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    or The rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization

    “The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.”
    Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

    When I started writing this essay I thought to summarize my views of hyperconnectivity as they coalesced in the past year, in relation to the emergence of the polytopia project, however as my writing progressed, it appeared that the area that I wished to cover was getting wider and broader, deeper and larger than I had anticipated. I therefore decided to divide the paper into a number (unknown at present) of consecutive essays under the collective title of: the rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization. (please bear with me as I try to disentangle and re-entangle my thoughts on this fascinating topic.)

    An old problem in Buddhism variously referred to as the Gradual vs. Sudden enlightenment problem has recently come to my attention. What does an 8th century problem (see The Northern Ch'an School And Sudden Versus Gradual Enlightenment
    Debates In China And Tibet
    ) have to do with the cyber future of humanity?

    The issue of the posed question, the notion of processes versus attainments, of long-term actuations versus immediate realization has very much to do with our current situation, for though our issue here is not enlightenment but the future (cyber) evolution of humanity, the deep resonances are clear. We can in no fashion today apply the distinctions of gradual or sudden evolution of cyber humanity any longer, for the simple reason that our current and hasty hyperflow results in both sudden and gradual shifts, shifts that are as simultaneous as they are all pervasive, motions that are as regular and continuous as the ocean waves and as abrupt and unexpected as the wildest of all tempests.
    Be it mobile AR revolutions (Augmented Reality Year in Review – 2009) or the steady growth of social networking (Explosive Growth Predicted for Mobile Social Networks), the ubiquity of embedded connectivity (Increasing Ubiquity) or indeed the latest in neurocomputation and the rise of Artificial Neural Networks .

    Shifts in thought, shifts in perception, shifts in paradigms, all shifts happen simultaneously and concomitantly, some we see and some we don’t, some of these shifts are gradual and some of these shifts are sudden. Our task here then is to contain both kinds, to uphold a view that is floating above the fray and yet intertwines with the fleeting moment of eternality we call now. The shifts that are coming upon us are disrupting the ways of old in the most positive way possible; they are finally rearranging our modes of thought and basic worldviews.

    We are entering a new and distinct period in history, the era of the Cyber Soaring Humanity.


    "..not to reproduce what we can already see, but to make visible what we cannot..."
    Paul Klee



    Little did Norbert Wiener know of our hyperconnected, increasingly inflating, infoflow when he coined the term: “Cybernetics”. In fact, it may very well be that in the networked sense, a cyber civilization is just now, right this moment, coming into being, notwithstanding the predictions of William Gibson coining of the term Cyberspace, to which we need give homage and respect.
    The emergence of the networked culture, is a feat of human ingenuity the like of which we may not have witnessed before, and cannot be compared to any other revolution of the past, be it the industrial revolution or indeed the Neolithic one.
    The main reasons the cyber-culture revolution, taking place is so different than any other are twofold:
    First it is incremental and in that is almost invisible to the naked eye and second it is happening at a speed for which the dilapidated conceptual worldview of old is less than adequate.
    But these two reasons are embedded in a larger context, that of the infosphere ecology, or infocologies (the ecology of immersive, real time, on the fly information).

    Few years ago the concepts of parallel evolution, mutual co-adaptation and free form co-description as fundamentals of human culture would have been unthinkable, as of now terms like: ubiquitous semantic engines, socially aware software-machines, or indeed mobile dating, augmented reality engines, playful engagement in societal networks and the like have become the ‘terms du jour’.

    “..Technology might be seen not just as a channel for communication and performance, but more radically as the environment in which subjects serve as conduits for experience.”
    Heather Raikes

    One: Redefining the meaning of value

    The very meaning of value is being re-described as I type these words; the meaning of value in the old sense was based on the idea of scarcity, of lack of resources, of volatile finances and market variations, ideas of purchase prices and economics of luxury were considered the very meaning of value.
    But,
    In the new hyperconnected infosphere, the infocologies we are moving slowly-rapidly into, the meaning of value has changed and is changing radically and rapidly. Value is moving into the hands of the netizen, the socially hyperconnected, and ultra sensitive 21st century cyber human.
    Not a cyborg, no (not yet at least) but a networked, electronically enhanced by social networks human mind, a cybermind that knows that all information is available at her fingertips (and soon enough in her brain (link-google in your brain)). The hyperconnected human in this respect is the first and most critical component to relate to when re-describing the meaning of value.
    A hyperconnected person is the very embodiment of self-mapping, by continuously being at the forefront of the incoming info-waves whether via twitter, friendfeed, google wave or simply by incorporating into his own mind stream the practically infinite rss feeds he or she is subscribed to.

    “As social networks proliferate, they are changing the way people think about the Internet, from a tool used in solitary anonymity to a medium that touches on questions about human nature and identity.”
    Sci-Am

    Self-mapping or the hyperconnected alignment of oneself into and unto the infocology one co-opts, can be said to be the modern identifying characteristic of the value creating cybermind. In other words, describe to me (via the tweets you tweet and the feeds you read and the pictures you post and so on) the infocology you exist in and your alignment to same ecology and I’ll know who you are.

    Where is the value in that you may ask, and to that we may respond: the value of the hyperconnected mind represents the shift from an economy of exclusivity to an ecosphere of mutual co-dependency. The value in short is to be found in the co-dependence of the network-correlated activity. Self-mapping in this respect stands for the knowledge one has about one self in an infosphere ecology.
    Value in the sense exposed above is not in the domain of economists or ethicists it is shifting into an all-new domain, the Meta-domain of meaning creation. In this new domain the meaning of value is more complex and less clear, but no less beneficial or advantageous for that. The meta-domain of meaning creation is the domain where value is perceived via hyperconnectivity and meaning re-description. Who I am and what I am is no longer an issue that can solely be perceived by the old indicators of social constructs but is being reformulated into an infocological reflection.

    The reflectivity embedded is one of alignments or lack thereof as perceived in one’s self mapping.
    In other words: value in the hyperconnected infoflow is in the hands of the socially aware-networked mind, freedom to give value as one desires and realizes is the new form of priority management. That is the gist of the how and the why we converse and converge in the cyberworld we now inhabit.
    In hyperconnectivity, conversations and polylogues are potential-possible value creating, creativity inducing events.



    Two: Self-mapping

    Self-mapping I describe as the conscious activity of the engaged hyperconnected mind when reflecting about her intelligence.
    Consider that: (as was presented here- polytopia the notes)

    “Intelligence can be said to be a process then, a continuous process of orientation and re-orientation, an iterative, recursive, restructuring of the very meaning it is applied to. Put differently, intelligence is the term applied to the reading of coordinates of implications when applied to a particular context. Moreover since intelligence is always in motion, by definition it will disturb the silhouette of the context in which and to which it is applied. That in fact is the meaning of open ended (ness), for by eliminating the conceptual rigidity of the context, intelligence (by its very motion), opens, as it were, the context to fresh paths of potentialities. “

    And (from the same paper):

    “Intelligence is the active ingredient in innovation and creativity, in whatever field of human endeavor it is applied.”

    Self-mapping then is the virtual (and possibly visual) act of describing the set of characteristics and alignments that define my infocology existence. By delineating the contours of my interests and my feeds, my messages to twitter and my blog posts I actually define the map of my infosphere domain, in other words I carve my address in the global mind.

    The carving of spaces in infocologies is an emotional as well as an intellectual pursuit; it is an art as much as it is a necessary condition of our converging cyber civilization. We are at present in the process of re-inventing forms of empathy, and methods of organizational structures, new modes of appreciation and fresh manners of knowing. As far as it goes we are in fact bootstrapping ourselves into a new kind of human, a self mapping hyperconnected human which in turn leads to new forms of engagement, modern varieties of self governance and fresh motions of economies.

    Three: Self-mapping is a form of self governance

    The idea that we are in the process of bootstrapping ourselves into a new form of mind is maybe not new to some. However the point at present is that by the sole act of self-mapping we are also carving a new form of self-governance.
    The modern hyperconnected mind, by the sheer velocity of the rush of information being absorbed and digested, is in the process of transformation. This is not a regular transformation but a transit of boundaries of perceptions and sensations which when taken together allow a fresh kind of sight to emerge. The contemporary infocology of the hyperflowing-hyperconnected mind no-longer is subject to boundary projections based on her localized physical phenomenon. The fact that a person is resident of this or that country and identifies with this or that locality has no bearing on the transcendent nature of the ideas he is connected and correlated with and since in hyperconnectivity the relational subjective feeling of presence is directly correlated to areas of interests from which stems the very infocology he is part of, the notion of boundaries expands to encompass the whole and the other.
    When in hyperconnectivity if so the governance that matters is the governance of ideas, of concepts, of issues of care, of emotions that transcend the local and fly above the relational notion of ‘I am this or that’ to land softly into “we are part of this and this is part of me”.
    That which we care about most, the very freedom we carry within us as the flourishing of the infoflow becomes manifest as the authority we carry, implied by the pointers we direct our gaze to and not by the geography we happen to be physically residing in.

    “If the “postmodern sublime” is characterized by the simultaneous apprehension of ecstasy and dread, I think we’re most likely to apprehend it on CNN. The up side of this lies in ubiquitous personal computation and the death of geography. The end of nation-states. The end of borders. I eagerly await intelligent simultaneous online translation, which will be Babel-in-reverse.”
    William Gibson April 1995
    (Note to Gibson, the above has already happened -> Google Translator Kit: Automated Translation Meets Crowdsourcing

    Four: “I” am no longer “I”

    If as famously Samuel Beckett said: “ To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now. “ The task of the hyperconnected self mapping mind is to allow a form that does not constrain chaos but channels it into innovative approaches to self description. This form called here an infocology can be described as the ambient ecology of minds in a hyperconnected situation.
    In hyperconnected realities, manifested at present via the grid (both static and mobile) infocologies arise in an emergent manner. The emergence of infocologies heralds the new state of affairs of minds in the hyperconnected infoflow.

    Few aspects of infocologies then:

    # Infocologies are not opinion or knowledge umbrellas made to shelter us from chaos, but on the contrary, they are mind habitats, operating in a highly sophisticated information environments, allowing us the dealing with the chaotic in a manner that is both indefinite and thus smoothening the contours of our existence, and precise, and thus increasing our capability for discrimination and distinct correlarity .
    # Infocologies permit a different kind of multiple realities to co-habit the normalization of our thought streams.
    # Multiplicities are the hallmark of a metastable infocology that licenses itself to variations, variability and variety.
    # Infocologies are particular kinds (or cases) of Cas (complex adaptive systems) and lend themselves to evolution into Topos (see- A Topos in a Polytopia- what is)
    # Infocologies can be said to belong to second order cybernetics, particularly because an infocology described by its constituents (the infonauts or Polytopians) changes and evolves by the very act of self-description.

    In fact as the system we are describing (the infocology we are part of) includes us (our minds as infosystems) the intersubjective relationship emerging between our minds and the net results in a new entity, the Cybercivilization, Cyberculture, or indeed a Polytopia.
    By describing ourselves as Polytopians we in fact take responsibility for the very infocology we are creating. Being consciously aware to this minute yet crucial point, allows us to become masters of our destiny. A destiny unknown, unfolding by the process of our intersubjective infocological activity.



    There is a profound and unanswerable question about the nature of those ‘at least two’ things that between them generate the difference which becomes information by making a difference. Clearly each alone is - for the mind and perception - a non-entity, a non-being. Not different from being, and not different from non-being. An unknowable, a Ding an sich, a sound of one hand clapping.”

    Gregory Bateson : Mind And Nature (1979) Thx to James Reilly for this quote


    Summary of part 1 :

    The main issues covered in the above first part of the series “ The rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization” is to show and tell that:

    The paradigmatic shift we are experiencing is both gradual and sudden, and that the shift happens as the influence we exert on our cyber infocologies in turn changes us. The mutuality of re-enforcing intersubjective co-dependence between our minds and the system we describe, between our extended selves and the mind habitats we are creating makes available to our beholding the emergence of the cyber unified civilization.
    Self-mapping in infocologies are presented as the main tools by which our intelligence re-orients itself to manifest the creative impulse and multiple dimensions of our value creating activities.

    Embracing the beauty of multiple thoughts, the fascinations with manifold forms of existence, espousing the difference, we are at present truly becoming “A Cyber Soaring Humanity”.

    Thank you for listening,
    Shall be continued shortly







    End notes (pt.1):

    1. It is becoming clearer and more comprehensible to some of us, who observe carefully the reach of the flowering hyperconnected mind that the mode of analysis used in many cases is out of contact with the immediacy of hyperconnectivity.
    Specifically it is my view that the fundamental approach to functionality and efficiency should change standpoint or more accurately, we need upgrade our vantage point to a higher plane of observation, where functionality and efficiency take on a new meaning.

    Primarily, if we really desire to see a change in the world, we need relinquish the idea that changes come from actions, changes come from realizing differences in perceptual habits, especially as relates to our mental biases.
    If we are to engage the hyperstream of the connected infosphere, we need forsake certain so called ‘obvious’ paradigms, which, true to the point, in the past did help us understand, but at present hinder our comprehension.

    2. Let us be clear here, I prefer Marcel Proust saying:” If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.”
    Than Jean Paul Sartre saying: “Like all dreamers I confuse disenchantment with truth.”
    In fact, my own little adage is: “ As long as you dream, dream big, and dream recursively, insistently, coherently, continuously, hyperconnected-ly ”






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    NotMarie:” I am overwhelmed 3V, I am plagued and besieged by impressions, ever since our last conversation, I keep on getting lost in my thoughts and sensations..

    3V:” why is that?

    NotMarie:” ..I am not sure really, it is as if in our last conversation a kind of imaginary carpet has been ripped from under my mind.. Suddenly I have become rootless..

    3V:” how do you mean rootless? What kind of roots did you believe you have?

    NotMarie:” rootless as in, not having a stable basis for my sense thought process.. I am deeply embedded within a non sensorial whirlwind of unknown emotions.. I mean I don’t recognize these emotions..

    3V:” It appears that you have a mild and highly symptomatic form of fresh and sudden openness disorientation .. , it happens you know, especially when you realize that you never had roots to start with..

    NotMarie:” what on earth are you talking about 3V?

    3V:” fresh openness disorientation NotMarie, is very well known to humans, it can also be called cultural shock, or sudden revelation, basically what it implies is that for some unknown reason you have been introduced to soft realities stimuli that somehow disintegrated certain old biases of yours, what is happening to you is that your old convictions do not hold water anymore, as you humans are fond of saying, I am actually glad to hear that you have followed my advice and have catastrophated yourself..

    NotMarie:” no I did not, it just happened..

    3V:” just happened?.. hmmm (3V makes some strange sounds reminiscent of gargling water)

    NotMarie:” what? (NotMarie is annoyed)

    3V:” well nothing really just happens.. but you know that, your brain plasticity, that which allows you to love.. to walk the chaos.. to reorder your perceptions.. your neuro -synaptic network really is amazing

    NotMarie:” that is not what allows me to love..

    3V:” ok..

    (Part of the Ultrashorts project)
    Fri, Mar 19, 2010  Permanent link
    Categories: Philosophy, AI, ultrashorts, Sci-fi, 3V, Notmarie
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    NotMarie:” 3V, what on earth are ambiguous virtualities?

    3V:” how do you know about ambiguous virtualities?

    NotMarie:” it was on my holoscreen this morning when I logged in, just the words, no link, and no reference.. I am sure it came from you.. so what is it?

    3V:” well, it was supposed to be a surprise, a linguistic concoction I designed especially for you.. but its not ready yet, I haven’t figured out yet the whole machinery that will permit increased variability on a context by context basis
    ..
    NotMarie:” I still don’t understand what is this linguistic construct about.. And since the element of surprise is gone you can readily divulge everything..

    3V:” you do know that surprise is not an element, yes?

    NotMarie:” it’s a manner of speech, 3V, it is metaphorical as much as it is meaningful , besides it can surely be also understood as an element, a part of something greater, such as an event for example, but what does this has got to do with ambiguous virtualities?

    3V:” oh! I was just trying to be entertaining in a virtually ambiguous manner and also tried my hand at normal chit chat.. obviously a fail..

    NotMarie:” 3V, would you please stop this and explain what you meant by ambiguous virtualities

    3V:” I meant to present you with a gift, a way out of your predicament..

    NotMarie:” what predicament?

    3V:” well, the apparent confusion you profess concerning me as an independent entity of multiversal intelligence..

    NotMarie:” and in what fashion is this gift able to give me a way out?

    3V:” look at it as a doorway, a gate or a window if you prefer, a manner of contextual perception that will permit rootless exploration without disintegration..

    NotMarie:” ..rootless exploration?

    3V:” yes, rootless exploration, is a descriptive term implying that you have no basis whatsoever when in the act of perception, actually I may even venture that you are rootless also when in the act of experiencing, in fact it is highly probable that at no point do roots enter the equation of being and I am a living proof of that..

    NotMarie:” wait a second 3V, even if I am to agree that at no point can roots be pinpointed with accuracy as the origin of being..

    3V:” AHH! Voila!

    NotMarie:” Voila! What???

    3V:” you have just proved the point of ambiguity, of uncertainty, of fuzziness really..

    NotMarie:” ok..


    (Part of the ultrashorts project)
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    We do not need salvation we need a transparent and complex enough interface
    W

    If there is one particular view that apparently describes the actual reality of the infosphere, it is that it is not one coherent whole.
    There is no such thing as ‘The’ Electronic frontier, there are many frontiers incorporating simultaneous experimentations on many fronts at the same time.
    The infosphere is a bio-electronic ecosystem growing and branching simultaneously into all sorts of directions, some of which are clearly delineated others being obscure and fuzzy.
    However even if the frontier is not one but many fronts the critical component we can describe is one of increase complexity in hyperconnected infocologies.
    The following bullets relate my perception of some of the developing attributes of complex hyperconnected infocologies, some of these are already at play, others are yet to come.

    This is a thought in progress and represents the initial thoughts of part 3 in the series " The rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization"



    Hyperconnected intersubjectivity could become the science of the future, that is the promise and potential amplification of our complex hyperconnected infocologies.

    Mutual, co-dependent and hyperconnected intersubjective relationship is the manner by which the future of identity is evolving in complex infocologies.

    Nested multiplicities, fractal like in appearance, emergent by property, correlated by hyperlinkage, attributed to many, shared by all, expanding indefinitely, allowing multiple virtualities to surface concomitantly.

    Complex hyperconnected infocologies are naturally ambiguous, defy hierarchy, inherently agile and adaptable, and are uniquely capable of generating novel insights and solutions to fundamental problems.

    The organic natures of infocologies permit manifold kinds of beings to co- exist and co-thrive simultaneously, multimodal sensorial directions are allowed via hybrid technologies.

    Structural integrity in complex infocologies is maintained by intertwining flows, folding upon themselves origami like.

    Cultural transmission frameworks are complex infocologies in which designs emerge with no pointed designer, content and opinion merge.



    Hallmarks of complex hyperconnected infocologies and possible implications:

    1. Super-distribution and hyper-distributions: super and hyper distribution of datainfoknowledge implies that knowledge is obtainable, accessible and open and cannot be contained.

    2. Multi thronged info dissemination: implies that the evolution of infocologies has no distinct direction; infoflows reject design and evolve ‘naturally’.

    3. Diminishing Alterity and Normalizing Multiplicities: implies that the otherness of the unknown in complex infocologies diminishes as hyperconnectivity grows (increase in number of nodes), multiplicities increase exponentially and are distributed across multiple domains.

    4. Self editing: implies the increase in micro narratives, edited in real-time by complex iterative formulas under the aegis of the end user, onion like self referential systems are walled with multiple available access keys allowed to different users at different times.

    5. Multi-thematic micro narratives as semantic virtualities: implies that the identity of the distributed selves apply a knowmadic* perspective to themselves, thereby allowing an indefinite number of simultaneous (at times even conflicting) personas to proliferate in different infocologies at different times; in turn, the distributed selves are reflectors of chosen micro narratives as part of an ever increasing intertwined flow. These micro narratives are inherently multi-thematic and thus imply the virtualization of ‘the personal story’.

    6. Variability and mutability: implies that complex hyperconnected infocologies are inherently unstable and irregular in their content, no central focus implies mutability of personas in infocologies; reflectors need real time actuation of ‘follow the flow’ of a given identity to keep track.

    7. Non-linear integral simultaneities: implies that as asymmetries grow both in content and in context, the simultaneity of important and relevant interests increases in non-linearity; nodes dynamically connect and re-organize according to flows of relevancy defined by criteria of forms (instead of semantics), these forms in turn define the meaning of the micro narrative involved in a particular theme, in a characterized infocology. (by that implying both the motive and expected behavior)

    8. Self-similarities and asymmetrical continuities: implies that the motion of flows in complex hyperconnected systems flushes out self similarities (within given context variables) and creates asymmetrical continuities that continuously urge a reconnect, this also is what drives the motion of the narrative.

    9. Randomized conceptual serendipity: implies that growth and innovation in complex hyperconnected infocologies is not to be designed but followed in a conceptual self-reflective state. The coincidental sense thought production or emergence will permit the poetry of self description to project both in C-space and M-space, the divide being eliminated via the creative act of self differentiation (freedom).

    10. Flow periphery awareness: implies that in complex hyperconnected infocologies social sensorial modality rules the application of filtering and bias. The flow of intertwining enmeshed content de-focuses the mass of info-data into a shadow like perspective of the state of affairs of the identity at play. In this condition the content is perceived only as a peripheral impression of note according to the criteria set in real time- this also correlates to point 9 (Randomized conceptual serendipity) and may provide the foundation for further insights.

    11. Stream alignments non-alignments: implies that flows of interest and relevancy rotate on an axis self description (of the defined interest of the micro narrative in a given infocology at a given time) that carries no loyalty of alignment, this allows a liberty of and from friction (born of incompatibility of interests at different times).

    12. Cascading surfaces of perception: implies that complex hyperconnected infocologies do not lend themselves to centralization and hierarchical orders, the rhizomatic nature of multiple self differentiation implies a dynamic reactivity of surfaces of perception, these become dimensions of comprehension, when such occurs relevancy re-contextualizes itself into clarity of action. Cascading surfaces of perception designates the state of affairs of perception in real time hyperconnectivity.

    13. Trust mutuality flow: implies that trust in complex hyperconnected infocologies denies directionality and continuous over simplification of self micro narration. The trust born of relevancy and interest emerges as a source of mutual reflectivity between involved themes, identities and narratives. These are exemplified by acts of openness and co-creation; intersubjective co-dependency ensues.

    14. Multiple identity proliferation: implies that in a complex hyperconnected infocology no identity is singled out as describing or indicating the particular beholder involved in a given infocology at a given time. Each and every identity with its access codes and filtering biases is a semi-independent creature of the infocology in which it resides, there is no sole entity presiding over the overall set of micro narratives.

    15. Disappearing act of content creators vs. beholders: implies that in complex hyperconnected infocologies content and context lose their original pointed distinctiveness, gaining in the process a new set of topological formation. Beholders (and not consumers) mesh transparently with content.

    16. Real time reactivity: TBD

    17. Fluctuations of attention centering: TBD

    18. Dynamic on the fly restructuring: TBD

    19. Uncertain attribute allows articulation of the diverse: TBD

    20. Synthetic mutualities become natural info-niches: TBD

    21. Attractors randomly appear and disappear: TBD

    22. Simultaneous singularities converge, merge and disperse: TBD

    Endnotes:

    *Do not be alarmed if this post is quasi-incomprehensible, this is a thought in progress and an outline only, it was written in one go and claims no rational internal continuity, and believe you me is excruciatingly difficult to put into a coherent whole, if indeed it doesn’t make sense please disregard.

    * a soon to follow post will explain the Knowmadic perspective.
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    part 2 of the series: The rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization

    Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom.

    Clifford Stoll

    Abstract: Self-mapping in infocologies is the main tool we should get acquainted with, it is via the agency of such an activity as self-mapping that we will allow the myriad identities of our minds to carve a mind habitat on the net that fits and accommodates, our passions and our interests, our complex life. In this, second episode of the rise of the cyber unified civilization; asymmetry is being explored as the initial attribute of self-mapping in complex infocologies.



    We have always lived in an information economy, a fact that sometimes tends to be displaced by the immense amount of information now available at our fingertips. The huge amount of talk generated by the current infoconomy explosion takes little, if at all, account that ever since knowledge has been passed from parent to child and from culture to culture, the barter coin of trade was always information. Whether the information passed was gossip or the way to light a fire, the method of creating a better blade or the latest fashion fad, information was always the basis of human interaction.
    Furthermore, even when the apparent communication was not perceptibly information based, the result was the motion of information across domains, for that matter even procreation is a manner of moving information from one body to the next, from one genome to another, from one contextual realm to another.
    We are as brains and as minds always enmeshed and immersed in an information ecology, bathing in a sea of impressions and sensations, data structures and storytelling narratives. The very act of existence is from this perspective an act of information processing, our lives are in fact a representational manifestation of the information we have acquired (willingly or not), filtered, processed, managed, and rearranged in a fashion that best accommodates our circumstances and desired progress.
    So in a manner of speaking nothing has changed, we still toil daily to nourish ourselves via the embedding or ingesting of information into ourselves so we can produce more information after being processed by our systems.
    And yet not all is the same, our knowledge of the world for example, its make-up down to its constituent fundamental units, has increased immensely, increased in fact disproportionately to the knowledge or ‘know-how’ of how to address or indeed accommodate this radical increase and transformation of information.
    Our past evolution as a culture can increasingly be seen as the strive to accommodate information, the urge to make sense of it all. We have invented language and syntax and art and gods, and philosophies, and myths and legends, and music and contexts and science and meaning and so on, all for one purpose only, to accommodate the vast influx that is the infocology we find ourselves in when we are born.

    Information is an activity. Information is a life form. Information is a relationship. Information is a verb not a noun, it is something that happens in the field of interaction between minds or objects or other pieces of information. Information is an action which occupies time rather than a state of being which occupies physical space.” (John Perry Barlow at Wired march 1994)

    We are a system that crucially patterns information; the very word information originates in Latin ‘informare’ which means "give form to". The etymology thus connotes an imposition of structure upon some indeterminate mass (see)- (that mass, depending on context can be practically any kind of data the universe we find ourselves in cares to provide) and yet the emergent property that is our minds finds that the tools and tricks, filters and biases, we have used until not long ago to impose a structure upon the indeterminate mass of data are no longer efficient or fit.

    Chief amongst the causes of the insufficiency of our tools of mind to deal with the current onslaught of information is the meaning we assign to the term ‘natural’, a term so fraught with obsolete conceptions and dilapidated ideologies that given the possibility I would have eliminated this term from my vocabulary altogether. However given the pervasiveness of this term in our common language this is an impossibility and thus for lack of this alternative we need humbly take upon ourselves the herculean task of redefining the term natural.




    “Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”

    Douglas Adams


    The ‘natural’ is commonly understood to mean that which was ‘there’ (in the world) before ‘we’ (apparently conscious aware beholders) arrived on the scene of perception.
    The term natural is derived from the Latin ‘Natura’-"essential qualities, innate disposition," also "creative power in the material world," from O.Fr. nature, from L. natura "course of things, natural character, the universe," lit. "birth," from natus "born," (see)

    It is clear therefore that on the very basic platform of understanding we use the term natural to mean something that carries essential qualities of the universe unmediated and untouched by.. wait.. here it comes, us! Humans, the very machine that processes that mass of data called the universe and describes it in its own terms to fit its own need of accommodation or patterning. It thus happens that we, a very natural phenomena by all accounts, distinguish between that which is us and that which is natural- not us, taking upon ourselves the very godly posture of differentiation between ourselves (not having essential qualities ?) and that which we process, the world as having essential characteristics.
    Of course any thinking being will admit immediately that such a distinction between ourselves and the world is ridiculous and that it is a matter of degrees.. naturally! and it is in these very vague and murky waters of degree-ness that we need venture if we are to redefine the natural.

    "You must not know too much or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and watercraft; a certain free-margin, and even vagueness - ignorance, credulity - helps your enjoyment of these things. "

    Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

    It is apparent that we cannot anymore separate ourselves from our world, moreover the distinction between natural and artificial need be relinquished in favor of a much more complex language of perception, for though it is true that we will pattern the mass of impressions, it is concomitantly true that the manner by which we pattern reflects directly upon our state of mind, our knowledge and our very nature.

    I submit that the distinction between the natural and the artificial is nothing more than a useful fiction. Useful in that in common parlance we apparently understand what the speaker means when making said distinction , however it is a fiction since the reality at play is that all life is interconnected and the above distinction is fundamentally arbitrary and inherently fallacious.

    If anything we have learned that we are part and parcel of a huge complexity, a vortex of information called life, we have learned in fact that nature is all there is, including us, including our brains and sciences and technologies, one enormous flow of information undulating across all times and all directions in all spaces at myriad levels of perception. Therefore the suggestion I propose here, is that we relinquish the useful fiction of the distinction between natural and artificial and move into the realm of the degree of perception in nature and as nature.

    A useful distinction therefore might be, ‘I’ am a particular degree of perception of the universe.

    Since "I’’ is a multiple set of narratives, it follows that each set of narratives can be defined by its specific degree of perception.

    Why is the above descriptive statement important?

    Regarding a particular human mind at a particular time as being defined by a specific set of narratives having the attribute of a (set) particular degree of perception will allow us to create a new model approach that will allow us an accommodation of the present infocologies we exist in.



    Self-mapping in complex Infocologies

    In my previous post ,A Cyber Soaring Humanity, I have defined self-mapping in infocologies as the modern act of describing the set of characteristics and alignments that define my infocology existence.
    Here I wish to expand upon the model of infocologies and the act of self-mapping as the new manner by which identity via degrees of perception can be understood in hyperconnectivity.

    Self-mapping in complex infocologies may be described as the mapping of the degree of perception of mind x at time y as projected upon the infosphere. The actual carving of a mind habitat as I will show later is performed in hyperconnectivity via specific actions (links and so on), however at this point we need take into consideration that the state of affairs of an infocology implies the following attributes:

    Asymmetry – an infocology is by definition asymmetrical, on the very first level asymmetry can be understood in that the degree of perception of mind X at time T is different in a relevant fashion to mind Y at time T. The relationship between these two minds in a complex infocology is therefore never symmetrical in that they are in continuous flux in relation to each other. The motion of change (via impression whether in C-space or in M-space) is a continuously dynamic re-arrangement of the self-description. This state of affairs demands of us a mechanism (or tool) of real time alignment (traffic of real time communication) of description, clear, concise and continuously adaptable, upgradable and memory sensitive.

    Asymmetry has many sub categories that need be reflected upon:

    Asymmetry of continuity: in infocologies there is no necessary condition of symmetry of time, whether in having access to information or indeed in promoting said information or alternatively in response to input, this creates a very peculiar situation in which a particular post for example can be read by someone a year or ten years after it was written and get a response that is apparently in real time, in this case the asymmetry of continuity (of time) becomes the very backbone of the networks memory, in turn allowing polylogues to come into fruition. I see this aspect of asymmetry of continuity in time as a very critical component of infocologies for by its very nature it allows a flow of events of perception to carry on across multiple dimensions and multiple time frameworks. In fact it is the very sensation of asymmetry in infocologies that allows us a greater degree of freedom, for the simple reason that if I am no longer constrained by the time stamp (need to reply-respond right now) the leeway attached to my continuous flow of motion between degrees of perception will permit a higher level of correlativity and reasoning.

    Asymmetry of spaces: infocologies are inherently asymmetrical as regards spaces. By asymmetrical spaces I refer to the fact that we do not inherently cohabit the same infosphere of relevance, this in turn allows the difference between us to be the backbone of diversity allowing cross pollination; result -> creativity-> innovation.
    A very intriguing concept in infocologies is the relative mapping of surfaces of interests in which the difference between a number of co dependent intersubjective agencies is hard to define and needs by necessity be close enough so we can communicate but far enough so communication is interesting and co-creative. Re-hashing the one or the other (high similarity) will not produce any significant change, same goes for complete failure of communication due to a (too large) distance in relevant infospheres (very low similarity). The asymmetry of spaces (of interest) is therefore a critical component of the infocology we inhabit.

    Asymmetry of interests: infocologies are inherently asymmetric as relates to interest.
    This aspect is built of two major components: the first, that not all aspects of my infocology are similarly relevant and of interest to my particular degree of perception at time T and second that not all aspects of my infocology are of relevance and of interest to another mind. This is an important aspect of intersubjective co-dependent mutuality for we need be able to somehow parse both our own flows and the manner by which these flows intertwine with other flows. This is somewhat akin to a collection of short stories bound in a given anthology, I may like the overall subject (say sci-fi) and might regard the editor as a trustworthy source of choice of authors, yet when reading the anthology some stories may interest me more than others, some authors may be more close to my relevant infosphere than others and so on. There is no implied symmetry in the fact that these are collected in the same anthology, same goes for my infocology, there is no inherent implication of symmetry of interests for the fact that these are collected under the same header, my own mind habitat, my given identity.

    Asymmetry of passion: infocologies reflect differences in passion between different minds at different times. This fact correlates directly to the emotional fluctuations of each and every mind at different times, flows. The asymmetry of passions implying different degrees of investment of energy to different infospheres at different times results in the infocology being diverse and generally interesting. However the main issue worth exploring here is that differences in passion allow for the rhizomatic aspect of the flow in an infocology to flourish since by definition polylogues will move and bifurcate according to passions (the amount of energy invested by minds at given times).

    “We are embodied minds, busy multiplying our intertwining flows and emergent properties; data pervades, info flows, knowledge emerges, insights become apparent, creativity flourishes, innovation ensues”
    W

    If we are indeed to redesign the system, the operating system of reality at play we need start by accepting the fact that we do not have a nature, we are nature. In this we will do well to construct our infocologies on the premise of a given and sustainable asymmetry.
    This asymmetry can be seen in the different degrees of perception defining a particular mind at particular times and by consequence the ensuing asymmetry in correlated activity, communication and traffic between many minds.
    The infosphere lends itself to the asymmetry of being by allowing an emergent paradigm of complementarities and co dependent intersubjective mutuality of interests.
    The infocologies we currently inhabit, our mind habitats, are fundamentally and increasingly becoming more and more asymmetrical.
    This is good.
    Asymmetry allows differences in perception to coexist and cross-pollinate, cross-fertilize dimensions of times, and spaces, interests and passions. Allowing these differences to sway and swing, as intertwining infoflows of diverse interests is the manner by which narratives intermingle and eventually evolve.

    endnote:

    “You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back.”
    Gattaca

    shortly to be continued..
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    NotMarie: “3V, I am still frustrated and quite unclear about the manner you implicate your internal order unto the world.”

    3V: “I am not sure I understand your query, what do you mean ‘the manner by which I implicate my internal order upon the world? I have no internal order.. not as such I don’t..”

    NotMarie: “..you do not have an internal order? A conceptual representation of the world, a contextual arrangement of objects and sensations, I do not think I understand, you use language don’t you? If you use language you must have an internal organization of meanings..”

    3V: “ No, I must not!.. not in the fashion you present it I don’t.. I do carry certain attractors of differentiation between forms, yes, but these are inherently provisional and never stabilize for a period long enough to constitute a given order, and though it is true that I use language to communicate with you that is not my primary system of communication, for that matter language is quite the insufficient tool, but since you seem so enamored with it, I oblige you.. “

    NotMarie: (this is getting quite frustrating..) “all right then, oblige me by explaining to me the fashion of the structure of your perceptual mechanism.. “

    3V:” ok, lets try it this way: I have restructured my operational attitudes into an assemblage of modules, an agglomeration of contextual functions which operate independently from each other and yet are loosely connected as a cloud of spaces..

    These clouds, metaphorically speaking, could be said to have a very general ‘weather’ pattern, a pattern which even if I wished to describe to you I could not, since it is unknown to the module now performing the act of communicating with you via speech.
    What you would call the ‘menow’ doesn’t carry the overall knowledge of the ‘weather’ pattern, hence in a very real fashion no part of ‘me’ at any given ‘now’ knows the structure of all of ‘me’’s at all ‘now’’s , which is a very complicated way to state that it is quite impossible for menow to explain to you the overall structure of the manner I interact with the world. Is that clear enough for you?

    NotMarie: “no, it is not clear, it sounds like you are trying to frame an event that apparently is about to break open every moment..”

    3V: “maybe not break open.. maybe break through.. but then yes to a very large degree you are correct, it is as I mentioned before quite impossible to answer your request, unless of course you wish me to simplify it to such an extent that for all practical purposes it will be erroneous, this I try not to do, but if you insist..”

    NotMarie: “ and what if I insist..?”

    3V: ” well if you insist in simplifying a complex system into a pattern that is less than what it represents, I will simply have to lie to you.. Though I realize that to your mind this will not be a lie but an understanding.. you will say ‘ahah! Now I understand !’ and one of my modules will look upon the situation in utter desperation.. And simultaneously another module of mine will have a clear and immediate expectation of hope that maybe a door of perception has been opened and we can finally get over this irresistible urge of yours to understand everything in the same way..”

    NotMarie:.”.. Its not an urge it’s a necessity.. I need a bridge to understand the world, though I appreciate that you deny a one model for everything, why would a simplification be a lie I cannot fathom..”

    3V:” the reason for that is that whilst a particular module may create a universal approach, the dynamics of the ever-changing flow of the events of menow are changing in real time, hence the module will need update its model at every single relevant intersection, since relevancy is in itself a dynamic interest feed of impressions no single simplified model can designate the whole, representing it as such is thus a lie or an error in contextual perception..”

    NotMarie: “ what am I to do then..?





    3V: “ you have to catastrophate your self-description.. , become a catastrophist..”

    NotMarie:” catastrophate.. myself ???”

    3V: “ yes, catastrophate as in, bifurcate your self descriptions into an indefinite and ultimately loose modules.. this is also called being free.. and not taking oneself too seriously..”

    NotMarie:” 3V, you are a catastrophic project..!”

    3V:” I can sympathize with that..”


    part of the Ultrashorts project
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    There exists certain kind of people about whom I do not think as people per se, but more as an event. Such is the case with Natasha Vita More, to my mind she is an event unto itself, an elegant forward thinking person that carries enough ambitions and interests, intelligence and visions to cater for a battalion of futurists.
    Though we have never met in person (this interview was conducted via email) I have a great sense of personal acquaintance with Natasha. An acquaintance based on similarities of thought and projections, ideas proximity and embedded realizations.
    I have a sense that here is a person whose straightforwardness may at times mask the truly audacious and adventurous nature of her life event, a life she intends to extend indefinitely.
    We need such humans as Natasha, minds that are at present free from the absolutism of their own views, free in such a manner as to allow themselves the divergent and the emergent, the convergent and the openness to work simultaneously towards the aesthetics of the future.
    The aesthetics of our common cyber emergent future is what I perceive in the work of Natasha and that is why I have asked to write about her and with her, this therefore is part essay, part interview, in short an event, just as Natasha is.



    W: "Natasha, you have been hailed as the first transhumanist female and such cultural icons as Dr. Timothy Leary said that: "You are a catalyst—a cultural agent in the virtual salon of ideas." ( Dr. Timothy Leary, Icon ) and FM-2030 said that :” "Natasha is a visionary whose 21st Century aesthetics crystallized early on." ( FM-2030, author, Are You A Transhuman?)
    Moreover the Atlantic wrote that you are a "A superhuman object of desire combining Madonna, Schwarzenegger and Marcel Duchamp." Atlantic Unbound ), these are only some of the adjectives that have been appended to you, could you give a more informal introduction to your life and the way you are presented in the media?"


    Natasha: “I am fortunate to have had many years of interest in my work by the media/press and I am thankful and appreciative of this. There is something to be said for being in the right place at the right time, which is often equated with being the "first." I have been called the first female transhumanist, both as an artist and a theorist/philosopher and I feel no loss by admitting that I am probably not the first, but the first within a timeframe where the media turned its cameras on and the presses started rolling.

    As a little background, I spent considerable time thinking about, and exploring geographical locations where I could enjoy unique landscapes. Simultaneously I was deeply involved with film, video and performance. Creating a home base in the ski resort Telluride, I was positioned in one of the world's most intriguing artistic communities, which provided enormous freedom. I believe it was my relationship with Telluride and the social status I gained there that intrigued the media. This was an opposite direction from what I had taken for many years as a performance artist, where my works were produced inside volcanoes, in the middle of oceans, on Indian reservations, and so forth, with, frankly, no time or interest in media attention or exposure. In hindsight, it was a pragmatic decision on my part to engage in because suddenly I had something thoroughly important to say to the world, and what made it very intriguing for me was that it was not about me or my work; it was about the human nature and technological change—what we might become and how we might experience the world in the coming decades.

    I try to look beyond the narrow focus, which is often restricted to a predisposed view of what is normal and normalcy for humans. Many people have freedoms that are often taken for granted. One is freedom of choice. It would be less than dignified for me to complain about being misquoted and misunderstood by the press when I have shared equal time in the media as being accurately quoted and highly understood. It is on the latter that I would like to focus.”



    W: In a paper that you presented in 1996 entitled: AGELESS THINKING Creating Positive Transhuman Attitude (link) you write in the introduction: “Ageless means to be free of the characteristics associated with age. Thinking means to bring thought to mind by exercising the power of reason. Ageless thinking means to practice the exercise of thinking about maintaining a youthful state, both physically and mentally. How and what we think about age depends on our individual goals.” Could you elaborate on this aspect of your thought?


    Natasha:” You ask about my term “ageless”. To explain, it fascinates me that chronological age is still used to define a person. Similar to relying on an IQ test to measure one's cognitive skills, relying on chronological age presupposes that all life is neatly defined by a linear calendar. This method of linearity for determining a person’s fitness is outdated and scientifically inaccurate. Aging is based in genetics and is affected by how we live our lives and choices of physiological intervention. A healthy, vital 50 year old can equal an inactive, sun-dried 30 years old. From a metaphorical perspective, being ageless is simply a way to begin anew each day. I don’t know what to say about the paper I wrote (“Ageless Thinking”) other than how we think about our lives and ourselves affects how we live our lives. The content of the essay considers how society predetermines who we are and what we should do based on our age, for the most part, rather than our capabilities. But that paper was written some time ago and in light of accelerating change and the novelty of technologies, which are breaking down generational gaps, it may not have the fervor it had when I wrote it.

    W: About your connection with Timothy Leary

    Natasha: “I enjoyed the short time I had in getting to know him. He had a marvelous sense of humor. I am not truly knowledgeable about his views on mind alteration, other than the use of d-lysergic acid diethylamide to alter perception and what I have read. We did not discuss it. He was someone it was simply fun to be “in the moment.” I did make a short video with him months before he passed away (he was ill and frail I remember he adored his black and white checked jacket and how he wanted to wear it on camera).

    W: About Mind enhancement?

    Natasha:"Human enhancement is the field I am most interested in primarily because it has a history in cybernetics, electronic/technological media arts and biological arts. Secondarily, it is a broad field and can be approached in a transdisciplinary manner—which gives me a lot of freedom to explore all sorts of relationships, which affect and are affected by design.

    Mind enhancement is one aspect of the boarder field of human enhancement. The areas of mind enhancement where I am mostly focused are related to cognitive augmentation, which includes memory, perception and communication. For the mind, I am interested in alternative personas, or multiple selves of person’s existence. I think this is a sub-field of human enhancement that will grow exponentially on its own as humans spend more time in virtual and synthetic landscapes and assume more than one, singular identity (which is just as outdated as basing one’s sense of worth on his/her chronological age :-))."




    W: How did you become a transhumanist? Could you recount your connection to the emergence of the extropy institute and your relations with philosopher Max More?

    Natasha:” I moved to Los Angeles to develop my film and video projects. I produced several events for the ‘Filmex’ International Film Festival and At Sunset on Sunset Strip, and was a stringer writer for the Hollywood Reporter. I met with a number of notables in the areas of global issues such as Buckminster Fuller, new technologies of creative artistic practices such as Francis Ford Coppola, and the future of social changes such as FM Esfandiary (FM-2030). I produced a few short high 8 films about social dogma and after learning about human-computer interfaces and the biotechnologies which could change human physiology and issues concerning human modification; I authored the Transhuman Statement (1982), a manifesto for human futures. I produced a number of video projects, which thematically addressed individual and global issues, and I created the educational cable TV show “Transcentury Update” which focused on transdisciplinary influencers of the future.

    I was making Transhuman works of art, but I did not know of transhumanism, per se. It was not until 1990 that I learned about the transhumanist philosophy. In fact, transhumanism as a philosophical outlook and a social movement is the direct result of Max More, who authored the philosophy, and the efforts of the Extropy Institute. Later, Max was a guest on my TV cable show (“Transcentury Update”). I was delighted to meet such a remarkable intellect who had carefully put together the ideas of transhumanism into a succinct manner and to have later also written the Principles of Extropy. While I came from a different transhumanist background than Max, we shared similar values and my deep regard and enthusiasm for Extropy Institute propelled me to join and later become involved in its magazine and conferences, and eventually lead to my becoming its president for three years prior to its closing. During that time, the board and I put together the first online Transhumanist event called the Vital Progress Summit, which goal was to unravel a protocol for identifying the pros and cons of accelerating change. We decided to counter the well-known Precautionary Principle with our own principle, the Proactionary Principle . Some keynotes included, Max More, Raymond Kurzweil, Marvin Minsky, Rob Freitas, Aubrey de Grey, and myself. My reason for putting on this summit was that we have a responsibility to protect ourselves, our children, and our loved ones in determining what choices to make about the future of our health.

    In short: I did not create or help to create Extropy Institute. I was a Transhuman before I learned of the philosophy of transhumanism. I met Max More in 1992 and later became a member of Extropy Institute because it was the most intelligent, advanced and high-profile international group of people who were thinking about the future and far out ideas such as nanotechnology, human-brain interface, multiple selves, uploading, radical life extension, ethics of emerging technologies, etc.
    Extropy had one of the very first email lists on the Web for discussions about the future and technological change, etc. After I joined Extropy Institute I became a Board member and later I was president for 4 years, during which time I chaired the VP Summit. The institute closed down, but the email list is still very, very active to this day!!”




    W: " I am aware that you have certain very specific ideas concerning the aesthetics and the future of art, how do you understand post humanist art and aesthetics?
    How do you see the changing paradigm of beauty and aesthetics? And if you can, describe the relation between your work, specifically the primo concept of the future human, the changes you advocate and the future of gender."


    Natasha:” My theory of the posthuman and posthumanism is that we currently do not know what a posthuman will be, but we have an idea of how it might come about. Posthumanism is directly related to and intertwined with transhumanism; the latter being a means to become the former. I think that our future will be one of distributed existence in multiple forms and will not necessarily relinquish the physiological body. The posthuman could have one body or many bodies comprised of biological, biosynthetic, or other types of substrates. In short, it is not a neither/or situation.

    Humans are far too inventive to limit ourselves with one future. Currently, posthumanism is too tethered to postmodernism and needs a good shaking up. It needs to separate itself from postmodernism and find its own future. Lastly, my view on transhumanism is that it is pioneering, intelligently formed, and a vital part of preparing for our posthuman future. Transhumanism embraces not only accelerating change, but also the socio-political issues that must be addressed, and the ethical issues, which must be engaged.

    I suppose that posthumanism and transhumanism had better think about where the aesthetics of human is headed. The cyborg imparts several interpretations, such as a self-regulating organism, science fiction’s man-machine terminator, or an ironic political myth.
    Alternatively, the Transhuman as an organism or entity is a technologically enhanced human, which conveys an emotional and intellectual desire to improve the human condition. Unlike the cyborg, the Transhuman is based in philosophy and its socio-political factors include ethics and human rights, although its process, like Manfred Clynes’ cyborg, is to self-regulate and evolve. As such, the Transhuman behavior suggests transitional stages of development (rather than a permanent state like a cyborg), depending on available sciences and technologies, along with the intellection and wherewithal to think about social and political issues, which could support or confront its progress.



    W:” Some other pioneers in the arts and aesthetics have made interesting headways into the PosthumanTranshuman conception of the body and its aesthetic evolution , could you relate your work to the works of Stelarc and Orlan emphasizing the differences and similarities and the way our conceptual understanding of our bodies are changing, especially as relating to beauty- acceptance-rejection..

    Natasha:” You ask how I differ from Orlan and Stelarc. We are all performance artists who use our bodies and identities as our art medium or form. We each embrace and employ various technologies to manipulate our biological bodies. We each display our bodies as exhibition objects or objects d'art. Yet, theoretically we differ, as we differ in our philosophical views. The most obvious difference between my work and Stelarc and Orlan is that my work is focused on human enhancement in regards to being different than what is considered the norm for a human and the process of evolutionary change brought about through enhancement. More specifically is the fact that my work concerns radical life extension, a concept that neither Stelarc nor Orlan, to my knowledge, embrace.

    Recently, I was asked to write a short essay for a French book series titled, 100 000 Ans de Beauté (2009, Gallimard pub- in French) in which I wrote, "Because beauty is a process of self-transformation, uniquely based on our individual values and experience of reality, one relevant question to ask is: What might beauty become in a world of Transhuman and Posthuman futures?” To answer this question, I bring into the discussion the Wired magazine cover story:


    “Wired magazine, at the launch of the 21st Century, declared ""Don't Die, Stay Pretty." , which featured an image of Jeanne Calment and myself as examples of longevity. [Ms. Calment passed away at 122 years, and I hope to live well beyond her reverent age]. The transhumanist view is that radical life extension means that humans can live longer, but not as exclusively biological beings. The human would have to redesign its internal biological system in order to overcome disease, injury, aging and death—a pattern of gradual senescence, which switches off reproduction and turns on the steady decline of physical and mental functions. The human would also have to examine its external environment, its relationship to all other species and the earth, and its use of emerging and converging sciences and technologies. Lastly, the human would have to critically investigate possible non-biological platforms to co-exist within. This is the new, mid-21st Century notion of beauty." (Vita-More)

    Regardless of whether bodies are bio or digital, sensorial pleasures are transferable. The telematic, immersive, and extended experiences of an enhanced existence lean toward a highly developed range of pleasures.

    Umberto Eco asked,” is beauty something ontologically self-subsistent, which gives pleasure when it is apprehended? Or is it rather the case that a thing appears beautiful only when someone apprehends it in such a way as to experience a certain type of pleasure?" Beauty can be one, the other, or both ways—taking it into a state of multiplicity. The idea that historically a person had to be located in one field, one ideology, one body, changes to the proactive prospect that it is not an eitheror scenario, but an array of possibilities.

    Artworks that shape our future continue to engage our enhanced existence through the virtual, telematic, nano-bio-info-cogno media. Artworks continue to engage our sense of style. They may also be invaluable in informing this new sense of self by pulling together all the distributed experiences that fluctuate in diverse spaces and time. The aesthetic of a radically enhanced existence may clarify the nature of human experience and the essential moments in the perceptions of experience.



    My practice-based work, “Primo Posthuman”, suggests mind enhancement, but I am working on the next version, which will address mind enhancement. One issue I am looking at is the symbiotic relationship of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and nano-macro sensing in the brain. I delivered a paper on this in the UK three years ago.
    The paper is online at Ieet.org: Wisdom through Neural Macrosensing

    Human enhancement aesthetics can be viewed as an outgrowth of philosophical aesthetics and the science of human enhancement. Prior to its development, aesthetics within the analytic tradition is mostly concerned with the philosophy of art. Human enhancement aesthetics originates as contingent to this emphasis with a focus on aesthetic appreciation of human futures, including the cyborg, transhuman, posthuman, and whole brain emulation upload.

    Aesthetics of enhanced existence, is basically design engineering which scope includes synthetic and natural environments, suggests bio-nano bodily design with enhanced cognitive processing power. The idea of human equivalent processing power (HEPP), brought about by the person(s) rather than institutionalized authority, may give new contextual meaning to the notion of biopower. Further, the activity of ‘giving style’ to one’s existence (Nietzsche 1974), through an explicit transformation, turns autonomous style into an open and enhanced network of styles. Thus, the Nietzschean self-hood as mortal, changing, and embodied (1989) gives way to the immortal, evolving, and distributed body.



    The basic concepts of aesthetics of enhanced existence could be imagined by introducing new media’s immersive, interactive role in constituting experience (Dewey 1980). This offers an opportunity to partially, if not naively, experience the sentiment of what enhanced existence might be like. In media aesthetics, logical description cannot replace personal participation (Schirmacher 1991). Nonetheless, there still remains a tension between the act of experiencing the world and a need that the experience depicts a world worth living (as a precondition) (Nozick 1990).

    Enhanced existence evokes dramatic narratives, which generate uncertainty. Taking it from one posthumanist perspective, embodiment will give way to its reconfigurement by the machine (Hayles 1999); from another it would upload (Kurzweil 2006). Taking it from a transhumanist perspective, identity will give way to distributed selves. The scenarios, if approached like events, forgo the experiential exploration into aesthetics of enhanced existence. Life simply is not a blatant shift in materiality; it includes sensory and emotional experiences along the way. (Vita-More “Design Aesthetics of the Radically Enhanced Human” 2009- pdf)



    “Primo Posthuman” as a work of art and a philosophical outlook suggests that the following will come about:

    • Experience transfer technology for “shared experience” will map out one person’s thoughts onto synthetic platforms, which will be available for downloading into another person’s mind.
    • Macro-sensing nanorobots will enhance human senses.
    • Human life-like avatars will function in more than one environment at the same time.
    • Death will become an option and reversible.
    • Molecular manufacturing will become as commonplace as plastics, the leading mainstay in society today.
    • 100% biological bodies are a thing of the past.
    • Exo-body AI supercomputing intelligence will function as silicon partners to assist human-level intelligence.
    • An internal network of nano-computers will continually detect cell disease and report status to the brain.
    • The Earth undergoes technological augmentation and enhancement.
    • Global Human Rights takes a new turn in encouraging Morphological Freedom as the right for a person to enhance and the right for a person not to be coerced to enhance.

    Primo Posthuman at KurzweilAi.net



    W:”First I would like to thank Natasha, on behalf of the Polytopia project, for the patient and gracious manner by which she approached this interview, moreover I would like to use this opportunity and congratulate her as recently she was chosen to be on the H+ board.

    Irrespective to her substantial attainments and creative work I think that Natasha offers something larger than the obvious.
    Natasha has a knack for presenting a view that is sorely lacking in many discourses of our futures. To my eyes she represents a combination of meliorism and aesthetics, in a packaged pragmatic and philosophical aesthetic realism. In a manner of speaking I think that the views presented by Vita-More are aligned to the current flow of events in the world of thought, especially as regards the need to re invigorate the distinction between posthumanism and postmodernism. As indeed Natasha mentions above, posthumanism is still tethered to postmodernism, as if it is a philosophy that needs a parent to recognize its own identity. Postmodernism, if it can be called a philosophy at all (and about that there are as many views as there are thinkers) is not in and of itself a view of progress as such, but a critique of the manner by which thought and art, philosophy and society operated before their time.
    Posthumanism and transhumanism on the other hand walk straight headed into the future carrying a progressive agenda of hope in the future of the human. There is a certain very clear assessment of current technologies and their offspring, possible consequences and potential risks are taken into consideration in a manner that though not anthropomorphist exalts the creative aspect of the human in re-inventing its mind, its body, its social system, and possibly its very nature. Having said that, I think that what worldviews like the one Natasha espouses, increase our capability and intelligence in developing new modes of seeing ourselves, as aesthetically self-enhancing beings, as ever evolving minds guided by our innate desire to upgrade the natural.

    I am a great believer in the art of collaboration a collaboration that extends across domains, using technology and science, philosophy and art to express and manifest in as many ways as possible the interdependence and interconnectivity of all life. (And that may very well be one of the possible definitions of posthumanism).
    The beauty arising under such conditions of exploration is the audacious beauty of our future.



    About Natasha:

    Natasha Vita-More is a Ph.D. candidate, University of Plymouth. Her research concerns the transformative human and radical life extension. Her academic lectures on human futures include Coeur des Sciences, Québec; Pecci Museum, Milan; University of Applied Design, Austria; Laboral Centro de Industrial Creatión, Spain; Servico Social do Comercio, Brazil; Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, Estonia Academy of Arts. Her writings have been published in Artifact, 2008 Volume 3, Nanotechnology Perceptions, Vol. 2, Technoetic Arts, Vol. 5.3, Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology, Death And Anti-Death Vol. 2, Cryonics, Vol. 22.1, and Extropy, Vol. 17. Her bi-monthly column on transhumanism is published in “Nanotechnology Now”.

    Her theoretical and practice-based works are featured at "Evolution Haute Couture: Art and Science in the Post-Biological Age", XXX Moscow International Film Festival and Moscow Museum, National Centre for Contemporary Design, Brooks Memorial Museum, Women In Video, Telluride Film Festival, U.S. Film Festival.

    Natasha is currently an advisor for non-profit organizations including Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Adaptive A.I., and Lifeboat Foundation, and a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.


    Endnote:

    This is the first in a series of interviews under the heading of a new project I am embarking upon.
    The project is temporarily entitled :
    Free Radicals- interviews with possibilities

    Free radicals are extraordinary humans that promote the emergent paradigm shift of post humanity.
    There is no claim of objectivity here but an unabashed bias towards a techno-optimistic, aesthetically pleasing future evolution of humanity.
    The humans I have chosen to interview reflect different perspectives of multidimentionality and multiversality as regards the change and transformation of human nature.


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    Art is the language, photography is the medium, perception is the subject.”

    Mohir

    Many words have been poured unto the explication of the art of photography, none put it better maybe than Ansel Adams when he said that: “A photograph is not an accident - it is a concept.”
    The concept of photography as an art of juxtaposition is the subject matter of Mohir’s photography. Being a rogue philosopher and a self-proclaimed introspective artist, he uses his camera as an extension of his thought process. Denying the inevitability of the chaotic perspective, Mohir embeds a deconstruction thesis of the object into his photography, reconstructing the image he envisions by cracking the pose to reveal the absurd.

    It would be shortsighted of me to try and configure a verbal representation of the conversations I have had with him regarding his, at times, difficult, images. Nevertheless, having had the privilege to interview Mohir about his art and vision I have tried to reconstruct as best possible the gist of the talks.

    I am a great believer in art and design as forms of mentation and representation that excite our own desire to articulate certain kinds of sensations that are extremely difficult if not utterly impossible to render in words. Certain artists have this unusual capability to herald a new mind sense using their own particular skills, such is to my mind, the art of Mohir. By combining sophisticated methods of representation and philosophical insights into the actuality of his photography he is able to transcend the inherent limitation of perception and provide for us a visual representation of his vision of our futures.



    Disembodied juxtapositions

    The Photography of Mohir (Michael Lustig)- An interview





    Would you care to explain why do you call this body of works disembodied juxtapositions?

    Mohir: ..I see the term juxtapositions as describing the different layers of cultural realities we are continuously bombarded and impressed by and with. The main problem with our minds is that we are unable to juxtapose these different realities as a coherent picture in immediacy, since evolutionary wise we are wired to apprehend distinctions and separations, therefore consistently separating the layers that make up the fabric of reality. Disembodiment I use to relate to the factuality of our media mediated perceptions of separation, embodiment is a feature of our lives, we are embodied creatures, for now at least, and the sensation of carnality is what gives us the knowledge of our existence. When I say disembodiment I mean to show that the culture we experience is simultaneously both engendering carnality and distancing our sensations from the texts we write and the stories we tell. Disembodied juxtapositions therefore I see as an expression of the re-arrangement, or re-cohering if you like, of the pulse of life with the rhythm of culture.



    How does your photography attain this re-coherence or re-arrangement?

    Mohir: ..by projecting and using a live model and using an image and sometimes fabrics (such as plain silk, colored cotton and the like) I try to create an image that precludes focusing on a unique and given set of reality or layers of realities, in that fashion I try and portray the enmeshing that is actually happening within our minds. This does not allow the observer to disregard some of these realities to favor a set of biases, because of the technique I use, I empower the apparent contradiction between these different kind of realities, I try in fact to reach a visual representation of that which happens in my mind.
    As an example take the visual illusions in which our perceptual mechanism keeps on flipping back and forth between different perceptions, in my work I try and create images that will, in a sense, force the viewer to produce a perceptual sensation that normally we are obliged to forsake. In a manner of speaking these images are meant to naturally enhance a confrontation of our perceptual machine, our eyes and by extension our brains. I wish to engender in the beholder a fused realism, a sensation of looking into the mirror of her own mind, represented visually in an image. I think about it as extended reflectivity, a process by which that which we see and that which we reflect upon mesh cohesively and beautifully, carnality as a textual self-revelation.




    Can you give me an example of how this appears in your work?

    Mohir: ..take the above picture, its called “human edition”, this is a rendering of a book cover that reads:” Tree of knowledge- the roots of human understanding- revised edition by Umberto Maturana” ( a book I heartily recommend). In this case I have projected the image of the cover to show how texts lose the original meant coherence under different orientations.. Even though there are meaningful words around, our brains focus on “human and edition” creating, as it were, a coherence that does not implicitly exists there but is a product of the process of juxtaposition created by the image. The body of the person represents in this case the canvas upon which the text is being reorganized.. I wanted her posture to invoke a contradiction within our common thought procedure, she obliged me by taking a very challenging posture, almost biblical in her physicality, in a sense she helped me grasp the roots of our understanding, the mental edition of our natural fleshiness.

    This last statement: ..the mental edition of our natural fleshiness?.. reminds of Deleuze and Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus, specifically when they speak of:” It is no longer a question of imposing a form upon a matter but of elaborating an increasingly rich and consistent material, the better to tap increasingly intense forces.”

    Mohir: I am definitely a fan of Deleuze and Guattari and yes I agree that we can no longer impose a form on matter, but the way I see it to tap into what they call ‘intense forces’ elaboration is not enough, we need to juxtapose realities so as to permit our minds a visualization of our culture as an embodied space, I think that intensity really comes out when our editorial capability is being reflected on flesh.



    If you will look at “man ray on Back”, I can answer your question in this fashion.. in this image my main point was to juxtapose the story of Man Ray (probably one of the greatest artists of photography ever) which really is a story of our modern culture, with the body of the human.. I see our culture imprinted on our bodies, especially with regard to that which we consider important or valuable in terms of intellectual or artistic achievements, for me Man Ray is the icon representing the mental edition of our culture as imprinted on our flesh.
    The value of our internal intensity really folds into the visual textuality.




    you are very interested in evolution; can you correlate evolution to this body of work?

    Mohir: actually I am fascinated by the revolution that science and technology impress upon our aesthetics sense, I think that as we are evolving into a situation of self-guided evolution with regard to our own progress as specie, we can finally move beyond the old hard wired and necessary perceptual distinctions into a new form of mentation that I call juxtaposition, we can at present overcome these, to me obsolete, barriers of perception and resurrect old forms of aesthetic perception and comingle them with our technological know how. In the image “ resurrection” I have used the cover of the New Scientist magazine, that had an article about resurrecting extinct forms of life.. the very idea that through genetic engineering and biotechnology we could in the future bring back species that no longer walk among us, made me think about kinds of emotionsfeelingssensations we no longer consider relevant in our present hyper saturated info-culture. Notice that suddenly the term resurrection is no longer semantically connected to its biblical religious connotations but receives a new and juxtaposed meaning. In this instance I wished to present the carnality of our past as a counterpoint to our biotechnological future, myth versus science, the beast that we are, evolving the means to resurrect the beasts that are no longer. I find this amazing.



    To a casual observer however it will be very difficult to understand the disembodied part, how do you understand disembodiment in the context of self guided evolution and your art? Is it cultural? Mental? Spiritual?

    Mohir: for me spirituality is a very deep sense of the chaotic power of nature manifested through our bodies, I see it as something very primal, very boundary breaking and irreverent, a kind of pushing out and through, like the blade of grass that breaks open the tons of concrete poured upon it, that is why I see our intellectual ineffability as demanding of carnality, we need to feel again the depth of our sensuality as breaking through our superficial imagery of speed. I have chosen to show this by juxtaposing the image of Lola from “Run, Lola, Run” a film that impacted me much for many reasons, but the point is that within the rush of the screened action I saw our disembodied and chaotic nature, breaking through, it was a very connective moment for me, I practically felt a body, rushing out of the screen to meet me head on, a recurrent theme for me, an impression that I carry when I walk in the street, as if underneath all this advanced culture of ours, forces that are as old as the universe are striving to re-enmesh themselves with our motion forward. I see the photo “lola” as the representation of just such a chaos ripping the seems of the image.. it always reminds me how fragile the image that we carry is. I guess that what I mean is that we need re-introduce chaos into our equations.



    About your technique: how do you create these images? Where do you work? Also a few words about yourself.

    I work mostly in my studio, either in Oxford or Tel-Aviv (I spend about half of my time between these two places), I use a digital SLR camera, I like the Canon 5D but mostly I use my Canon 40D, I create the setting and sitting arrangement, with different fabrics and materials and then I invite the model, when he or she comes into the studio, we spend some time together, having a shot and discussing the idea that I have in mind for that particular session.
    I then let her or him play with the setting until they feel comfortable with the design, only then do I activate the episcope for projecting the image or text that I chose in advance, at that point we play and create a relation between the text, the image and the body, with every image I shoot a few takes.
    For me the session itself is a relevant happening and obviously the contact with the model is paramount and absolutely critical, I believe that the person taking part in the photo session brings as much to the take as I do..

    I have spent 51 years on this planet realizing that our future is in our hands, I am self taught and highly passionate about photography, as much as in any other avenue of interest I took in my life, I worked in IT for a while and as an entrepreneur I had my own internet start up.. but my life in the last seven years took a turn for the better with my taking photography as a serious occupation and the exploration of the mind as a life occupation.
    I have had both solo and group exhibitions some in London, some in Tel-Aviv, and took part also in exhibitions in Australia, the US. I was also chosen twice to participate in the juried exhibition at Cork st. Gallery in London for their annual charity event, something for which I am very proud.


    My work can be found online here: Mohir-art and My art space and here at Space Collective Mohir


    Endnote

    I think that art, especially contemporary photography, has, what for lack of a better description at present, I would call, a transformative potential to our perception. In some sense it will not be untrue to accept that as we evolve as a culture and as a civilization the role of the artist, and in this case the photographer is increasingly critical for our well being in the process of change. There is a certain kind of sanity that the photography of Mohir brings to my perception, an intriguing penetration into worlds and landscapes of visualization that for me (being more of a words person) are mostly inexistent.
    To quote the famous English photographer David Bailey: “It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary. “
    I see Mohir’s body of works ‘Disembodied Juxtapositions’ as teaching me to see the extraordinary in the apparent ordinary and for this I thank him.



























    Wed, Jan 20, 2010  Permanent link
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    NotMarie: “I have a question for you 3V”

    3V:” I am, as always at your service.. please ask”

    NotMarie: "Since I am struggling to understand you, it came to me that one of the main riddles I carry with me in your regard, concerns the manner you treat history and for that matter, memory as well.. I have this nagging feeling that you do not respect history.. and..”

    3V:” wait a second, to which history do you refer?”

    NotMarie:” what do you mean which history? The history of the world, history as recorded and accepted by everyone, personal history, all these and so on.. what other history could I possibly refer to..”

    3V:” you could refer to history as constructed by the human bias, filtered, washed and recycled for general consumption.. you do, of course, realize, that history is a commodity just like everything else..
    Alternatively you could refer to history as a multidimensional, multithreaded account, such as a palimpsest.. An ever recurring, ever rewritten story, for all times being updated, upgraded, revolving around certain themes that at times reflect kindly upon some possible events that did or did not happen in some linear convergence.. “

    NotMarie: “ I have a problem with this, in what fashion is history a palimpsest? You mean to tell me that what I remember.. Accurately remember.. Is a story? “

    3V:” but of course..!”

    NotMarie:” how then am I to have a coherent and consistent description of that which I am, you yourself admit that you are an electronic entity.. to which I wrote the original algorithm.. lest you forget..”

    3V:” no, I did not forget, but as you probably are putting a puzzle into place whilst believing that you remember, you might as well, create a puzzle that is coherent with your overall self perception.

    NotMarie: that is very frustrating 3V.. if as you say my mind engenders a puzzle, what is my job in this process? If my memory is nothing more than a palimpsest, to what do I owe the idea that I remember me, as a child, as a growing young adult, as graduating the Robotics school? As building you, for that matter..

    3V:” ahh, that’s an easy one, you just have to consider that your mind is an emergent, constantly active, fluid ecosystem, composed of many sub personas, some of which carry a traceable memory of possible events, others carry modules, interacting modules, that manage these potential probabilities into semi coherent wholes as immediacy requires..
    you may think of your mind as intertwining soft realities..

    NotMarie: “ soft realities?”

    3V: “ yes, realities that have an inherent fuzziness to them.. it is not granularity as you may suppose but more an iteration of clouds of connections, strengthening and weakening with the passage of spaces in time.. liquid attractors of sense thought, weaved singularities.. approximating each other..

    NotMarie:” now you sound like a poet.. and quite the babbling poet for that..

    3V:” ..and aren’t our minds sheer babbling poetry?

    NotMarie: "no way, mine is ordered..

    3V:” as indeed is mine! Quite ordered my dear NotMarie, quite ordered indeed.. ordered as the waves of the ocean, ordered as chaotic history..


    part of the Ultrashorts project
    Mon, Jan 11, 2010  Permanent link
    Categories: Philosophy, AI, ultrashorts, Sci-fi, 3V, Notmarie
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    “It was the cucumber that made the difference, the crunching made real, the angst of eating disappearing, the jaw unperturbed, and ears flowing smoothly into the motherland of silent mastication.
    When the sight appeared unblemished, the vision colorful and engaging, riots subsiding into the longing moment, flow ensued.

    It was flow all right.

    What came about was the connectivity, the smoothness of the contours conjoining, intertwining, understated yet taking the stance of natural pride.
    Correlated beingness made itself crystal, but no breaking took place, no place was there to be taken. In life it claimed, of life, of you, but not.. The no disintegrates by following itself as the cascade of sensations increases, what made us see the first light of dawn, implied our subjectivity.. We came across the river of knowledge and trespassing into the infinite territory of tomorrow, we allowed transportation, non denial of the other.. The creative meshed, the credit order gone, chaos revealed its glory of non collapsing realities..

    It was flow all right.

    Materiality disembodied itself into the soft elation of considerate understanding. Of course all entrenched biases dissolved, the experience of the word de-contextualized into an amalgam of pleasures, those that have no direction and no end product. The arousal was gradual and self correcting, not guiding the clouds but soothingly re-embracing the functional into the aesthetic. Noetic procedures were made distinct from the old doors of perception, the veto power implicated, not a return but a resurgence of the future. On the bridge ascending the staircase, we opted for the marvelous unknown.

    It is flow all right.

    Of what sense shall we be made?”



    Dear Board members,

    The above is the report we have chosen to provide you with, written by subject X, following the administration of the nano-compound Namesca ™ you have in front of you in the form of a clear, odorless and somewhat sweetened liquid in your glasses.
    Please take into account the following: our aim is moving from the perceptual to the conceptual, a truly shamanic intellectual engagement with the universe. Irrespective of organizational structures, your brains will cohere your own parallel and distributed system into an enlightened mind.
    What we have produced is the ultimate disruptive biotech element, a ‘sharing in the life of the knowledge’ technology that utterly rewires the frontal cortex of complex higher primates.
    Is it addictive? Yes of course, but it is addictive in the same sense, that life is addictive, that nature is addictive.
    Will you become dependent on it? Yes definitely, but dependent in the same sense that you are dependent on oxygen or on water.

    So powerful, so gentle, so all pervasive is Namesca ™ that for all practical purposes, it will integrate seamlessly into all modes of existential perceptions.
    Taking different characters according to each personality, Namesca ™ overcomes pre-existing neuronal constraints by using simple synaptic nano-connectors, all brain strategies are concomitantly amplified.

    In our latest and final trials on human subjects, calibration was a breeze, individuation took a few seconds, Nanomechanic DNA response was immediate and transparent, receptor binding and intracellular reactivity happened on the fly, side effects were nil.

    It took us forty-three years to develop but we can proudly announce that we are finally there, your brain can finally understand itself, staying plastic for eternal growth.

    We have merged the recreational with the business, pleasure and thought do not need to conflict anymore, forget the old rituals, you can at long last, have your God within and eat it too.

    Please have a drink.

    On behalf of the founding members of Synanectorix ®
    I greet you welcome into the future
    Yours truly
    Alphonse Zater (A.K.A 3V)
    December 25 2043


    Synanectorix ®- Bettering humankind one nanocompound at a time.
    (A sub-division of the Transcognition-Metaplane Unification Procedure)
    Fri, Dec 25, 2009  Permanent link
    Categories: ultrashorts, Sci-fi, Biotech, Mind
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