conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

nice place you got here.
eggnog and togetherness is an excellent reason to put up a tree.
don't let the caterer scare ya. remember the goal is to end up married. stay steady, both of yez. keep asking yourself if things contribute to (1) getting you married to each other and (2) the people you love celebrating with you.
lwj

Transhumanism (from http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism): Transhumanism is an emergent school of speculative philosophy which is predicated on the idea that the human species does not represent the endpoint of evolution but rather the beginning of a new self-directed evolutionary era, sometimes referred to as the post-Darwinian era.

Transhumanism is also concerned with investigation into the implications of social, technological and scientific means of overcoming physical human limitations, and is also a movement which argues the case for fundamentally altering the human condition through these means. It is concerned with ethically expanding technological opportunities for all people to live longer and healthier lives, to enhance their intellectual, physical and emotional capacities and to enjoy a future of freedom and prosperity.

Transhumanists generally support present-day technologies such as genetic engineering (including of humans), cryonics, and advanced uses of computers and communications; as well as future technologies such as space travel, cloning and uploading of human minds into computer simulations. Typically, transhumanists believe that the rapid advances in technology will lead in the foreseeable future to the creation of Artificial Intelligence beyond anything conceived of in the Turing Test, and that this will lead inexorably to radical progress in such fields as nanotechnology and sub-molecular engineering.

The pace of technological development is steadily increasing, leading many forward-thinkers to speculate that the next 50 years will yield remarkable and radical technological advancements. Consequently, a new paradigm for thinking about humanity's future has begun to take shape. The "human condition," it holds, is not the constant it appeared to be, and future innovations will allow humans to shape their physical, emotional and cognitive characteristics as they see fit.

Transhumanism maintains that this is good and that humans can and should become more than human through the application of such technological innovations as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, neuropharmaceuticals, prosthetic enhancements and mind-machine interfaces.

"Transhumanism is more than just an abstract belief that we are about to transcend our biological limitations by means of technology; it is also an attempt to reevaluate the entire human predicament as traditionally conceived," says Transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom. "And it is a bid to take a farsighted and constructive approach to our new situation."

Posthumanism (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumanism): Posthumanism, related to transhumanism, is the belief, study, or promotion of the idea that the human form is self-limiting. Posthumanists seek to get beyond the natural bounds of the body. Posthumanists promote artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, biomachines, and other technologies whose goal it is to blur the distinction between humans and machines.

There is also the theory that the human brain can be biologically altered to use its percieved potential. At best, the actual cognitive functioning of the brain is limited. Bioengineers will attempt to utilize all of the 'grey matter'.

Some may see this as dystopian, but posthumanists themselves see it as a natural extension and consequence of the human desire for self-improvement, and consider those opposed to be Luddites.

Posthumanism is a common theme in early 21st century science fiction.

technological gnosticism?

Micah did indeed speak a Word, today. He's promised to blog a written version-- watch for it.