Original entry from Lextropicon by Max More.
Entry from the Crypto Glossary of Tim May and Eric Hughes.
Entry from What is cryonics? by Mike O'Neal.
Addition by me.
See also the Memetic Lexicon by Glenn Grant for memetic terminology.
Original entry from Lextropicon by Max More.
Entry from the Crypto Glossary of Tim May and Eric Hughes.
Entry from What is cryonics? by Mike O'Neal.
Addition by me.
ADHOCRACY:
A non-bureaucratic networked organization. "This
form is already common in organizations such as law firms, consulting
companies and research universities. Such organizations and
institutions must continually readjust to a changing array of projects,
each requiring somewhat different combinations of skills and other
resources. These organizations depend on many rapidly shifting project
teams and much lateral communication among these relatively
autonomous, entrepreneurial groups." [Scientific American, Sept. 1991,
p.133. Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, 1970]
AEONOMICS:
(from aeon and economics) The study of the economic
problems of immortal existence. [Mark Plus; August 1991]
A-LIFE:
Artificial life:
The modeling of complex, life-like behavior in
computer programs. A-Life forms can evolve and produce behaviors
not contained within rules set by the programmers. See also the
Introduction to Artificial Life by the Santa Fe Institute.
AGORIC SYSTEM:
open, free market systems in which voluntary transactions are central.
AMORTALIST:
A person who opposes death.
ARCH-ANARCHY:
The view that we should seek to void all limits on
our freedom, including those imposed by the laws of nature. [T.O.
Morrow, 1990]
ARCOLOGY:
A more or less self-sufficient structure with most of the functions
of a city (like culture, commerce, public service atc) inside the same
building structure. Most plans are very large constructions, bordering
on the smaller kinds of megascale engineering.
This was proposed as the logical response to
the growth of urban areas, dwindling living space and resource
economy by the architect Alberto Soleri (1963).
ASIMORT:
(a) A dead science fiction writer. (b) A dead secular
humanist. (c) Any person who believes it to be their duty to die to
"make room" for future generations. [Mark Plus, April 1992]
ATHANASIA:
The act of preventing death. [W.T. Quick, 1988]
ATHANOPHY:
A philosophical system that offers a possible means of
overcoming death scientifically. [Michael Perry, 1991]
ATHEOSIS:
The process of recovering from belief in God. [Mark Plus;
August 1991]
AUGMENT:
A person whose physical or cognitive abilities have been
technologically expanded beyond the range of natural humans. [David
Brin, The Postman]
B-LIFE:
Biological Life (as opposed to A-Life).
BASEMENT UNIVERSE:
A small artificially created universe linked to the old universe by a wormhole.
"Baby Universes" has been postulated by some theories about black holes (see
This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 31) by John Baez) and inflation cosmology.
BEANSTALK:
A strong cable lowered from a geosynchronous satellite and anchored to the ground (often with a small asteroid at the outer end to provide some extra tension and stability). This would provide cheap and simple access to space using elevators [This is an old idea in science fiction, although it was popularized by Arthur C Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise (1979). The term Beanstalk was spread by the roleplaying game 2300AD by GDW.]
BIOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALISM:
A new conservatism that resists
asexual reproduction, genetic engineering, altering the human anatomy,
overcoming death. A resistance to the evolution from the human to the
posthuman. [FM-2030]
BIONICS:
The science of connecting biological systems to artifical organs, or
other systems.
BIOSTASIS:
Broader than "cryonic suspension"; suspension of all
biological activity, by infusing the patient with cryoprotective chemicals
and freezing or vitrifying (cryonic suspension), or by chemically
bonding cellular components in place. [K. Eric Drexler, 1986]
BLIND UPLOADING:
To upload somebody by scanning their neural patterns
and simulating them directly with little or no changes (also called brute force uploading) [Anton Sherwood, December 1994]
BOGOSITY FILTER:
A mechanism for detecting bogus ideas and
propositions.
BROADCATCHING:
"Catching television and other media selectively
so that the sum of the collected parts is personalized." (Quote by
Nicholas P. Negroponte, Scientific American, September 1991, p.112.)
[Coined by Stewart Brand, The Media Lab, 1987.]
BRUTE FORCE UPLOADING:
To upload somebody by scanning their neural patterns
and simulating them directly with little or no changes, and no attempts to
refine the patterns (also called blind uploading). This is often used as a benchmark in discussions about what capabilities
are needed for full uploading.
BUSH ROBOT:
A flexible robot structure, where each manipulator branches off into smaller
copies of itself, forming a fractal tree over many scales (possibly down to the
nanoscale). Each branch would contain a distributed system to calculate
movement and minimize central processing [Hans Moravec, Mind Children].
CALCUTTA SYNDROME:
The condition in which the ratio of available
mass to population falls below the minimum level necessary to support
a given quality of life (M/P < mC). [David Krieger, November 1991]
CEREBROSTHESIS:
(from cerebral and prosthesis) n. An electronic
device interfaced with the brain to overcome a neurological deficiency,
such as normal human intelligence. (Cf. neuroprosthesis - see Extropy
#7). [Mark Plus; August 1991]
CHRONONAUTS:
Those who travel through time, either by
biostasis
or
through possible loopholes in physical laws as currently understood.
BLUE GOO:
Nanomachines used as protection against grey goo and
other destructive nanomachines, possibly even used for law-enforcement (nanarchy).
According to the entry in the Jargon File, it is sometimes used to denote
any form of benign nanotechnology in the environment.
CONNECTIONISM:
n. The approach to cognitive science that gives a
fundamental explanatory role to neuron-like interconnections rather
than to formal or explicit rules of thought.
CONTELLIGENCE:
(Consciousness + intelligence) The combination of
awareness and computational power required in an Artificially
Intelligent network before we could, without loss of anything essential,
upload ourselves into them. [Timothy Leary]
CRYOBIOLOGY:
The study of the effect of low temperatures (below the freezing point of
water) on biological systems. A primary goal of this field is the preservation
and long term storage of organ systems such as hearts, kidneys, etc. for use in
transplantation. This goal has not yet been reached and currently only
individual cells and organisms consisting of only a very few cells (such as
embryos) can be successfully treated, stored, and revived.
CRYOCRASTINATE:
v. To put off making arrangements for cryonic
suspension. [Mark Plus; August 1991]
CRYOGENICS:
The study of materials at very low temperatures (near absolute zero).
Cryogenics is a branch of physics.
CRYONICS:
A branch of science that aims to develop reversible suspended animation.
Until suspended animation is achieved, most cryonicists favor the use of
cryonic suspension as a last ditch effort for people whose medical options have
run out.
CRYONIC SUSPENSION:
A (currently non-standard) medical technique for attempting to prevent the
permanent cessation of life in individuals on the brink of death. It involves the
use of low temperatures to halt metabolic decay. A person who is cryonically
suspended can not be revived by current medical technology. The freezing
process does too much damage. What is accomplished is that once frozen the
person's biological state does not change. The reason for performing a cryonic
suspension is the belief that science, technology, and society will advance to
the point where revival of the person is both possible and desirable.
CRYP:
Cryptographic currency, digital cash. Payment by electronic
means where the seller is guaranteed payment, but the buyer can remain
anonymous. [Eli Brandt, 11/11/92, on the Extropians E-mail List]
CRYPTO ANARCHY:
The economic and political system
after the deployment of encryption, untraceable e-mail,
digital pseudonyms, cryptographic voting, and digital cash. A
pun on "crypto," meaning "hidden," and as when Gore Vidal
called William F. Buckley a "crypto fascist."
CYBERCIDE:
The killing of a person's projected virtual persona in
cyberspace. This may be part of a VR game, or may be an act of
vandalism. [Max More; August 1991]
CYBERFICTION:
Science fiction embodying the technological ideas of
cyberpunk, without necessarily embodying cyberpunk's amoralism or
nihilism. [Max More, May 1991]
CYBERNATE/CYBERNIZE:
To automate a process using computers
and robots.
CYBERSPACE/CYBERMATRIX:
The informational and computational
space existing in and between computers.
CYBRARIAN:
Computer Net-oriented information specialist. [Jean
Armour Polly, 1992]
CYPHERPUNK:
One interested in the uses of encryption using
electronic cyphers for enhancing personal privacy and guarding against
tyranny by centralized, authoritarian power structures, especially
government. See Crypto Anarchy and the Cypherpunks Home Page.
DEANIMALIZE:
Replace our animal organs and body parts with
durable, pain-free non-flesh prostheses. [FM-2030]
DEATHISM:
The set of beliefs and attitudes which glorifies or accepts
death and rejects or despises immortality.
DEEP ANARCHY:
The view that "the State" has no real existence; states
can be abolished only by changing beliefs and behavior. [Max More,
1989]
DEFLESH:
To replace flesh with non-flesh. [FM-2030]
DIGITAL PSEUDONYM:
basically, a "crypto identity." A
way for individuals to set up accounts with various
organizations without revealing more information than they
wish. Users may have several digital pseudonyms, some used
only once, some used over the course of many years. Ideally,
the pseudonyms can be linked only at the will of the holder. In
the simplest form, a public key can serve as a digital
pseudonym and need not be linked to a physical identity.
DISASTERBATION:
Idly fantasizing about possible catastrophes
(ecological collapse, full-blown totalitarianism) without considering
their likelihood or considering their possible solutions and preventions.
[David Krieger, 1993]
DIVIDUALS:
A copy of a personality surviving in more than one body.
Example:
"Keith Henson wishes to become a collection of such
dividuals so that he-plural can explore the galaxy in parallel." [Mark
Plus, 1992]
DOWNLOAD:
To transfer an mind from one computational matrix to another, especially a
slower one. See Upload.
DYSON SPHERE:
A shell built around a star to collect as much energy as possible, originally proposed by Freeman Dyson (although he admits to have borrowed the concept from Olaf Stapledon's novel Star Maker
(1937)). In the original proposal the shell consists of many
independent solar collectors and habitats in separate orbits (also known as a Type I Dyson Sphere),
but later people have discussed rigid shells consisting of only one piece
(called a Type II Dyson Sphere). The latter construction is unfortunately
both unstable (since it will experience no net attraction of the star),
requires super-strong materials and have no internal gravity. The Dyson Sphere
is a classic example of mega-technology and
common in Science Fiction.
ECOCALYPSE:
(from ecological and apocalypse) A projected ecological
catastrophe which would destroy all life on Earth. [Mark Plus; August
1991]
ECTOGENESIS:
In vitro reproduction; synthetic wombs.
EPHEMERALISTS:
Persons who reject immortalist technology and
values (the result of deathist thinking). [MM, 1990, from "Ephemeral",
Robert A. Heinlein, 1958]
E-PRIME:
E-Prime is English without the verb "to be" in its sense of "is of identity".
It originated in the tradition of General Semantics, to avoid many of the
pitfalls of natural languages which confuse the outside world and the observer.
For a more detailed introduction, see What is E-Prime?.
EUPSYCHIA:
A society specifically designed for improving the self-
fulfillment and psychological health of all people. A culture or sub-
culture made up of psychologically healthy or mature or self-actualizing
people. A Eupsychian sub-culture is "decentralized, voluntary yet
coordinated, productive, and with a powerful and effective code of
ethics (which works)." (Maslow.) [Abraham Maslow, 1954]
EUTHENICS:
Improving the current generation, as opposed to eugenics, which seeks to
improve future generations [R.C.W. Ettinger, Man Into Superman, 1972].
EVOLUTURE:
An organism produced through evolution; the antonym
of creature. [Mark Plus, June 1991]
EXOSELF:
Systems linked to the self in a cooperative way, extending the mind and the
body. Especially used about the systems supporting an uploaded personality,
providing information, virtual reality and monitoring. [Greg Egan, Permutation City]
EXTROPIA:
A conception of evolving communities embodying values
of Boundless Expansion,
Self-Transformation,
Dynamic Optimism,
Intelligent Technology, and Spontaneous Order. May be instantiated in
virtual cultural communities such as those on the Net, or in future actual
communities such as Extropolis or Free Oceana. [T.O. Morrow, 1991]
EXTROPIAN:
One who affirms the values and attitudes codified and
expressed in the Extropian Principles.
EXTROPIATE:
Any drug that has extropic effects, including all
cognition enhancing and life extending drugs. [David Krieger,
December 1991]
EXTROPIC:
Any action or process that promotes extropy.
EXTROPOLIS:
A proposed Extropian community located in our solar
system, probably at L-4 or L-5 orbits, or the Asteroid Belt. [Max More,
1991]
EXTROPY:
A measure of intelligence, information, energy, life,
experience, diversity, opportunity, and growth. The collection of forces
which oppose entropy. [T.O. Morrow, 1988]
FAR EDGE PARTY:
One of the main problems of exploring the stellar systems of the galaxy
even for very advanced civilizations is that a serial journey even at
the speed of light would take so long time that most of the stars would
have died during the journey. One solution is to paralelize the problem:
the explorer travels to a new system, creates a number of copies of
himself and sends them to other systems, while he remains behind exploring
the system (this is a variant of exploring the galaxy using von Neumann machines). After around 10 million
years, when all of the galaxy has been explored, the explorers gather
together at a prearranged place, and exchange or merge their memories ("The Far Edge Party"). This was proposed by Keith Henson as a possible method for a single individual to visit all of the galaxy within a reasonable time.
THE FERMI PARADOX:
"If there are other intelligent beings in the Universe, why aren't they here?".
Since it appears to be quite possible for a technological species to spread
across the galaxy in less than 10 million years (using
von Neumann machines) or otherwise change things on such a large
scale that it would be very visible (see Kardaschev types), the lack of such evidence is puzzling or
implies that other technological civilizations doesn't exist. There have been
many attempts to explain this, for example the "Wildlife Preserve"
idea (the aliens doesn't want to interfere with younger civilizations), that
they transcend and become incomprehensible, that they hide or that they are
actually here, hidden on the nanoscale. [ E. Fermi]
FUTIQUE:
Stylishly futuristic.
FUTURE SHOCK:
"A sense of shock felt by those who were not paying
attention." [Michael Flynn, ANALOG, Jan 1990. Coined by Alvin
Toffler, 1970]
GENEGENEERING:
Genetic engineering.
GREEN GOO:
Nanomachines or bio-engineered organisms used for population control of humans,
either by governments or eco-terrorist groups. Would most probably work by
sterilizing people through otherwise harmless infections. See Nick Szabo's essay Green Goo -- Life in the Era of Humane Genocide.
GREY GOO:
Self-replicating (von Neumann) nanomachines spreading uncontrolably, building copies of
themselves using all available material. This is a commonly mentioned
nanotechnology disaster scenario, although it is
rather unlikely due to energy constraints and elemental abundances. Another,
more probable, disaster scenario is the green goo scenario. As a protection blue goo has been proposed.
HOMORPH:
A transhuman or posthuman with a humanoid body [Greg Bear, Eon]
HYPERTEXT:
Massively interconnected database providing the ability
to track information in all directions, notify you of updated information,
etc. [Ted Nelson]
IDEAL IDENTITY:
An internal model of our personality as we wish it to be; the person we seek to become [Max More, Extropy #10].
IMMORTALIST:
A person who believes in the possibility of, and who seeks to attain, physical immortality [Max More, Extropy #10].
IMMORTECHNICS:
Collectively, the technologies which are applied to
attempt radical life extension, such as calorie-restricted dieting, cryonics,
uploading, etc. [Mark Plus, July 1991]
IMP:
Electronic implant, especially in the brain. [Ron Hale Evans]
INACTIVATE:
Non-living but not dead (in the latter's permanent
sense). A person in biostasis, or one subsisting in data storage, awaiting
downloading. [Max More, 1989]
INFOMORPH:
A uploaded intelligence, or information entity, which
resides in a computer. See Charles Platt, The Silicon Man, p.109. [1991]
INFORMATION-THEORETICAL DEATH:
A person has reached
information-theoretic death if a healthy state of that person could
not possibly be deduced from the current state. The exact timing of
information-theoretic death depends on presently unknown details of
how the brain works. The current best estimates put it several hours
after clinical death. Definition from the glossary in the Cryonic FAQ by Tim Freeman.
JUPITER-BRAIN:
A posthuman being of extremely high computational
power and size. The term originated due to an idea by Keith Henson that
nanomachines could be used to turn the mass of Jupiter into computers running
an upgraded version of himself.
KARDASCHEV TYPES:
A classification of possible civilizations after energy usage. Type I
civilizations control all available energy on a single planet. Type II
civilizations control all available energy in a solar system
(for example, using Dyson spheres). Type III
civilizations control use all available energy in an entire galaxy.
We are currently moving towards a Type I civilization.
[Nikolai Kardaschev, 1964].
KNOWBOTS:
Knowledge robots, first developed Vinton G. Cref and
Robert E. Kahn for National Research Initiatives. Knowbots are
programmed by users to scan networks for various kinds of related
information, regardless of the language or form in which it expressed.
"Knowbots support parallel computations at different sites. They
communicate with one another, and with various servers in the network
and with users." [Scientific American, September 1991, p.74.]
LONGEVIST:
A person who seeks to extend their life beyond current norms (but who may not wish to live forever) [Max More, Extropy #10].
MEGATECHNOLOGY (or MEGASCALE ENGINEERING):
Technology using energies, scales or methods far beyond the current
levels. Typical examples are ground-to-orbit Beanstalks, Dyson Spheres and
Stellar Husbandry. See also my technology page.
MEME:
Self-reproducing idea or other information pattern which is
propagated in ways similar to that of a gene. [Richard Dawkins, 1976.
See also Marius Watz Memetics Page]
MEMETICS:
The study of memes. [Douglas R. Hofstadter]
MEMOTYPE:
1. The actual information-content of a meme, as distinct
from its sociotype. 2. A class of similar memes. (Glenn M. Grant)
MEMOID (or MEMEOID):
True believer in a meme and willing to die
for it. [Keith Henson, 1985]
MEHUM: Derogatory term for "Mere human". [from
the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Wilson and Shea].
MERCHANCY, n.
A proprietary, commerce-oriented quasi-state which
claims sovereignty over its land and property but not the allegiance
of its citizens/clients; e.g. Mr Lee's Greater Hong Kong in Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson.
[Anton Sherwood, 1994]
MORPHOLOGICAL FREEDOM:
The ability to alter bodily form at will
through technologies such as surgery, genetic engineering,
nanotechnology, uploading. [Max More, April 1992]
NANARCHIST:
Someone who circumvents government control to use
nanotechnology, or someone who advocates this. [Eli Brandt, October
1991]
NANARCHY:
The use of automatic law-enforcement by nanomachines or robots, without
any human control [Mark S. Miller].
NANITE:
Slang term for a nanomachine (see nanotechnology), esp. a machine able to replicate itself. [Popularized by the Star Trek episode "Evolution"]
NANOMEDICINE:
The use of molecular-scale devices (nanotechnology)
to repair damage and boost the immune system. For some applications, see Nanotechnology and Medicine by Ralph C. Merkle [Max More, Extropy #10].
(MOLECULAR) NANOTECHNOLOGY:
The technology of precisely-
constructed molecular-scale machines; from nanometer:
a billionth of a
meter. For a good introduction, see What is Nanotechnology? or Ralph C. Merkle's nanotechnology page [K. Eric Drexler,198?]
NEG:
Someone who typically complains, moans, and whines, Someone
practicing the opposite of dynamic optimism.
NEOMORPH:
A transhuman or posthuman with a non-humanoid body [Greg Bear, Eon]
NEOPHILE:
One who welcomes the future and who enjoys change and
evolution.
NEOPHOBE:
One who fears change and wants to abort technological
and social transformation.
NEUROCOMPUTATION:
The study of how natural and artificial
neural networks process information.
NEURONAUT:
A person who explores their own neural functioning
and internal mentational processes by various means, including deep
introspection and meditation, psychoactive drugs, mind machines, and
neuroscientific understanding.
NEUROPROSTHESIS:
Implanted cybernetic brain augmentation.
NEUROSUSPENSION:
Cryonically suspending only the head or brain of a person.
NOOTROPIC:
A cognition-enhancing drug that has no significant side-
effects. (cf. EXTROPIATE). For an introduction, see Better Thinking Through Chemistry [C. Giurgea]
OMEGA POINT:
A possible future state when intelligence controls the Universe totally, and
the amount of information processed and stored goes asymptotically towards
infinity. [Origin: Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man. See also Barrow and
Tipler, The Cosmological Anthropic Principle for a more modern definition.]
OPTIMAL PERSONA:
An imagined model of the ideal person we want to become. The Optimal
Persona is the ideal self, the higher (and continually developing)
individual much like Nietzsche's conception of the ubermensch but applied
to the individual. [Max More,1993; same term but different conception
from that used by Bruce Sterling in Islands in the Net.]
PARTIAL:
A computer simulation of part of a person's personality,
created in order to carry out a task not requiring the entire person.
[Greg Bear, Eon, 1985]
PARTIALATE:
A partial personality used as a personality surrogate
(see persogate). [Max More, July 1991. See Cryonics, November 1991]
PERICOMPUTER:
Any small portable device such as a laptop computer
or PDA (personal digital assistant). [Lawrence G. Tesler]
PERSOGATE:
A portable expert system used as a personality surrogate
(as in Bruce Sterling's Schizmatrix). [R.E. Whitaker, June 1991]
PICO TECHNOLOGY:
Technology using objects on the picoscale (as nanotechnology would use nanoscale objects). This would involve nucleons and
other elementary particles doing useful work, involving quantum effects. Unlike nanotechnology, picotechnology has no feasibility proofs and remains pure speculation.
POSTHUMAN:
Persons of unprecedented physical, intellectual, and
psychological capacity, self-programming, self-constituting, potentially
immortal, unlimited individuals. See also the Extropian FAQ for their definition of Posthuman.
[Term:
FM-2030 Def.:
Max More]
POWERSHIFT:
A transfer of power involving a change in the nature of
power, from violence to wealth, or from wealth to knowlege. Alvin
Toffler, in Powershift, 1990]
QUANTUM COMPUTING:
Computing using quantum effects, especially to solve untractable problems
(like factorization or breaking cryptosystems).
QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY:
A system based on quantum-
mechanical principles. Eavesdroppers alter the quantum state
of the system and so are detected. Developed by Brassard and
Bennett, only small laboratory demonstrations have been
made.
RIF:
A Rifkinite, or supporter of Jeremy Rifkin and his anti-genetic
engineering, anti-nanotech crusade; against any and all research or
implementation in these areas. [Glenn Grant, 1990]
SCHEME:
A meme-complex. (Douglas Hofstadter)
SINGULARITY:
The postulated point or short period in our future
when our self-guided evolutionary development accelerates enormously
(powered by nanotech, neuroscience, AI, and perhaps uploading) so that
nothing beyond that time can reliably be conceived. See also the Singularity Page.
[Vernor Vinge,
1986]
SINGULARITARIAN:
One who advocates the idea that technological
progress will cause a singularity in human history. (cf. Singularity in
Extropy #7.) [Mark Plus, August 1991]
SOCIOTYPE:
1. The social expression of a memotype, as the body of an
organism is the physical expression (phenotype) of the gene (genotype).
Hence, the Protestant Church is one sociotype of the Bible's memotype.
2. A class of similar social organisations. (Glenn M. Grant)
SMART-FACED:
The condition resulting from social use of cognition-enhancing drugs:
"Let's get smart-faced." [Russell E. Whitaker, December 1991]
SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTARISM:
A fully free society, with a totally
free market and no institutionalized coercion. [Max More, 1989]
SUSPENDED ANIMATION:
This term refers to the ability to start and stop, at will, a biological system
(usually a person) through some physical means (usually the use of cold
temperatures). Suspended animation does not currently exist.
TAZ/Temporary Autonomous Zone:
A mobile or transient location free
of economic and social interference by the state. [Hakim Bey]
THEORETICAL APPLIED SCIENCE:
Theoretical applied science is the study of technology that is based on
conservative and contemporary scientific knowledge, but have not yet been
created. Especially it studies what is possible and impossible according
to known physical laws. [See Theoretical Applied Science by Nick Szabo.]
TRANSBIOMORPHOSIS (TRANSBIOLOGICAL METAMORPHOSIS):
The transformation of the human body from a natural, biological
organism into a superior, consciously designed vehicle of personality.
[Max More, August 1991]
TRANSCEND: v. To become vastly superhuman and
incomprehensible for unaugmented beings. [Vernor Vinge, A Fire Upon the Deep]
TRANSCLUSION:
A thing existing in more than one place at once;
virtual copying of information used in hypertext systems, such as
Xanadu. [Ted Nelson, Byte, September 1990]
TRANSHUMAN:
Someone actively preparing for becoming
posthuman. Someone who is informed enough to see radical future
possibilities and plans ahead for them, and who takes every current
option for self-enhancement. See also the Extropian FAQ for their definition of Transhuman. [Term:
FM-2030 Def.:
Max More]
TRANSHUMANISM:
Philosophies of life (such as extropian
perspectives) that seek the continuation and acceleration of the evolution
of intelligent life beyond its currently human form and human
limitations by means of science and technology, guided by life-
promoting principles and values. See also the Extropian FAQ for their definition of Transhumanism. [Max More, 1990]
TRANSHUMANITIES:
Art, literature, and other aesthetic media for
transhumans. [Mark Plus, 1990]
UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING:
Also known as "embodied virtuality".
Computers that are an integral, invisible part of people's lives. In some
ways the opposite of virtual reality, in which the user is absorbed into
the computational world. With ubiquitous computing, computers take
into account the human world rather than requiring humans to enter
into the computer's methods of working. [See Mark Weiser, "The
Computer for the 21st Century". Scientific American Sept. 1991]
UPLOAD:
To transfer the consciousness and mental structure of a person from a
biological matrix to an electronic or informational matrix. The term
"Downloading" is also sometimes used, mainly to
denote transferring the mind to a slower or less spacious matrix. For more
information, see the Mind Uploading Home Page.
UNIVERSAL IMMORTALISM:
The view that the problem of death can
be solved in its entirety (including bringing back those "dead" who
were not placed into biostasis) through a rational, scientific approach.
[R. Michael Perry, 1990]
VACCIME:
(pron. vak-seem) Any meta-meme which confers resistance
or immunity to one or more memes, allowing that person to be exposed
without acquiring an active infection. Also called an `immuno-meme.'
Common immune-conferring memes are "Faith", "Loyalty",
"Skepticism", and "tolerance". See also entry in the memetic lexicon. (Glenn M. Grant.)
VENTURISM:
An immortalist transhumanism founded on the
principles (1) to do what is right, understood as implying the benefiting
of intelligent life and the reduction or elimination of abuses to the same;
and (2) the advocacy and promotion of the worldwide conquest of death
through technological means. [David Pizer, 1986]
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY:
A community of persons not located in close
physical proximity but forming a cultural community across computer
networks.
VIRTUAL RIGHTS:
Rights given for convenience to a partial; these
rights are really rights of the person whose partial it is, rather than of the
partial itself. Similar in some respects to currently existing corporate
rights. [Max More, July 1991; See Cryonics, November 1991]
VITOLOGY:
The study of any life-like system, including biology and
artificial life. [Max More, December 1991]
VON NEUMANN MACHINE:
A machine which is able to build a working copy of itself using materials in
its environment. This is often proposed as a cheap way to mine or colonize the entire solar system (or galaxy, see the Far Edge Party).
WORMHOLE:
A postulated topological structure in general relativity, where a space-time
"tunnel" links two distant points with a shortcut. Whether they can be
physically realized is not known, and they seem to require exotic matter
to be stable. If they can exist, and can be built, they could provide a
possible way to travel faster than light (in a global sense, since locally
the travellers would move slower than light). For more information, see Traversable Wormholes by Michael Clive Price.
XENOEVOLUTURE:
An evoluture from a planet other than Earth. [Jay
Prime Positive, December 1991]
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