition makes sense.
I choose memes; cyberneticism; techgnosis.
Technology is not “it”. But neither is humanity “it”.
Addendum: I frequently exhibit cries of frustration with my gadgetry. But make no mistake: it’s their lack of efficacy and clumsy “integration” with the everyday that irritates me. I’ll be the first in line for the Google Maps overlay implant in my retina.
You should make a YouTube transhumanist manifesto comparable to your Twitter manifesto… except dressed as a Borg.
I consider myself a gageteer and transhumanist, though I wouldn’t want to be a beta tester for body modifications. I’ll wait for version 2.0.
The recent elevation of your vocabulary in blog entries and comments entertains and facinates me. Is that attributable to increased consumption of scientific articles and podcasts? Hopefully a science journalist won’t have to dumb down to lower reading levels.