From: Avatar Polymorph (avatarpolymorph@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Dec 20 2002 - 21:59:48 MST
Some stray thoughts on language and list-people
===============================================
Language types and socialization are particularly relevant to transhumanists
and extropians (TransExtros)and related creatures.
TransExtros can be seen to operate like overheated lawyers who cannot stop
talking about the legal aspects of any particular subject that comes up in
conversation. To everday persons such a lawyer would be one who “can’t stop
talking about work”. Additionally, most people have only a generic knowledge
of law. Therefore they cannot adduce the truth or otherwise of a legal
opinion and can only evince a generic response. The lawyer becomes a
lecturer and an unverifiable one. More than that, the lawyer becomes a
social outsider if the lawyer persists in such behaviour too often.
This is because much language is outsider socialization. That is, social
networks outside of specialized workspeak often function largely as
reiterative mechanisms for social hierarchies and social exchange (though
elements of all language types and forms mix of course).
So, for example, there is the what did you do last night conversation, the
what movie did you see recently conversation, the how is your sister
conversation, the how’s work conversation, the how is the illness
conversation. Often answers in these conversations are irrelevant, including
broader social observation answers.
TransExtros have an unfortunate (?) tendency to butt in with “speciality”
answers. “Last night I argued about the merits of uploading.” “I’m bored
with movies, I want to go into totally immersive 3-D virtual realities.” “My
sister wants a baby before she’s 35, but I told her she can have one when
she’s 45 or 55, I said don’t stress about it.” “When I go to work I keep
thinking about monkey style mass productin versus robots and assemblers.” “I
don’t expect to be ill again – ever – in a dozen years – except cultural
illness, maybe.”
In some cases TransExtros will be labelled as cultists as a result, lumped
in with extreme ufologists and Atlantean believers. This probably
infuriates many of them because they are coming from a believe-in-science
background. It is difficult for them because most people are unwilling to
read new material and their scientific background does not extend beyond
black holes and Darwin to nanotechnology and in particular the notion of
molecular supercomputers (the concept of the “nanobot” is somewhat known
from Star Trek and similar sources but it is perceived as a limited
non-intelligent type of “machine virus”).
Another difficulty is TransExtros languages challenge existing mores or
expectations but do not answer where the Singularity is leading – there are
as we know many different opinions on this. This means TransExtros can often
scare ordinary people when they occasionally do convince them that big
change is on the way.
So at the moment one effect is that TransExtros can speak amongst
themselves, a kind of in-house work-speak, but when they speak with
outsiders language does not function to reiterate social exchange or gossip
but to destabilize them from the existent hierarchy. And if TransExtros
"bite their tongue" and do not talk about these things, whey enter into a
form of social "double existence" with all the problems this entails
emotionally.
When does this change?
As we move into the Singularity, conversation can move from mobile phones
and computers into nanotech engineering. As such engineering begins, a
secondary effect is that the physical mechanisms of TransExtro culture begin
to be hard-wired. “What 3D website did you immerse yourself in last night?”
“How’s your brother’s Parkinson’s Disease blocker working?” “This guy had an
eink wallscreen with lifesize video sex showing.” “The Pope has declared
that clones have souls, what do you think?”
One noticeable effect that also takes place in this new scenario is the role
of complaint in language. Currently complaint focusses on physical
limitation and is ever-present because it is real. Ageing and illness hammer
away at choice progressively for most people. Most people overcome a certain
amount of difficulties and then freeze in place, if they are lucky. Under
the impending conditions of existence, complaint (certainly a stubborn habit
once acquired) moves from the complaint of physical limitation in terms of
substrate (food, water, shelter, medicine, travel, cellular regeneration)
into the complaint of cultural limitation (acceptance, cultural choice,
sexual popularity, political popularity etc.).
Another interesting change that should take place is the movement from
future shock to stasis shock in terms of physical substrate. In this sense,
the singularity may be like one of those sauna treatments: first the hot
tub, then the icy tub, then a brisk rub down and on you go with life!
Towards Ascension
Avatar Polymorph
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