![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.starshipnivan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/WhiteZ.jpg\" "\\"WhiteZ\\"")
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I recently had an exchange with a progressive friend. He had just announced that he had become a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), a prominent transhumanist venue. Since I had trod that path before him, we inevitably came to the part where I pointed out that transhumanism is composed almost exclusively of white American men — and its upper echelon entirely so<\/a> (H+ devotees invariably counter that most of their gofers are female and\/or ethnic, so there!). Whereupon my friend replied: \u201cYes, it\u2019s a white boys\u2019 club. As far as I know that\u2019s not because of a policy of exclusion. It\u2019s because primarily white boys think about this stuff.<\/em>\u201d Which puts him in the same group (and class) as Larry Summers, who declared that women aren\u2019t in the sciences because their brains just aren\u2019t wired for numbiz.<\/p>\n Now, I’d been thinking and talking about issues colonized by transhumanists ever since I became a biologist: genetic engineering, prostheses, organ replacement and regeneration, longevity, brain function \u2013 for the simple reason that they are core domains in biology (to say nothing of medicine, society, etc). And ain\u2019t I a woman? A dark ethnic one, at that? So no, Virginia, thinking Bik Thotz is not limited to white boys. But I guess that a thought doesn\u2019t count as big (or even as a thought) until\/unless a white boy utters it. Or, as a reviewer for one of my research manuscripts once opined, \u201cIf what you report were true, someone would have discovered it.\u201d<\/p>\n The exchange made me realize the fatal error I committed about two decades ago: I neglected to call my thoughts a movement, give it a sonorous name and the glitzy rhetoric to match and register it as a non-profit with me as CEO \u2013 or President of the Board, I\u2019m not picky. I could have become the Madame Blavatsky of transhumorism\u2026 er, transhumanism.\u00a0 After all, given what passes as biology in the movement, I could do it half-asleep: I would recycle my Biochem 101 primer decked out in shiny costume jewelry with futuristic terms sprinkled liberally on the word salad. If qualified biologists objected to my prophesications, I would call them bioluddites and sic my devoted groupies on them. And like Pharaoh Hatshepsut, I would attach a beard to my chin and stroke it thoughtfully for more gravitas (and to illustrate postgenderism in action).<\/p>\n Alas, I did not avail myself of the golden opportunity. Instead, I opted to do basic research in the neurobiology of mental retardation and dementia. Not for me the mindmelds of the Humanity Plus Summits (where, this year, a satellite workshop will discuss \u201cwhole brain emulation, mind transfer, digital personalities, gradual replacement techniques…\u201d \u2013 perhaps with hefty participation by the Syfy channel). Not for me the acolytes who would swoon from interacting with my Second Life babelicious bod. This lack of prescience will preclude me from being a Rupturee. No frolicking in the Matrix Hereafter in a clingy black patent leather outfit.<\/p>\n But I know myself too well. I\u2019d be bored stiff in any place where charlatanism passes for provocative thinking or cutting edge science. Cults are very similar in that you have to actively suppress your brain processes to play along. I told my friend that we should revisit this conversation when his stint at the IEET is done. Unless the Singularity happens first, of course.<\/p>\n Image:<\/strong> Agent Smith and his homogeneous whitebread associates (The Matrix)<\/em><\/p>\n More references for those thirsting for enlightenment: <\/strong><\/p>\n Girl Cooties Menace the Singularity!<\/a> I recently had an exchange with a progressive friend. He had just announced that he had become a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), a prominent transhumanist venue. Since I had trod that path before him, we inevitably came to the part where I pointed out that transhumanism is composed almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology-and-culture","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2820\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starshipnivan.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIs It Something in the Water? Or: Me Tarzan, You Ape<\/a>
\nIf I Can\u2019t Dance, I Don\u2019t Want to Be Part of Your Revolution!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"