[ExI] YES! to Transhumanism

[Stefano Vaj]

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:57 PM, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> The inner cognoscenti might see it as a humorous gag aimed at Papal Knights,
> Illuminati, Masonic Orders, WoW guilds, etc, but most journalists and
> commentators will make comments exactly like mine, above (which is the point
> I was making). Remember that sf fans and Trekkies routinely get called
> "anoraks" and worse by mocking journalists.

In a world crazy for World of Warcraft, Dungeon and Dragons and Harry
Potter, and where extreme fiction has done much more to spread
relevant H+ memes than scholarly essays, I think that the
tongue-in-cheek "game" of creating a kind of Internet-based guild or
chivalrous order with funny hierarchies, insignia and so forth, yet
with a visionary and radical agenda, may be more attractive to a
broader and younger public than more "respectable" if not not
sanctimonious initiatives, without adversely affecting too much the
personal "reputation" of those who accept to play a role within it and
their participation to other ventures, as in my case the Associazione
Italiana Transumanisti, which are active in the sphere of more
traditional and "political" activism.

And then, if it does succeed, journalists and commentators are not
going to be a problem.

Wasn't it entirely stupid, unprofessional and ridiculous to call a
computer operating system "Linux" and take a penguin as its symbol?
What serious business or educational
institution could ever take it into consideration?

--
Stefano Vaj