Now that I have explained transhumanism and given some of the basic facts about it, I would like to continue with a discussion of the more practical aspects, starting with the two things that transhumanists see the most hope in for their cause and leading up to how you can start practicing transhumanism yourself.
Another divide in the transhumanist community is on the subject of what modification the humans they consider. There are two main groups in this divide, the electronic or technological group, and the pharma or medical group. The technological group mainly concerns itself with breakthroughs in technologies like nano tech that allow humans to gain advantages over their peers through interactions with computers and the like. On the other hand, the medical group is more interested in advances in medicine and surgical procedures. Two of the most popular medical transhumanist things are Provigil (Modafinil), a wakefulness and concentration improver with less side effects than many of the other options (ritalin etc). The other hot topic is Lasik. Lasik is a surgical procedure that uses lasers to improve peoples vision. The use of Lasik to get better than 20/20 vision is where the controversy comes from. There are many sports figures today who have had Lasik to improve their performance and yet, they are not allowed to use steroids or other stimulants. From a transhumanist perspective, there is no reason for the medical field to disallow these surgeries or drugs for people who don’t “need” them. That is, up till now, the medical field has been entirely based on getting people up to the base line, back to normal. Transhumanists; however, want to use the medicine to extend the definition and push their way toward being “better humans”.
Which leads us to becoming a practicing transhumanist. At this early stage in the development of transhumanism, it is not looked upon in the best light. There are those who condemn it in much the same way that not too long ago, piercing and tattoos were not socially acceptable. There are advantages to be had from both sides of the medial/technological divide, there is no reason to limit oneself to just one or the other. One of the big advantages of pharma at this stage of the game is that it is difficult for others to identify what you have done. When taking Provigil, you are no different than usual, other than the increased concentration and reduced need for sleep. On the other side, with current technology, it is obvious if you are using anything that is not part of the “norm”. For instance, if you are wearing a glasses mounted HUD, anyone who looks at you can tell you are “different” and “weird”. This can lead to attitudes that are detrimental to the movement and ones mental health. However, things like haptic feedback belts are much harder to identify and much less noticeable.
The first step, if you want to try practicing transhumanism is to do some research. There have been some truly amazing projects over the years that can be constructed and adapted to your needs and which can be a lot of fun. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, haptic feedback belts are a great intro to both one of the fundamental aspects of transhumanism (and even humans themselves) neuroplacticity, and a good way to learn about tech and how to do stuff your self. With all of the new ground being broken in this area, there are very few commercial alternatives to the projects that have been produced and thus, the DIY scene ties in nicely with transhumanisim.
That’s it for this article, in the next article I will talk more about projects and ideas to get started with transhumanism and talk more about neuroplacticity. I also hope to cover some of the parallels between anarchy and transhumanism.
