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[NJW2000]

Come the apocalypse, we know who will fix the lawnmowers, then.

[itisnotlogical]

I can't even bring myself to look at my old Linux netbook anymore. The battery holds maybe twenty minutes of charge, the charger itself barely works, the webcam has been unusable since it was new, and one of the hinges has been broken and since replaced so it's missing the shiny plastic cover.

My tablet also has the same battery issues, a fairly obvious scratch, and a flock of dead pixels.

[SirQuiamus]

"Thou shalt not lie with a machine as with a human; it is an abomination."
–The Holy Bible

Say no to abomination! Say no to Planned Parenthood! Say no to cybernetic machine-human hybrids!

[Bauglir]

I only got rid of my old cell phone when the battery degraded to the point that it couldn't stay on long enough to dial a number while plugged in.

[i2amroy]

He is a transhumanist, though. And that's several orders of magnitude worse than creationist in terms of religious bugnuttery.

Hmmm, thinking about it now we really need a term to differentiate between "transhumanist (extreme religious nut who just replaced 'god' with 'AI')" and "transhumanist (scientific forecaster/theorist)", because the two really are vastly different, one's busy essentially preaching a modified version of the rapture to those who will listen, while the other one is actually taking steps in the realm of technology towards end-goals. (Which is, of course, not to say that there isn't any crossover; after all people can certainly be a evangelical believer that the rapture is going to come and "fix all the world's problems" while still working for the WHO or something and taking real steps to fix them ).

[Rolan7]

Typing that out was a wake-up call, I've got it mostly open now.  Going to check on the fan, see if I need to order a replacement.  Not going to keep running it into the ground, it...  *really* doesn't deserve that.  Not going to toss it, either, until I do what I can for it.

[scrdest]

He is a transhumanist, though. And that's several orders of magnitude worse than creationist in terms of religious bugnuttery.

Hmmm, thinking about it now we really need a term to differentiate between "transhumanist (extreme religious nut who just replaced 'god' with 'AI')" and "transhumanist (scientific forecaster/theorist)", because the two really are vastly different, one's busy essentially preaching a modified version of the rapture to those who will listen, while the other one is actually taking steps in the realm of technology towards end-goals. (Which is, of course, not to say that there isn't any crossover; after all people can certainly be a evangelical believer that the rapture is going to come and "fix all the world's problems" while still working for the WHO or something and taking real steps to fix them ).

The main problem is that nuts don't want to be labeled as nuts, so they will co-opt any designation for non-barking variety, and the cycle begins anew. And as a random trivia, there was a term for the forecaster type, though it sounds kinda quaint nowadays: 'futurologist'.

[Egan_BW]

"Thou shalt not lie with a machine as with a human; it is an abomination."
–The Holy Bible

Say no to abomination! Say no to Planned Parenthood! Say no to cybernetic machine-human hybrids!

*Egan_BW buzzes angrily in binary.

[Rolan7]

"Thou shalt not lie with a machine as with a human; it is an abomination."
–The Holy Bible

Say no to abomination! Say no to Planned Parenthood! Say no to cybernetic machine-human hybrids!

"Your faction is no longer relevant."
- Prime Function Aki Zeta-5

[Amperzand]

Uh sorry, I know this one's a bit weird.  But that's what the thread's for, right?

So basically, you have a good description of my laptop? :V

[SirQuiamus]

...one's busy essentially preaching a modified version of the rapture to those who will listen, while the other one is actually taking steps in the realm of technology towards end-goals.

We already have a perfectly good term for the latter type of person: scientist. Being a self-identified "transhumanist" is not mutually exclusive with being an actual researcher with a workable research program, but unfortunately the most influential "transhumanists" – such as Kurzweil, Bostrom, Yudkowsky, and the aforementioned David Pearce, to name but a few – are exclusively of the former type.

[Yoink]

My old laptop had no battery and the screen wound up breaking down the middle, the one before that had a disc drive that would fall out on occasion and power off the computer if it slid back in. Most of these problems (and others) were my fault, but oh well.
I've been nicer to this one, so far, even if it is a bit... less good than the others.


Anyway, my own WTF: I'm cooking pasta at quarter past six (or seven in DST) in the morning. What is wrong with me?

[i2amroy]

We already have a perfectly good term for the latter type of person: scientist. Being a self-identified "transhumanist" is not mutually exclusive with being an actual researcher with a workable research program, but unfortunately the most influential "transhumanists" – such as Kurzweil, Bostrom, Yudkowsky, and the aforementioned David Pearce, to name but a few – are exclusively of the former type.

Scientist is more like a profession title, it's the level more general than something I'd be looking for. It's like the difference between saying that you are a "philosopher" and saying that you are a "Nihilist". Saying that you are a nihilist carries direct connotations about what ideals in the realm of philosophy that you proscribe to that the word "philosopher" lacks. Similarly saying that you were a "transhumanist" in the realm of science carries further connotations about what particular ideas of science you proscribe to that the basic word "scientist" lacks.

I'll certainly agree with you that the most visible transhumanists are the crazy nutjobs, but honestly I think that applies to just about anything. Something about being rich and crazy goes a long way towards making people visible.

[Rolan7]

...one's busy essentially preaching a modified version of the rapture to those who will listen, while the other one is actually taking steps in the realm of technology towards end-goals.

We already have a perfectly good term for the latter type of person: scientist. Being a self-identified "transhumanist" is not mutually exclusive with being an actual researcher with a workable research program, but unfortunately the most influential "transhumanists" – such as Kurzweil, Bostrom, Yudkowsky, and the aforementioned David Pearce, to name but a few – are exclusively of the former type.

This is worth noting.  I like the idea of transhumanism a lot, but because it's based on science, it should be promoted by people with scientific credentials or peer reviewed evidence.  Preferably both.

Haven't really looked into the transhumanism "scene" though, I just enjoy sci-fi.

[TheBiggerFish]

Anyway, my own WTF: I'm cooking pasta at quarter past six (or seven in DST) in the morning. What is wrong with me?

Nothing?