[ExI] What's in a transhumanist name?

[Damien Broderick]

At 11:32 AM 1/6/2009 +0000, Tom Nowell wrote:

>If I'm not mistaken, the Order of Cosmic Engineers held their launch 
>event in Warcraft. If they're an organisation with 100% 
>warcrack-lovers as their founders, it is hardly surprising they have 
>a name designed to appeal to WoW players.
>
>  The whole image I get of the organisation is of people who love 
> virtual worlds.

On reflection I see that this is clearly correct. Looking at the 
group's name from that perspective, my initial qualms are not just 
groundless but obtuse, completely missing the point. If it's a sort 
of  >H gamers' enclave within established fantasy worlds, it has to 
reflect that milieu (whether out of the sheer delight and playfulness 
of doing so, or as an entrist ploy into virtual gamespace). Still, 
this doesn't really seem consistent with the rather solemn high-toned 
tenor of much of the Prospectus. I dunno. If it's seen as a ludic 
conduit into the mass mind, while World Transhumanism/Humanity-Plus 
or whatever is more for policy wonks in suits and ties, it probably 
wouldn't hurt if it called itself Sergeant Saturn and the Men of 
Tomorrow-- 
<http://homepage3.nifty.com/captainfuture/mag_contents.html>--or 
Captain Wii and her Virtual Rangers.

Damien Broderick