Transumanar

Test Your Techno Tolerance!

Interesting quiz: http://www.sagecrossroads.net/Quiz

Do you envision the future as a time when your physical body will no longer be the limit to your abilities? Does the idea of living forever tantalize your mind? On the flip side, would you like to revert back to a simple, down to earth agrarian lifestyle? Should the invention of the wheel - or at most the horse and buggy- have been the final frontier in technological advancement? Take this quiz to find out where you stand!

These questions should unearth your inner feelings about technological advancement and its role in our future. While answering the questions, assume that cost is not a barrier and that the technology is widely available. Also, if a question asks you about living a great long time, assume that your years will be spent happily on the shore of your favorite beach rather than in a hospital.

What’s your technological tolerance?

My (predictable) results:

You Score as a Transhumanist-Biotech

Transhumanists believe that humanity can and should strive to attain higher levels of physical, mental, and social achievement through the use of technology. They seek to extend human capabilities and improve the human condition through technology- supporting the quest for immortality, the conquering of death and disease, the amplification of human intelligence, and the capabilities of the human body.

Transhumanists recognize that over time and with technological advancements, man will realize new possibilities for society and human nature and achieve a posthuman condition (becoming more than human). Societal change is an important consequence of technological progress.

Because of this passionate trust in technological advancement, transhumanists generally see all technologies, as long as they don’t jeopardize the non-corporeal consciousness of a person, as being beneficial both to society and to the happiness and advancement of the person. Transhumanists see benefit not only in technologies that address medical necessities, but also aesthetic or recreational demands. They support advances in cybernetics, genetic engineering in clinical settings, embryo design, and other technologies that allow individuals to take control of their biology, and the human species to take control of evolution.

Transhumanists can be either hard-technology oriented--more inclined to add microchips and machines to their lifestyle--or bio-technology oriented--preferring the softer, more natural advancements and modifications that are made available.

Posted by on 03/25 at 07:52 AM

It’s a funny test. But it is just that, a funny test. It doesn’t go under superficial level of being immortal. Well, every kid wants to be immortal. That dream is old as human-kind. But, there is so much more about it. Which price are we willing to pay? What are the consequences? It is simple to imagine uploading the mind. It takes a lot more to just imagine state of that mind after couple of centuries.

Posted by dandellion Kimban on 03/26 at 10:27 AM
I also think this is just a funny test, especially because it is hard to imagine that someone could answer NO to ANY of the question, given the repeated assurances that the technologies involved are mature, proven safe, approved by the FDA etc. The test would be more telling with some questions related to very experimental and potentially unsafe procedures. Also, I do not think discriminating between “dry” and “wet” transhumanists makes much sense.

As it stands, it can only discriminate normal sane and rational persons from irrational fundamentalist bioluddites who think that Thou Shalt Not Tinker With Human Nature Because God Said So. The fact that 3/4 of the people who took the survey scored “Transhumanist” is reassuring in this respect.

Posted by on 03/26 at 12:36 PM
Re: “It is simple to imagine uploading the mind. It takes a lot more to just imagine state of that mind after couple of centuries.”

Of course the deployment of uploading technology will force us to radically change our current notion of self. But I think this is a fair price - also, several philosophies and religions have been saying this for centuries. The state of a mind that can be copied-pasted-merged-compressed-beamed etc. will certainly feel quite different than any state of mind that we can experience at this moment (well perhaps Tim Leary would disagree here), but then again, being an adult feels quite different from being a child.

Posted by on 03/26 at 12:42 PM