People who obsess about remaining eternally alive are in a state of permanent fear and only consume without any output - they are already dead. Only the living can give of their flame of vitality to create art and culture that will leave a lasting legacy.
I've never really understood what the transhumanists think they can make immortal. As far as I can tell we only exist interdependently, in relation to one another and the planet -- and beyond that, the universe. There is no separate, inherently existing self that you can actually find. What we actually are in being interdependent is beyond the ability of words to express (although Shakespeare did do a pretty amazing job using them).
Looked at that way, there's a contradiction in the egocentricity involved in exploiting others and the earth so that you can achieve immortality. The last human on a burning earth won't be fully human because they won't have anyone else to relate with. Of course, in that way they will have achieved some kind of transformation -- but maybe not the one they were aiming at.
The disturbing thing about transhumanists, to me, is not the quest for physical immortality (or the goal of having one's consciousness uploaded to some cosmic server), it's that they emphasize and value the 'next' level of life/consciousness over all other things--including humanity and its denizens.
Transhumanists are essentially traitors to humanity, they would be happy to sell us into slavery or extinction if it helps usher in new, superior consciousness (via AI or whatever). And they judge 'superior' without any of the added weight of soul, character, and all those meaningful things humans have developed over eons, things that get in the way of efficiency.
These are emotionally and spiritually crippled people creating our future from that crippled perspective--and it does not include us in it.
Ted I love your musings but think that, lately, there is a wave of essays announcing the apocalypse that miss one crucial point: we have been living an apocalypse for quite a while. The ‘elites’ (not just tech gurus, who are a minority in that group) are trying hard to transform every human being into a lump of flesh and bone. Education has been deteriorated to the point that baby boomers look like Einsteins by comparison. Love has been reduced to a shape you do with your hands or fingers a hundred times a day with no real meaning. Sublimation of mindless attitudes and sex (not least through popular art). Digitalisation of all forms of art, making them erasable (yes, they can be erased now, or very soon they could be). Discouragement of analysis or thought process, rampant use of slogans and propaganda. Promoting deterioration of mental health through confusion, individualism and isolation. Screen-mediated lives. Penalisation of the variety of opinions. Polarisation. Promoting the respect of religious behaviours that are explicitly violent and extremely discriminatory. Making people sick and weak by instilling a permanent sense of imminent danger. And a long etc. Most of all, trying to make art irrelevant. This has been happening for quite a while, decades maybe.
I am hoping for some sort of renaissance, but the roots run much deeper than a handful of tech weirdos building bunkers. So I don’t have a lot of faith.
That sounds about right to me. Besides, who are the artists of today whose work will remain relevant a hundred years from now, provided we're still around as species? All iconic writers are dead, best film directors are nearing it, so are musicians. We don't have another Orson Welles among Instagram-addicted narcissists treating acting as a hustle in a shit Netflix series. We can't expect another Shakespeare given current publishing trends. Tech bros exemplify the ultimate shallowness and a cultural nadir we've reached as a modern species.
Yet, here we are, commenting on a newsletter/blog that in and of itself is a work of art, and one that helps us find other art.
There are those among us who are narcissists (I don't know that every influencer is; I suspect some of them play one on social media because it's a means to make money in an economy where it's harder for young folks to survive as they venture into the world), but there are those who are also viewing, reading, watching real art, and still creating it. There are those who aren't in the news like the elite, but that sacrifice money and big paydays to help others. I look to those because I aspire to be that - I'm trained as a lawyer, but instead of going for money, I help folks with preventing misconduct.
I was born and am living in Transylvania - this nugget of information is always great at a party, because people never run out of jokes and questions. Maybe I should retire to Dracula (Bran) Castle, and start a *transvampirist* trend! Thanks for the read, Ted, always good to be here.
“If you’ve crossed paths with a great artist, some of that immortality might even rub off on you.”
When I was 14, I bought my first guitar amp from the music store in my small town on an installment plan. Every month, I’d go to the store and hand over $10 to the clerk.
30 years later, that music store clerk has 13 Grammys and I… well, I still enjoy playing guitar in my attic.
Though I’ve no proof, I have a strong feeling that extra years and extra satisfaction are two very different goals, based on separate facets of life; possibly even inversely correlated (beyond the natural lifespan).
Vivos Las Vegas baby hehehe... sorry. Had no idea such a place existed. I'm always learning something new from The Honest Broker. Thank you!
I think if you ask most people, we just want a healthy, worry free existence. 60-70 years ago, most people smoked, and not many exercised or took a healthy approach to life. Now, that trend has reversed itself.
Who knows what my granddaughters will experience when they're my age? As long as the planet survives, and humanity is allowed to think, create and have reason to continue, we my find Earth closer to Eden than ever before. But we are in a precarious state indeed.
I fear for the Arts when a supreme commander intends to appoint himself as chairman of one of our nations cultural centers. Sorry, I have to stop myself now, shake my head and listen to Coltrane or Chopin.
Perhaps Bryan Johnson should consider the immortal angst of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged. "In the end, it was Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible listlessness which starts to set in at about 2:55 when you know you've taken all the baths you can usefully take that day, that however hard you stare at any given paragraph in the newspaper you will never actually read it... and that as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the Long Dark Teatime of the Soul." Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Wowbagger's solution to boredom, the burden of immortality, was to insult everyone on earth, personally and alphabetically. Some tech bros are doing their best, just haven't got to T yet. They will, in time.
There is much wisdom in this extract from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I am approaching 70, and am now finding that I like the world around me less and less. This is not to say that I do not love life (I do). This sentiment is something I have only come to realise in the last 5 years. It never occurred to me in my younger days. What I’m trying to say is that, at my age, I am perfectly happy to exit this life after 70 years with no regrets - just some disappointment in the state of the world as I see it. What someone like Bryan Johnson does not realise (because he is still so young) is that, even if he manages to live to 150, he might get to 70 or 80 and so despair of the world around him that he decides he has had enough. Then what does he have? Another 70 years after that possibly filled with despair and regret. Ahh, the wisdom of age…
Will Shakespeare be remembered by interacting with his avatar? Honestly, Bryan Johnson doesn’t look that good no matter what his numbers tell him. If one of the ‘tism crowd wants to see how long our bodies can last, fine. Wouldn’t want to share a bunker with him. No wonder Jesus scheduled a revival tour. Show these guys how it’s done.
Ancient Greeks believed that Hubris is ALWAYS followed by Nemesis.
That is, you dare offend the gods in any way (Hubris), there's no escaping their wrath (Nemesis) coming down hard on you.
Up to this day, the gods may have changed, but the fear of Hubris-Nemesis persists, making the Greeks a nation notoriously loathe to brag, lest Nemesis gets unleashed.
These guys should read some Ancient Greek tragedies. Preferably paired with essays on Entropy, the biggest force in the Cosmos, which is roaring with laughter at their conceited, insignificant expense, as we speak.
The life extension zombies have clearly taken Woody Allen seriously "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment."
People who obsess about remaining eternally alive are in a state of permanent fear and only consume without any output - they are already dead. Only the living can give of their flame of vitality to create art and culture that will leave a lasting legacy.
What a really sensible way to think about it!
I've never really understood what the transhumanists think they can make immortal. As far as I can tell we only exist interdependently, in relation to one another and the planet -- and beyond that, the universe. There is no separate, inherently existing self that you can actually find. What we actually are in being interdependent is beyond the ability of words to express (although Shakespeare did do a pretty amazing job using them).
Looked at that way, there's a contradiction in the egocentricity involved in exploiting others and the earth so that you can achieve immortality. The last human on a burning earth won't be fully human because they won't have anyone else to relate with. Of course, in that way they will have achieved some kind of transformation -- but maybe not the one they were aiming at.
Immortality is achieved by leaving a legacy of positivity and love to our children and to the universe.
The disturbing thing about transhumanists, to me, is not the quest for physical immortality (or the goal of having one's consciousness uploaded to some cosmic server), it's that they emphasize and value the 'next' level of life/consciousness over all other things--including humanity and its denizens.
Transhumanists are essentially traitors to humanity, they would be happy to sell us into slavery or extinction if it helps usher in new, superior consciousness (via AI or whatever). And they judge 'superior' without any of the added weight of soul, character, and all those meaningful things humans have developed over eons, things that get in the way of efficiency.
These are emotionally and spiritually crippled people creating our future from that crippled perspective--and it does not include us in it.
Ted I love your musings but think that, lately, there is a wave of essays announcing the apocalypse that miss one crucial point: we have been living an apocalypse for quite a while. The ‘elites’ (not just tech gurus, who are a minority in that group) are trying hard to transform every human being into a lump of flesh and bone. Education has been deteriorated to the point that baby boomers look like Einsteins by comparison. Love has been reduced to a shape you do with your hands or fingers a hundred times a day with no real meaning. Sublimation of mindless attitudes and sex (not least through popular art). Digitalisation of all forms of art, making them erasable (yes, they can be erased now, or very soon they could be). Discouragement of analysis or thought process, rampant use of slogans and propaganda. Promoting deterioration of mental health through confusion, individualism and isolation. Screen-mediated lives. Penalisation of the variety of opinions. Polarisation. Promoting the respect of religious behaviours that are explicitly violent and extremely discriminatory. Making people sick and weak by instilling a permanent sense of imminent danger. And a long etc. Most of all, trying to make art irrelevant. This has been happening for quite a while, decades maybe.
I am hoping for some sort of renaissance, but the roots run much deeper than a handful of tech weirdos building bunkers. So I don’t have a lot of faith.
That sounds about right to me. Besides, who are the artists of today whose work will remain relevant a hundred years from now, provided we're still around as species? All iconic writers are dead, best film directors are nearing it, so are musicians. We don't have another Orson Welles among Instagram-addicted narcissists treating acting as a hustle in a shit Netflix series. We can't expect another Shakespeare given current publishing trends. Tech bros exemplify the ultimate shallowness and a cultural nadir we've reached as a modern species.
Art is faith incarnate.
Yet, here we are, commenting on a newsletter/blog that in and of itself is a work of art, and one that helps us find other art.
There are those among us who are narcissists (I don't know that every influencer is; I suspect some of them play one on social media because it's a means to make money in an economy where it's harder for young folks to survive as they venture into the world), but there are those who are also viewing, reading, watching real art, and still creating it. There are those who aren't in the news like the elite, but that sacrifice money and big paydays to help others. I look to those because I aspire to be that - I'm trained as a lawyer, but instead of going for money, I help folks with preventing misconduct.
I was born and am living in Transylvania - this nugget of information is always great at a party, because people never run out of jokes and questions. Maybe I should retire to Dracula (Bran) Castle, and start a *transvampirist* trend! Thanks for the read, Ted, always good to be here.
Judging by Mr Goias essay and other things I've read I think you'd be in business,horrible though it is to say that!
in all honesty, I don't understand what you mean with your comment.
“If you’ve crossed paths with a great artist, some of that immortality might even rub off on you.”
When I was 14, I bought my first guitar amp from the music store in my small town on an installment plan. Every month, I’d go to the store and hand over $10 to the clerk.
30 years later, that music store clerk has 13 Grammys and I… well, I still enjoy playing guitar in my attic.
Though I’ve no proof, I have a strong feeling that extra years and extra satisfaction are two very different goals, based on separate facets of life; possibly even inversely correlated (beyond the natural lifespan).
I’m looking forward to being reunited with all my canine friends from this life…
Vivos Las Vegas baby hehehe... sorry. Had no idea such a place existed. I'm always learning something new from The Honest Broker. Thank you!
I think if you ask most people, we just want a healthy, worry free existence. 60-70 years ago, most people smoked, and not many exercised or took a healthy approach to life. Now, that trend has reversed itself.
Who knows what my granddaughters will experience when they're my age? As long as the planet survives, and humanity is allowed to think, create and have reason to continue, we my find Earth closer to Eden than ever before. But we are in a precarious state indeed.
I fear for the Arts when a supreme commander intends to appoint himself as chairman of one of our nations cultural centers. Sorry, I have to stop myself now, shake my head and listen to Coltrane or Chopin.
Peace!
What? You're not looking forward to The Kennedy Center Honors Lee Greenwood and Kid Rock? Ugh, what dark times.
Maye they'll even be buddies with Kanye/Ye by then. The great "artiste" ... sigh
CAN YOU IMAGINE!
Perhaps Bryan Johnson should consider the immortal angst of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged. "In the end, it was Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible listlessness which starts to set in at about 2:55 when you know you've taken all the baths you can usefully take that day, that however hard you stare at any given paragraph in the newspaper you will never actually read it... and that as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the Long Dark Teatime of the Soul." Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Wowbagger's solution to boredom, the burden of immortality, was to insult everyone on earth, personally and alphabetically. Some tech bros are doing their best, just haven't got to T yet. They will, in time.
There is much wisdom in this extract from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I am approaching 70, and am now finding that I like the world around me less and less. This is not to say that I do not love life (I do). This sentiment is something I have only come to realise in the last 5 years. It never occurred to me in my younger days. What I’m trying to say is that, at my age, I am perfectly happy to exit this life after 70 years with no regrets - just some disappointment in the state of the world as I see it. What someone like Bryan Johnson does not realise (because he is still so young) is that, even if he manages to live to 150, he might get to 70 or 80 and so despair of the world around him that he decides he has had enough. Then what does he have? Another 70 years after that possibly filled with despair and regret. Ahh, the wisdom of age…
Immortality is overrated.
Will Shakespeare be remembered by interacting with his avatar? Honestly, Bryan Johnson doesn’t look that good no matter what his numbers tell him. If one of the ‘tism crowd wants to see how long our bodies can last, fine. Wouldn’t want to share a bunker with him. No wonder Jesus scheduled a revival tour. Show these guys how it’s done.
There a couple of great short stories by Kage Baker that posits exactly that. "The Dust Enclosed Here" is one.
Geez ,just had to say - wasn't Kage a wonderful writer ? Really enjoyed her work.
I emailed with her back & forth a few times in her Latter years. Really nice.
She was brilliant. Gone far too soon.😮💨
Ancient Greeks believed that Hubris is ALWAYS followed by Nemesis.
That is, you dare offend the gods in any way (Hubris), there's no escaping their wrath (Nemesis) coming down hard on you.
Up to this day, the gods may have changed, but the fear of Hubris-Nemesis persists, making the Greeks a nation notoriously loathe to brag, lest Nemesis gets unleashed.
These guys should read some Ancient Greek tragedies. Preferably paired with essays on Entropy, the biggest force in the Cosmos, which is roaring with laughter at their conceited, insignificant expense, as we speak.
You are a superb writer. I enjoyed this immensely.
The life extension zombies have clearly taken Woody Allen seriously "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment."