Volume 2, Issue 4
4th Quarter, 2007


A New Opportunity to Teach and Succeed

Jack Harney

Page 5 of 5

Some suggestions

  1. Stick with talking about achievable science. Even the downloading of one’s consciousness to a computer, while far fetched to many at least falls into the realm of achievable science. Even laymen like myself are able to logically explain how that science could come to be based on what we already know about computers. On the other hand, whether we will in fact experience omniscience and the eventual state of God must still fall into the category of speculation. Only when we actually experience these yet “unfelt” states will we be able to describe the true nature of them. Dr. Rothblatt’s foretelling may be right on the mark, but till there is more certainty it would be best to keep them out of the mix as they will most assuredly invite barriers to education.
  1. Use the proven planning method of picking a future date of an event (the Singularity here) and work backwards to the current day predicting and identifying all the steps in between. As part of that, set out each advancement piece so as to be able to design how it is to be sold to each demographic along the way. Build on what Ray Kurzweil points to as people’s acceptance already of the tie in between Humans and computers. Many already kid about their cell phones being surgically attached to their ears and that their laptop, when not on their lap, is virtually always under their arms. Whether directly connected to the researchers work on the road to Transhumanism or not, a likely step in the process may be the implantation of a chip that the brain can access for information and use as a wireless communication device. Humans are more likely to accept the downloading of their complete consciousness into a computer if they have already had the positive experience of downloading and uploading information from a computer chip that already resides inside their own body.  The possible eventual experience of an advanced state of consciousness, even to a level of omniscience may eventually occur, but is best left to as a discovery rather than a prediction to avoid the inevitable over reactions.
  1. When pointing to Diversity, Unity and Joyful Immortality it might be best to see them as a linear set of expectations that follow each other. Diversity is not only a widely accepted politically correct term, but speaks directly to how all Humans wish to be more individualistic as they work to define the personal significance of their existence. If the technologies that evolve on the road to Transhumanism can assist Humans in this most important aspect of their lives, it will be most welcomed. This better understanding and view of ones self then opens the door and brings on the confidence for more Unity with others. There will be expected reticence at this juncture. However, helping business use this technology to improve their communications and performance or have two people share their love at a higher level may be the best way introduce this next step and reduce that reticence. One word that must always be avoided in the context of Unity is control. Again, Hollywood has already piqued the paranoid conspiracy theorists with the extremely negative experience that Captain Jean-Luc Picard suffered at the hands of the Borg.[1] It would not be beneath the enemies of scientific advancements to prey on those fears. Again, let Joyful Immortality be the discovered delightful experience if that is what it turns out to be after a time of strengthened Diversity and successful Unity have taken place.
  1. Sell benefits more than concepts. Humans will be more highly motivated to implant a chip in their head if, with two blinks of their eye and the wiggle of an ear, they can make a dinner reservation at Trader Vics than if that implantation will lead to some future existential experience. I’m being a little facetious here, but each part of each step forward in science on the way to the Singularity should be designed to have a saleable component that creates its own market and hence public support.
  1. Sex Sells. If Virtual Reality, somewhat close to how it has been portrayed thus far, is also a step on the road to the Singularity that’s a good thing. Hollywood has already produced several movies of a future society where this technology is used to enhance sexual experiences. I have no doubt that even the most involved science people talk and think about how science will make sex better. Whether it’s Virtual Reality or another integration leading to the Singularity, if it can help people have better sex then by all means add that component. Unless it is exploitive, even the religious right is open to sexual enhancement technologies. There was no noticeable objection from that camp when four years ago on a Super Bowl Sunday a commercial was aired that openly spoke about the side effect of an erection that might last for more than four hours while advertising a pill for ED (Erectile Dysfunction). I’ll bet that even the late Jerry Falwell [2] may have, like many American males, sat there and wondered why that was a problem. If the coming Singularity, with all its potential to maybe even reach the outer limits of the universe also includes any improvement in what Humans see as one of their most spiritual experiences, SEX, the near part of the prediction may even be nearer.
  1. Make it fun. Walt Disney understood better than any Human before him how to make any science and the thrill of discovery appeal to the child in every person regardless of their chronological age. He was also very, very good at marketing that. Let’s find the Walt Disney who now lives in the 21st Century and get him on this new committee. I’d vote for someone like Neil deGrasse Tyson,[3] the charismatic director of the Hayden Planetarium, whose high intellect, broad smile and powerful communication skills would be a great addition.

So here we are on the verge of a new set of technologies that will change the Human experience more dramatically than any before it. Inherent in its being played out is the possibility of solving the most formidable challenge we have wrestled with since we left the trees…the eradication of ignorance…and with it most other elements that have negatively separated us from each other. The question is, have we learned enough from the past to proceed with a real plan for its implementation? Will we avoid at least the major pitfalls that have befallen our ancestors who lead the way with new discoveries? Or will we repeat history by going naively forward with a superb idea that will be hijacked by religious dogma and its inherent ignorance we wish to eradicate. This time, let’s use all the other already accepted technologies at our disposal to sell this new one. Let’s introduce the advancing concepts at the proper intervals so “the teacher will appear to a student who is ready”. It’s then possible that maybe, just maybe, the Singularity that is near might actually arrive on time.

Footnotes

1. Jean-Luc Picard - is a fictional Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired from 1987 to 1994, as the captain of the Enterprise. The character also appears in the Next Generation-era films -- Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis -- and has a cameo appearance in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Picard  November 9, 2007 4:53PM EST

Borg - a race of cyborgs in the fictional Star Trek universe, first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series. They are characterized by relentless pursuit of targets for assimilation, their collective consciousness that enables rapid defensive adaptability to almost any offence, and the ability to continue functioning properly despite seemingly devastating blows. They have become a powerful symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against whom "resistance is futile."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_%28Star_Trek%29  November 9, 2007 4:56PM EST

2. Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. - (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American fundamentalist Christian pastor and televangelist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded Liberty University in 1971 and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Falwell  November 9, 2007 4:58PM EST

3. Neil deGrasse Tyson - was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a 12-member commission that studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security. http://research.amnh.org/~tyson/about.php November 9, 2007 5:02PM EST

About the Author

Jack HarneyJack Harney spent the first 60 years of his life traveling from the east side of the Bronx in the late 1940s through a successful business career in Michigan to living on the ocean in South Carolina. His avocation has always been the study of Human history and advancement with a positive look to the future of our species. He has told his 3 grown children that he is going to spend the next 60 years of his life participating in and supporting the next achievements that will benefit all Humans.

 

 

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