[ExI] Question from a neophyte

Ben Zaiboc bbenzai at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 3 13:24:01 UTC 2010


Sarah Wood <wood.sarah.m at gmail.com> asked:
> 
> Hello all -
> Having barely dipped my toes in the murky waters of
> transhumanism, I  
> have a request. I would like to know what are, in your
> opinion, the  
> (three? five?) most important foundational texts that one
> should read  
> to become versed in the basic principles and vocabulary of
> the subject.
> 
> Please forgive (and redirect) me if this is not the
> appropriate forum.


Hi, Sarah, and welcome (and yes, this is definitely the appropriate forum).

I'm answering this before reading any other replies to your post, so there may be some repetition (I expect so!), but I didn't want to be influenced by anyone else's recommended reading list.

My top recommended reads for someone new to transhumanism:

Anything and everything by Ray Kurzweil and Hans Moravec. (some transhumanists don't agree with all of Ray's ideas, but you need to know about them)

The Spike, by Damien Broderick (which I can safely bet my mind/soul/ghost/life on someone having already recommended!)

Beyond Humanity by Paul & Cox

Creation: Life and how to make it, by Steve Grand

Ending Aging, by Aubrey de Grey

Plus, of course, a good trawl of the internet for sites such as:

http://www.hplusmagazine.com/
http://www.aleph.se/andart/
http://lesswrong.com/
http://humanityplus.org/
http://www.crnano.org/about_us.htm
http://transhumangoodness.blogspot.com/
http://humanityplus-uk.com/wordpress/
http://www.foresight.org/
http://www.imminst.org/
http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.htm
http://www.singinst.org/
http://www.betterhumans.com/
http://www.extropy.org/

etc.

I hope that helps.

Ben Zaiboc


      



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