The Moron's Guide To Transhumanism, Human Enhancement And Why It's Fucking Awesome.

[Stren]

A lot of people are blurting out "I never asked for this." in threads about things like radiation adaptation that have nothing to do with transhumanism or even don't actually involve medical intervention at all, or think it's all about throwing fridges at bad guys to keep the city safe for it's fair citizens or completely misunderstand the concept and think we're insane and living in a fantasy land where we could beat up those bullies that took our lunch money. That is why I'm writing all this.

First up, Transhumanism is the belief that humans can use technology to take over evolution's job, and that whatever comes after humans will be of our own design, an engineered Posthuman species, transhumanists see this as either inevitable or the best possible outcome. Any sensible transhumanist will tell you it's decades or centuries away but that it's a gradual thing and that you can take steps towards it yourself, right now, with things like nootropics, or if you're hardcore you can go cut yourself open and stick sensors and electrodes in the holes.

Augment means basically any change you make to your body that is beneficial in some way, but for this thread I'm going to stick with mechanical and electronic prosthesis and implantation because these are the big ones in pop culture, and the most misunderstood because of things like the the Terminator and countless videogame protagonists most recently including the new Deus Ex game's Adam Jensen. With a few exceptions cyborgs are shown as bullet proof killing machines, Dr. Who's cyborgs are the Cybermen, which are brains lobotomised of emotions and stuck into a robotic weapons platform in their newest incarnation. The only episode where a cyberman "felt" anything was when the Doctor sabotaged them, causing them all to go insane and scream hysterically when they realised what they are. So, it's hardly flattering press, but of course this is TV and about as an accurate account of cybernetics as Jersey Shore is of New Jersey.

By far my favourite area of human enhancement is sensory extension, I'm not good with words though, so I'm not going to tell you while it's awesome, I'm going to explain how it's awesome, because if you don't see the kickin' rad-ness yourself then you're just not going to get it. There's a few current existing devices and methods of achieving synthetic senses, the most well known being cochlear implants. These consist of two main parts, an internal section, which is implanted in the inner ear, and an external section, which is worn. The external part consists of a microphone, a small computer that filters out sounds most likely to be speech and controls how the electrodes are activated, and a transmitter that sends data to the internal parts via radiowaves, because wires coming out of your skull could be problematic. The internal part has a receiver and several electrodes which are connected to the cochlea, and as you should know, nerves work on electrical impulses, so passing the right kind of current through them excites them causing the user of the implant to hear noise.

This is awesome if you're deaf, but it doesn't let you hear anything you wouldn't normally and is pretty much all round inferior to a functioning ear, so that's boring, we're wanting to push the boundaries of what it means to be human and do things an all natural person wouldn't be able to dream of doing, right? Well good news, there are a lot of nerds out there coming up with cheap and nasty ways to augment themselves in their own free time, they usually go by the terms "wetware hacker", "biohacker", or "grinder", and usually come up with things like the [url=http://discuss.biohack.me/discussion/55/lovetron9000-content-warning]Lovetron 9000[/url] and others that would have your local accident and emergency department sending you to a psychiatric ward. However one of the better and more well known ideas they've come up involves 2mm diameter neodymium magnet disks coated in medical silicone, although I hear some types of moulding putty and non-toxic brands of hot glue work just as well.

Neodymium you might know is used in things like speakers, hard drives and generators, since they make the strongest permanent magnets known to man, and being magnets they produce current when moved through a magnetic field and the current the little disks give out is just perfect for stimulating nerves! You stick these things in you and you'll be able to feel when that part of you is moving through magnetic fields! Unfortunately, there's only two places in the body where there's enough nerves in one place to take advantage of this and easy to implant them in, the first is your genitals, but you've already got your Lovetron 9000 down there so you can't do that, the second is under your fingertips, which is much more practical and much more socially acceptable to wave at the wall while trying to find power cables in it too.

The vast majority of implants however, aren't covered by any kind of insurance policy, no one with a medical license will do this for you and doing it to someone else can get you arrested in some places, even with the person's consent. You can however, do it to yourself due to it's grey area legality. But don't do it, and don't do it and them blame me when you end up with a rejected implant and heavy metal poisoning, in fact, here's a gross video of what you have to do to put you off it.

[media]http://vimeo.com/23836862[/media]

I hear from people with these implants that it takes a few weeks until your finger heals up enough to feel anything from them, but once you do and get used to it, it feels like an entirely new sense, and the more you have on one hand the better the sense becomes. Of course it has draw backs even when the procedure is successful, like setting off airport security scanners, making it painful to handle strong magnets with your finger tips and paper clips refusing to detach from you, worth it if you ask me though.
If any of you want me to add shit about other awesome things PM me, I'll probably add things to the OP anyway.

[booster]

I would gladly donate to biotechnology.

Seeing as it has alot of potential in the future, and will probably be extremely useful.

[Itsjustguy]

You know that "I never asked for this" is Deus Ex Related,ye ?

[WubWubWompWomp]

I did ask for this, and it's awesome

[Jericho_Rus]

What a shame.

[Caeky]

[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;31987393]You know that "I never asked for this" is Deus Ex Related,ye ?[/QUOTE]

i think that's the point

[Andokool12]

EVE Online skit

[Communist Cake]

Watching that video made my fingers hurt.

[Stren]

[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;31987393]You know that "I never asked for this" is Deus Ex Related,ye ?[/QUOTE]That's my point, transhumanism in the mainstream is all superheroes, monsters and soldiers, I'm wanting to point people in the direction of what actual transhumanism is.

[J.C.DentonUNATCO]

[QUOTE=Jericho_Rus;31987415]What a shame.[/QUOTE]

That's terror.

[ExplodingGuy]

That, finger video. Why would you do such a thing yourself?

[Lordgeorge16]

Fuck yeah, I've been waiting for a thread like this.

[i]You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.[/i]

[Jericho_Rus]

[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;31987481]That's terror.[/QUOTE]
I think the government made the plaugue on purpose.

[Sebixxx]

Looks nice where can i buy these neodymium magnets?

[Contag]

My pigeons never asked for this.

[quote]Bacteria, sharks, honey bees, and homing pigeons as well as other organisms seem
to detect the direction of the earth's magnetic field. Indirect but reproducible
evidence suggests that the bees and birds can also respond to very minute
changes in its intensity. The mechanisms behind this sensitivity are not known.
Naturally magnetic, biologically precipitated magnetite (Fe3O4) has been found
in chitons, magnetotactic bacteria, honey bees, homing pigeons, and dolphins.
Its mineralization in localized areas may be associated with the ability of
these animals to respond to the direction and intensity of the earth's magnetic
field. The presence of large numbers (approximately 10(8)) of superparamagnetic
magnetite crystals in honey bees and similar numbers of single-domain magnetite
grains in pigeons suggests that there may be at least two basic types of
ferrimagnetic magnetoreceptive organelles. Theoretical calculations show that
ferrimagnetic organs using either type of grain when integrated by the nervous
system are capable of accounting for even the most extreme magnetic field
sensitivities reported. Indirect evidence suggests that organic magnetite may be
a common biological component, and may account for the results of numerous high
field and electromagnetic experiments on animals.[/quote]

Silly humans, with their mechanical magnetic augmentations.

Now, where are my ferrimagnetic magnetoreceptive organelle implants.

[editline]29th August 2011[/editline]

Oh shit we're already augmented.

[quote]Magnetic bones have been found in the human nose, specifically the sphenoidal/ethmoid sinuses[6] Beginning in the late 1970s, the group of Robin Baker at the University of Manchester began to conduct experiments that purported to exhibit magnetoception in humans: people were disoriented and then asked about certain directions; their answers were more accurate if there was no magnet attached to their head.[7] Other scientists have maintained they could not reproduce these results though the evidence from both sides remains contentious.[8][7] A 2007 study found some other evidence for human magnetoception has been put forward: low-frequency magnetic fields can produce an evoked response in the brains of human subjects.[/quote]

[cloud_strife]

If you have Netflix instant, you should watch this documentary called "Modify" where it's about body modification, there's a whole segment on embedding magnets (along with other, gruesome showings of some pretty extreme body mods).

[J.C.DentonUNATCO]

[QUOTE=Jericho_Rus;31987523]I think the government made the plaugue on purpose.[/QUOTE]

Do you have a single fact to back that up with?

[Novangel]

[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;31987724]Do you have a single fact to back that up with?[/QUOTE]
UNATCO?

[editline]29th August 2011[/editline]

Anyway yeah knew most of that info, I'm interested in biology.

[escher]

I think people that think transhumanism is messing with the natural order are dumb. I mean, if you think about it, ever invention ever has been to improve on something. Now, we're inventing things to improve on ourself. How is that any different? I mean, we're using medicines to improve ourselves. This is just that on a grander scale. If we have the ability to propel the human race forwards, why not do it?

[odellus]

[QUOTE=DudeGuyKT;31988141]I think people that think transhumanism is messing with the natural order are dumb. I mean, if you think about it, ever invention ever has been to improve on something. Now, we're inventing things to improve on ourself. How is that any different? I mean, we're using medicines to improve ourselves. This is just that on a grander scale. If we have the ability to propel the human race forwards, why not do it?[/QUOTE]

cause conservatives

[Snek]

Fuck all ya'll I want minigun arms

[JohnnyMo]

That augmentation in the video is an AWFUL idea.

I sincerely hope he never needs an MRI.

[Mr.T]

This is a cool idea and such but doing the things in the video is horrible. Let the medical professionals do it instead.

Anyway, this is the future of humanity, but lets transition in a safe manner.

[Stren]

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;31988234]That augmentation in the video is an AWFUL idea.

I sincerely hope he never needs an MRI.[/QUOTE]I'd imagine getting MRI'd with those in would be pretty messy.

[kevaughan]

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;31988234]That augmentation in the video is an AWFUL idea.

I sincerely hope he never needs an MRI.[/QUOTE]

I thought it was a girl?

[Stren]

[QUOTE=Mr.T;31988351]This is a cool idea and such but doing the things in the video is horrible. let the medical professionals do it instead.

Anyway, this is the future of humanity, but lets transition in a safe manner.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately to get involved with this kind of thing you either need to be a medical researcher and very lucky, extremely lucky, or you can go and start doing things yourself. I would recommend that you move to a country with universal healthcare first though.

[JohnnyMo]

[QUOTE=kevaughan;31988368]I thought it was a girl?[/QUOTE]

Is it, all I saw was the short hair from the back and assumed

Oh, yeah, looks like it is

[Stren]

[QUOTE=Stren;31987354][media]http://vimeo.com/23836862[/media][/QUOTE]Just to make extra sure no one tries this without putting lots and lots of thought into it and not blame me, the procedure in this video was a failure;
[quote=SovereignBleak]The first implant procedure was a failure: two of the magnets pushed out during surgery, the third stayed in for a few weeks before migrating out the pad of my finger.
So I did it again.
I switched from using a scalpel to a six gauge needle, as nearly every grinder but me had (go figure), and had a buddy help more significantly with the suturing, closing the wound tighter. A month later and there's no warning signs of migration.
Insertion remains an issue during surgery, especially when time sensitive: lidocaine's only realistically effective for a half hour max.
Any other suggestions for how this can be improved? I think it's almost ready for the wiki.[/quote]

[Rangrgoto1]

[QUOTE=Stren;31987354]usually come up with things like the [url=http://discuss.biohack.me/discussion/55/lovetron9000-content-warning]Lovetron 9000[/url] [/QUOTE]

Oh, is he related to Deltron 3030?

[Wnd]

haha that video, that's just lame.