From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Mon Dec 23 2002 - 16:31:34 MST
[Stross]
> Here's another possible coinage: anyone got anything to say about it?
>
> Human: our basic genotype and phenotype, including extended phenotypic
> traits such as culture, language, memetic exchange, tools ... but no
> direct modification to our core genotype and phenotype.
>
> Meta-human: us, plus neural prostheses, smart drugs, direct brain
> interfaces, early uploading -- any degree of augmentation that gives us
> heightened abilities by modifying our core genotype and phenotype, but
> not actually deleting original human traits (other than inborn errors
> of metabolism that can be corrected in phenotype if necessary).
>
> Post-human: something derived from the meta-human platform that explicitly
> omits some of the core human characteristics. (e.g.: it doesn't sleep,
> ever, and all the neural circuitry associated with pain has been deleted
> and replaced by some strange new damage control subsystem.)
This division seems useful; but clearly "transhuman" is the better
term for the second tier. Steve's objection to it is empty sophistry.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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