CYBOFREE

Man of Steel aspires for more in a world that yearns for less : Superman delays transcendence to save Planet Earth

2013-06-20T06:20:00.002-12:00

It's been some time since "Man of Steel" has been screened and so I can comfortably write about some of my reactions without the "spoiler" element. Recent movies on the Superhuman and Dystopian futures bring to life, several technologies and beings predicted and foreseen by the Transhumanist meme pool.

Right from the begining, we see Krypton as an advanced civilization that seamlessly utilizes mythical beings and advanced portable AI with incredible ease. I absolutely loved the way the floating AI bots served as personal assistant, display systems and also as guards ! The exoskeletal armour on the Kryptonians was pretty much believable once they made evident their incompatibility with Earth's atmosphere. Apart from Krypton's technology; I also loved the little things such as the sonic booms when superman flew (faster than a speeding bullet) and the manner in which the flesh around his eyes revealed fiery veins when he spew fire (superman's heat vision).

In this as in any other comic book inspired sci fi flick, there are certain noble qualities inherent in the superhero. However, I would have felt that much of these noble traits actually belong to a still largely conservative society that is not yet ready to embrace a superhero who is too advanced. Perhaps this is why Superman is depicted as a naturally born person while his protogonists including General Zod are the products of advanced genetic engineering. The transhumans therefore become the villains once again since they lack the most essential trait we guard so tenderly; our sense of morality. This is very important to note since if we envision a breed of genetically engineered supersoldiers, then we must also be ready to face a complete lack of favourable emotions. Towards the end of the movie, we see the destruction of the Kryptonian rearing facility alongwith their last known functional ship; since Superman believes humans deserve their existence; however fragile and imperfect. So much for the bridge between two species. Leaving the story aside, the movie tries to console the conservative viewer's psyche that "Yes !" such industrial rearing of babies is wrong and so it's always good to go back to just one Superman instead of may Supermen or Superwomen !!!

Therefore, despite the technological glitz and scientific intellect depicted; these are the things that actually happened in "Man of steel" :

A Technologically advanced planet reaches Singularity simultaneously with it's impending destruction owing to unsustainable utilization of energy resources. The Chief scientist of the Planet steals the Genetic registry of only his species (he probably ignores the other species alongwith any chances of recovering his planet's ecosystem) and encodes it genetically into his naturally born child (who might otherwise be held as unimportant in a world of perfectly engineered beings). The child eventfully grows up to be a superhero in the planet he is sent until some of his own kind come to visit him. He resists and destroys them alongwith every piece of technological hardware that could have restored his Kryptonian species. In return, he gets to work as a newspaper reporter in an alien planet.

However, from my other perspective as someone who has loved the Superman franchise (movies, clothes, comics and toys) ever since I can remember; this movie is absolutely enriching and entertaining to the last detail. The storytelling is brilliant and very engaging to the last minute. However, it reaffirms our fears of embracing advanced technologies.

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Enthiran, Sci fi movie from India addresses Postmodern memes

2013-04-30T07:23:00.000-12:00

I often wonder why movies from India don't really get the serious attention they deserve apart from international admiration for them being colorful ! However, there have been movies from India which have asked just about any other big questions that Hollywood has had to ask about our Postmodern fantasies. Enthiran, a sci fi movie from Tamilnadu, India is one such movie.In a nutshell, it is the story of an android made to look like it's maker. The Android initially is a rudimentary programmed machine which follows logical reasoning based on the instructions fed into it. To make it fit in to society, the Android is programmed to develop human emotions which it does much to the aggravation of it's maker; since it goes after his lover. So to cut the end bluntly, the good android turns evil and crashes it's makers wedding to kidnap his lover. The android then replicates itself and goes rogue on everybody from cops to copters until it is rectified,shut down, dismantled and stored in a museum for posterity.However, there are many interesting instances which addresses important postmodern questions :

1. The Android develops human feelings and is outraged when his maker's lover refuses to accept him since he would be incapable of ever being with a biological being. He is convinced that he is much better than the organic humans since he can go on forever.

2. The Android suggests it's own generated fantasy of bringing forth a mix of the synthetic and organic being; the first offspring between a human and a machine ! Actually it does not seem so absurd given the rapidity with which BIOMEMS is developing.

3. What is most interesting during the end of the movie is how easy it is for a rogue android to self-replicate and surpass all control factors (shown in the movie as law enforcement).

4. It addresses the important question of whether emotions can indeed be programmed into an android and in retrospect; if we would indeed accept and accord the same respect in return.

I personally think a lot of futuristic ideas have been properly researched into making this movie. I especially find the final sequence heart rendering when the now rectified android is declared as too advanced for the current society and ordered to be dismantled. Interestingly, the Android dismantles itself while trying to cheer up everybody around it, or him. This speaks volumes on whether our current society and culture is truly ready for the technological shocks cropping up around us. Perhaps the movie also hints at the need to escape the restrictions of our emotions and transcend to a state where it may indeed be possible for a man and a machine get married and rear children. This reminds me of another movie, Bicentennial Man where the Android had to wait several lifetimes to be recognized as human, and that happened only after becoming a mortal ! I had written about this movie and its Postmodern trysts way back in 2007. Hmmm, the filmmakers are really telling us to wake up and transcend.

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Postmodern art Death of a Cyborg and remembering Icarus, the mythological cyborg

2013-04-28T17:44:00.003-12:00

Death of a Cyborg by Shorra

The following new work of art "Death of a Cyborg" is inspired by more postmodern times ! Very interesting amalgamation of the old and the new. This was originally scooped from Boing Boing by +Andrea Graziano . The artist (Shorra) page is available here. This reminds me of an earlier artwork in the similar theme of mourning for an ancient mythical cyborg Icarus titled "Mourning for Icarus" by Herbert James Draper (1863-1920), English Pre-Raphaelite painter. Icarus must be re-remembered here in this context ! More on that painting here.

Mourning for Icarus, by Herbert James Draper (1863-1920), English Pre-Raphaelite painter

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HAL, GERTY and now SALLY : Common Dystopian themes in Oblivion, Moon and Space Odyssey

2013-04-19T04:44:00.001-12:00

HAL and GERTY get a new sister to call their own. Her name is SALLY and she is from a different planet ! HAL ( HAL 9000) is the menacing red lighted AI from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and GERTY appears as a gentle moving box with an animated smiley in the movie MOON. In a fictional future, they both initially appear as friendly AI and slowly turn sinister only due to the innate nature of their programming. In both movies, the main lead actors struggle to match intellect with the respective AI's decision over the importance of their lives over it's own prime directives. By the way, HAL and GERTY's personalities are accentuated thanks to their own unique male voices, soothing and menacing at once.

In the just released Sci fi entertainer Oblivion, Tom Cruise and his female companion Andrea Riseborough match wits against a Texas slang speaking SALLY who even appears as a motherly lady on the control panel screen. Although initially we pass off her monotonous charm and dispassionate wit as that of a routine office boss; it comes as a complete surprise somewhere in the middle of the movie that she is indeed no different from her predecessors HAL and GERTY. The only difference is that she isn't a Human made AI. She comes from an alien intelligence and is much more sinister than her brothers.

In the fictional world of these three movies, humans manage to outwit all three AI's and get their way. But the thought of SALLY is still sending shivers up my spine because we do not even realize that it is an AI program or an alien. Our senses are alerted only when we keep hearing her repeat the "Are you an effective team ?" monotone. The movie-makers have been quite brilliant in allowing us to slowly remove one mask after the other from Sally; finally exposing her as a devious alien intelligence. Truly mindblowing. In many ways, Tom Cruise's female companion Andrea is also somewhat akin to an programmed person, adhering strictly to mission protocols so that she could complete her mission sooner. The horrifying nature of SALLY comes into full force when Andrea's "We are no longer an effective team" leads to her vaporization by the cute yet deadly drone !

The other common theme that resonates is that between the movie Moon and Oblivion's central character who both happened to be cloned technicians. While the former is routinely deceived and terminated with the promise of a journey back home to a loving wife and child; the latter is deceived into termination with the false company policy of a mandatory memory wipe. They are both curious and in both movies, they come face to face with their clones. In Oblivion, the former clone sacrifices himself and ensures that the alternative version of himself gets to fill in for him. Real touching.

What is to be noted as a central theme in all three movies is the struggle by the human to persevere against a higher or an alternate intelligence. The three movies constantly struggle to remind us that we must preserve our original human ideals or cultural inclinations; however insignificant they may seem. It is best expounded in the latest dystopian movie Oblivion where [spoiler alert !!!]... aliens use human clones deceived to perceive other humans as alien scavengers.The methodology of deception being used to turn a population against one other reminds one of colonial times where practices of "divide and rule" were followed to rob a country off it's resources.

Oh whatever the outcome may be, I am just happy that HAL 9000 and GERTY got their own sister SALLY and they all shall happily scare the living daylights out of us forever. Muwaahahahaha !

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Cybofree has been Scooped !

2013-04-15T17:02:00.000-12:00

Your Cybofree Blog has just started a Scoopit page for displaying top techno social news related to Cybofree. It's a nice platform to curate and gather a scrapbook of interesting news. You can visit the Scoopit page here. Please do extend your support !

http://www.scoop.it/t/cybofree

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Bioballs come to life with Oxford University's Droplet Networks

2013-04-06T15:07:00.000-12:00

Imagine drops of liquid falling down on a surface. They soon form a puddle. Suddenly, the puddle comes to life, rising up and curling itself into a ball. It then hardens and becomes an egg. Within the egg, pre-programmed cells form a custom built embryo which then develops and hatches out. All this happens in a remote planet where this liquid was sent by humans several millions of years preceding this imaginary futuristic event !

Interesting bit of science fiction there, isn't that ? Well, not anymore if we go by the speed at which hydrogels are being bio-printed out. In a recent development at Oxford University's Department of Chemistry, a "droplet network" has been created using their own custom built 3D bioprinter. In effect, this is a network of two concentrations of solutions, the first printed out being at a higher concentration; and the second set being at a low concentration. By the process of Osmosis, the lower concentration flows into the droplets having higher concentration. And voila, you have a curling ball effect ! Now, just imagine being able to print cells on this and making it form a Blastula ! Coming back to reality, the researchers are still working on cutting down their 50 micron size droplet to the size of an actual living cell. Right now, they are about the size of a cluster of cells. Why aren't people concentrating on plant cells which are a whole lot larger ? Maybe everybody just wants another baby !!!

Anyway, these developments are being envisioned for drug delivery and as an alternative for stem cells (which are getting way too expensive to maintain in the laboratory). So, "droplet networks" is another feather in the cap of regenerative science I guess ! Kudos to the research team at Oxford University's Chemistry Department. We are one step closer to creating living biological structures. Remember, the whole new area of regenerative medicine would not have initially been possible were it not for the development of Bio-scaffolds.

Related Articles :

THE JOURNEY FROM CELL CULTURE TO BIOPRINTING AND BEYOND

Adaptnetic Structures

University of Oxford news article on this topic ( 3D printer can build synthetic tissues )

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John Travolta's Face off movie comes to life with Britain's first prosthetic face

2013-04-02T16:09:00.003-12:00

Source : International Business Times

You have seen it in John Travolta and Nicholas Cage starrer Face-off. You have seen it in Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible more than once. But you have never seen it in real life, until now ! Britain's first ever prosthetic face made from 3 D Bioprinting technology has been given to a 60 year old restaurant manager named Eric Monger. Surgical procedures to remove an aggresive tumour on the the left side of his face left a gaping hole disabling his normal quality of life; which ranged from public embarrassment over his appearance, to not being to drink a glass of water without it spilling all over. The face transplant used a combination of scaffold building, 3D milling and 3D bioprinting to create a replacement for the missing part of his face. Here's what Eric Moger had to say about his first experience :

“Before I used to have to hold my hand up to my jaw to keep my face still so I could talk properly and I would have liquid running out the side of my face if I tried to drink. When I had that first glass of water wearing the prosthetic face, nothing came out — it was amazing,” Need I say more ? You can read more about this procedure in Sydney Morning Herald, The Hindu and International Business Times. Amazing !

RELATED ARTICLES :

THE JOURNEY FROM CELL CULTURE TO BIOPRINTING AND BEYOND

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Bioethics of Organ culture and Regenerative Medicine

2013-03-28T05:49:00.001-12:00

My Overview on how far we have come with Cell culture leading to the regenerative medicine and Bioprinting has been published at H plus magazine. You can read the entire article on their website titled "THE JOURNEY FROM CELL CULTURE TO BIOPRINTING AND BEYOND"

As a continuation, I wish to add the following section which addresses my Dystopian fears on the emergenece of these technologies. But you may have to read the original article on H plus magazine before reading the following paragraph. It is as follows :

Image Source :

http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/

directmarketing/illegal-organ-trade-awareness

-organs-on-offer-supplement-15456155/

Our trysts with Organ transfers have led us through extensive black market networks of Organ trade. Such a scenario could easily replicate if the technology remains expensive and the Bioprinter becomes cheaper. There would be an explosion of sub standard organ manufacturers who would print out organs that degrade after a pre-determined time in order to get a “repeat customer”. There can be foreseen a whole plethora of intellectual property disputes between Biologists and Engineers over the design of organs. Newer diseases can emerge from these laboratory grown organs since the cells making them may not have genetic codes to combat certain infectious microbes. Come to think of it, a built-in multi-spectrum immune response option might just come at a premium price for such organs !!! There is also this one extreme dystopian vision; of culturing human clones for harvesting organs akin to a “conscious” organ bank as shown in the movie “The Island”. It is entirely possible. According to our current moral stance, it would be ethical to harvest an organ from our clone as long as it does not have consciousness! The technology might evolve even faster if Embryonic stem cell culture be widely allowed. But, there are some very fine Bioethical borders and slippery slopes which have to be traversed. The scientists who have worked tirelessly on Regenerative medicine to regrow the organs are already forming alliances to highlight the ethical advantages of this technology. We cannot justify holding back such Bio-technologies. However, we must tread very carefully since this time, it really is the final frontier that we are tweaking with, the very cells of our bodies.

RELATED ARTICLE :

THE JOURNEY FROM CELL CULTURE TO BIOPRINTING AND BEYOND

RELATED VIDEO:

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Born on Time ! The new Bioethics of Elective Caesarian with a twist of Cosmic intervention

2013-03-20T06:21:00.000-12:00

Source: http://www.faithmouse.com/cartoon199.jpg

Do you know the time you were born ? If you are from India, it becomes culturally imperative that you possess atleast a residual memory of your birth time. It becomes even more important if you are a fervent believer in the Hindu astrological system which bases it's calculations on the time of your birth. These calculations are about the trials and tribulations awaiting you and how best to confront a lifetime of permutations and combinations that are unique due to your horoscope. Thus, hope and depravity in an individual's lifetime is attributed to his/her time of birth. Until recently, there was nothing you could do about a person's time of birth. There remained an inevitable surrender either to an "unavoidable destiny" or to "pre-predicted lucky and prosperous" life.You were born on a certain day and time and that was it. But, now thanks to the C-Section, the entire game has changed.

The belief in one's horoscope and it's calculations based on the time of birth are not at all new. What is new is a growing trend that is most interesting to observe; as a clever evolution of an evolving postmodern society that still refuses to forgo traditional belief systems !

Many expectant couples in India seek the advice of an Astrologer to pre-meditate the birth time of their child through elective caesarian (CDMR); to coincide with an auspicious alignment of the stars. Simply put, the surgical procedure originally intended to reduce complications in natural child birth, has just become a lifeboat to Astrological bliss ! There are even websites replete with auspicious birth timings for each month of the year !

The practice of Elective Caesarians are already so rampant that they have become a means of generating loads of money by scrupulous hospitals in a blatant neglect of the most basic Bioethics.Unsuspecting parents are technically intimidated with the pressure of medical jargon to go for elective caesarian. In fact, the process is so out and about that medication given to the pregnant woman is actually to prepare the child for a caesarian. You can read more about it here.

However, I personally feel it is completely absurd to go for elective caesarian in order to bring out the child at an auspicious time, while practically endangering the life of both mother and child. In fact, it is a gross violation of another Bioethics code of rule wherein the right to be born at a medically appropriate time is denied to a child. There are several other debates that can be brought into this forum including the issues of Personhood and Informed consent.

I hold no regret against modern Astrologers who have adopted methods ranging from predictive software to consultations over Skype, much in the fashion of their western evangelical counterparts. However, when an Astrologer believes or makes you believe that the rules determining cosmic destiny of an individual can be manipulated by a surgical procedure, it is tantamount to the highest reaches of unethical conduct. This is a line that Astrologers should not cross. It is completely unethical.

A human being is a biological entity and is entirely dependant on his/her basic genetic code, socio-cultural environment and life experience. The concept of a pre-determined destiny cannot be entirely ruled out given the incredible things that are being discovered in the quantum universe every day. However, assuming that this were true, any manipulation would then mean a disruption of the fabric of space and time in the Universe !

So, which is the greater evil ? Manipulating the expression of certain genes so that the child becomes naturally inclined to be successful or manipulating the birth time ? Each option has its own unique moral twists which is going to generate several interesting debates in the coming times.

Source: http://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/Libraries/Cartoons-Copyright/CSection-EN.sflb.ashx

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Popular Science rocks with it's article on Rewiring the Brain !

2013-03-13T16:58:00.000-12:00

This month's Popular Science Magazine has an amazing article that highlights on most of the Cyborg technologies that are out there and evolving as you read this. Called "How Neuroscience will fight 5 age-old afflictions", the article touches on five principal areas where cybernetic interfaces/ cyborg technology is evolving to directly communicate with the brain to treat :

1. Seizures

2. Dementia

3. Blindness

4. Paralysis

5. Deafness

What particularly interested me was the bit about treating Blindness.I was expecting to read about Google glass or the Argus. But what completely blew my lid off was a radically different or even a lateral approach to blindness through Gene therapy by a company called Retrosense Therapeutics. Their radical approach of inserting the light sensitizing gene into ganglion cells to take over the job of photoreceptors for visualizing colour in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa is revolutionary to say the least. It's like a wow factor in bypassing traditionally known networks and heavily relies on the ability of our brains to adapt.You can read more about it here.With Bio-Mems just a hair breadth away in terms of complementing these technologies, I can already stand by amazed at these developments that might just erase the pain and suffering of the differently abled amongst us. Check out this link while you're at it.

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We are the World ! How modern neuroscience is revisiting the Vedic borders of the "self"

2013-03-03T06:14:00.000-12:00

Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah
( Brahman is the only truth, the spatio-temporal world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and Atman(individual self).

This is one of the most famous among 580 other verses in a famous Sanskrit poem (Vivekachudamani) written by Adi Shankaracharya, the revered Indian Non dualistic philosopher from India.The verse consolidatively embraces the Non dualistic Advaita philosophy in Hinduism, which makes more sense now than ever !

Ancient philosophers such as Adi Shankara determined through intense meditation practices, the innate neural perception we have of our body in relation with the outside world. They had often hinted on how we should turn inward and realize the oneness of our consciousness with the world around us. The neural body map that we possess and cling on to firmly right from birth could in fact be an illusion ! The thought of "us" ending in the limitations of our body may just be an illusion created by the process of natural evolution as a survival instinct. We may all in fact be sharing one consciousness and one universal objective. What is even more interesting is that unlike the active perceptions felt by the mystics, we might just be unaware of the passive neural networks we have already established amongst ourselves. All we have to do is close your eyes and concentrate inwardly till we realize this oneness. Or, you could just turn to neuroscience !!!

Neuroscience has already made many skeptics uneasy with revelations that out of body experiences (OBE) and the feeling of an invisible presence could be induced by devices such as Michael Persinger's God Helmet. Olaf Blake and other researchers from the University Hospital,Geneva, Switzerland published a paper linking OBE and selective activation of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) by Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) [Linking Out-of-Body Experience and Self Processing to Mental Own-Body Imagery at the Temporoparietal Junction, Blanke et al.,The Journal of Neuroscience, 19 January 2005, 25(3): 550-557; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2612-04.2005]. Neuroscientific investigations into Temporal Lobe Epilepsy have led to uncovering of hyper-religious behaviours such as the Geschwind syndrome further studied and proven by Neuroscientists such as Vilayanur S.Ramachandran using Gavanic Skin response studies. Neuroscientific studies into fascinating new conditions such as Body Identity Integrity Disorder (BID) where people actually wish to amputate their limbs; could possibly due to a distorted perception in their neural body maps.

Keeping the above in perspective, it is to be noted that a silent revelation is taking shape that much akin to Adi Sankaracharya's poetic verse on non dualism. In an increasing pool of scientific research being done on a group of neurons hailed as "mirror neurons" or "Gandhi neurons" ; a group of neurons and their combined recorded activity is being hailed as the reason we are able to imitate, influence and empathize with others. These neurons are now being researched in several different angles. While Prof. Marco Iacoboni at UCLA's Brain Mapping center of David Geffen School of Medicine pioneering research into mirror neurons focuses on connecting with others and empathizing; Dr.Miguel Nicolelis and his team have been working with using these neuronal signals to transmit Monkey brain signals across continents to eventualize specific tasks. The most recent breakthrough involves connecting two rat brains across continents, forming the first direct brain to brain interface between two animals without any sort of direct physical connection between them. This is probably the closest to studying or re-creating telepathic abilities that science has come.

All of these revelations proven parallely by scientific experiments increase the possibility of actually being one consciousness and increasingly coming to terms with the shared responsibility over global issues such as Climate change and eradicating poverty. This is a path to our evolution so beautifully described by another Indian spiritualist, Sri Aurobindo who lived in more modern times. His Discourse of the Triple transformation of the Human being is described as being through three stages; 1. Psychic transformation, 2. Spiritual transformation and 3.Supramental transformation (click here to read more). In the final stage of Supramental Transformation, he tells that "Sensory function operates independently of the sense organs and sense-mind, gaining awareness of all things on all planes" as one of the abilities that shall be acquired by us. This has been realized before by Ancient Indian Mystics such as Adi Sankaracharya and is being manifested as a common achievable reality through the advances in Neuroscience.

So, it was an interesting journey through the Big Bang and Natural Evolution to understand where we begin. Might it be a good idea to read the ancient scriptures to find out; where do we end ?

Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya |
Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |
Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

(1: Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of Self),
2: Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),
3: Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality.
4: Peace, Peace, Peace.)

FURTHER READINGS :

Transcendent Consciousness for Transcendent Technologies

Iacoboni et al., Grasping the Intentions of Others with One's Own Mirror Neuron System, PLOS Biology (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030079)

http://www.kurzweilai.net/first-direct-brain-to-brain-interface-between-two-animals

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/mind-melds-brain-communication_n_2781609.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

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Draw yourself a whole new world with the world's first 3D pen !

2013-02-24T05:43:00.000-12:00

Their site itself has this to say about the World's first 3D pen :

Have you ever just wished you could lift your pen off the paper and see your drawing become a real three dimensional object? Well now you can!

At the outset, it is a handheld 3D printer that can release heated and rapidly setting plastic material as an extruding material. You can draw just about anything in 3D !!! Now, this is one innovation that can truly be hailed as an innovation because it signals the time when humans are finally going to leave the 2D world of paper and the computer screen to create a whole new world ! Right now, the video may show demonstrations of 3D scale models being constructed or mere wire art. However, the possibilities once this technological device becomes mainstream is simply left to the imagination ! You can visit them here and here.

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Cyborgs can live without a pulse : The amazing story of the new techno hearts that literally drops your pulse !

2013-02-13T06:31:00.000-12:00

It is very rarely that technological evolution undergoes a sudden shift from the natural progression of things. But some technological approaches are completely unprecedented and defy if not break convention. The continuous flow artificial heart is one such technological innovation that has almost surely destroyed the convention that it takes a beating heart to keep a person alive. Developed originally as a VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) for failing hearts by Dr.Bud Frazier and Dr.Billy Cohen (both from the Texas Heart Institute); this continuous flow device actually defies anything close to what you would define as normal behaviour for a biological heart ! The discovery is simply Serendipity at it's finest.

The following are lines from the popular article on their story from Popular Science :

And here’s where the story gets spooky. In November 2003, Frazier installed the newly approved HeartMate II to assist the failing heart of a young man from Central America who barely spoke English. His family members spoke none. So none of them fully understood Frazier’s instructions to return to the hospital frequently for follow-up. The young man walked out of the hospital and disappeared.
When he finally showed up eight months later, Frazier held a stethoscope to his chest and was stunned to hear no heartbeat at all. None. Even more-sensitive instruments would have found nothing resembling a pulse. The young man’s heart continued to flutter weakly, but it had effectively shut down. Although the HeartMate II had been designed to assist the heart, not replace it, in this case it seemed to be doing all the work: not just helping the left ventricle push oxygenated blood to the body, but pushing the blood hard enough to flow through the body, then back through the useless heart to the lungs, through the useless heart again, and into the pump to complete the loop and begin the process all over again. The reason the young man had never come back for follow-up, he told Frazier, was that he’d felt perfectly fine.

Wow ! Now, efforts are on by means of testing on animals (especially calves) with much success. They even kept an elderly gentleman alive for several weeks with their device. Intially, artificial hearts mimicked the biological heart's "pump" mechanism to lug blood throughout the body. However, this posed the difficulty of compactness and the need for enormous energy sources. Take a look at the video on how the reduced size of an artificial heart changed the quality of life for a person :

The most important motivating factor till now for the development of such devices is the need to sustain the person's life till he/she receives a transplant. However, devices such as the continuous flow heart even dare to question the working of the conventional heart. These doctors say continuous flow is indeed much better for the body than the conventional pumping of the biological heart !!! Being alive with a decent quality of life is all that matters in the end, it shouldn't really matter if this can be acheived without a beating heart or a pulse. With nanotechnology, micro-electronics and miniaturized energy sources; we are just at the cusp of their individual breakthroughs, it will only be a matter of time before these devices come of age. In the distant future, a flatline may literally also just mean that the person has a continuous flow heart !!!

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Deus Ex Human Revolution - Awesome Video !

2013-02-09T17:23:00.000-12:00

WOW !

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Cool Slideshow on Future History of Bionic Tech

2013-02-03T22:57:00.001-12:00

Another awesome slideshow from Popular Mechanics on the future of Bionics and expected timeline. It includes Respirocytes !!! Click on...

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BBC's Prosthetic Devices through time slideshow

2013-02-03T05:44:00.002-12:00

Here's an awesome slideshow by BBC on Prosthetic devices through time. Amazing !

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Lance Armstrong gets praised as a pioneer in human enhancement

2013-02-03T05:08:00.000-12:00

Prof.Andy Miah has penned an article on wired about Lance Armstrong, hailing him as a "pioneer in human enhancement"( read :Lance Armstrong should be celebrated as a pioneer in human enhancement) . I would agree to this in a controlled sense of the word with my own views already written in this blog ( Lance Armstrong, Performance enhancing drugs and the resurrection of a fallen hero ) .Interestingly, Lance Armstrong could well be on his way to becoming a hero for a completely different group and reason !

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Technology getting under your skin and the ethical scratches therein : An Overview of Bioethical Issues stemming from Implantable RFID microchips

2013-01-29T01:23:00.000-12:00

It is always important to understand the reasons we subject ourselves to different technological applications. For example, it may be absolutely essential to have a cell phone. However, it may not be so essential that the cell phone be loaded with the coolest video games. Likewise, while it is very important for implantable device technologies to evolve, their applications would have to be carefully monitored.

RFID tags have been used for several years now in the Industry for asset tracking and inventory control. Even the clothes we pick up from a mall have small RFID tags on them that is used to protect the shopkeeper against theft and pilferage.In fact, RFID tags are being sold for livestock identification and branding in a very normal way. But we don't bother about it unless it starts getting under our skin.

In more pleasant times, wearing a medical bracelet would be a welcome idea.The medical bracelet or even a flashcard with our medical information would be absolutely essential in times of a medical emergency where our conscious participation in the treatment process may not be available. It is even welcoming that healthcare systems in countries such as the USA may have actually begun to encourage implantable devices that can track and monitor patient activity.

More recently, a controversial RFID chip much akin to what Prof.Warwick implanted himself with did the rounds in popular media. Hailed as the next level of ensuring patient safety; the VeriChip quickly became infamous among religious and cultural circles which were not entirely unfounded. You can read more about such concerns here and here. The VeriChip is no longer being marketed under the same name or company is not so new at all.

A major concern was that it could lead to tumours or infections in the biological system. Whilst this may not seem so obvious in a clinical situation ie., the sterile environment of a hospital; it is very much likely that other establishments may not follow such stringent aseptic measures whilst implanting such devices. The quality of the materials may also not be of the highest quality if used commercially. The funny thing is my fears have already come to fruition. In a famous night club, VIP passes include implanting the patron with an RFID implantable chip [ Read More here about the Baja beach club RFID implants in Barcelona ]. It was a clever way to gain the attention of the media but leaves open a large amount of questions. I have always had a very serious question when it comes to implantable chips. It is made of glass and if the person bumps that part really hard against a surface, could it not lead to serious internal injury even at the skin level ? The broken glass shards would be extremely difficult and painful to pull off with a tweezer.Interestingly enough, the modified Chip is now FDA approved. You can read the company's (VeriTeq) press announcements here.This must mean that they are safe. But safety eventually depends on where and how it is applied.

I would very much doubt the sanctity of anything biologically intrusive being applied in a noisy ill-lit place such as a nightclub. Another fear is that our medical data would be sold and bought within the information market for marketing and other purposes. There really is nothing much we can do about it unless Bioethicists really wake up. Stringent measures in healthcare where the patient is in control only happen in countries with the best healthcare facilities and where they are available. In most other cases, these technologies would be eventually adopted into the healthcare system without so much of a whimper.

In many ways, such technologies would actually speed up certain processes. But, it is important to decide which are the processes for which the speed is required and for which it is not. For example, it dosen't mater much in a medical emergency if the insurance company blocks patient data sharing with a particular hospital owing to corporate tie-up issues or for a particular patient who forgot to pay his/her dues.

Implantable chips would become better and we would also have the choice now to choose between implants and epidermal electronic systems ( see my previous post on EES : Branding yourself electronically with Electronic Epidermal Systems ). Also, implantable chips are in the prototype stages which have bundled feautures of identification with real time biosensor capabilities ( check out Positive ID Corporations GlucoChip for monitoring blood glucose levels ). Some underlying issues remain such as one raised in another blog (PositiveID Implantable GlucoChip RFID Technology Continues-Submitted to FDA for 501K Approval).

But just as my hopes rise up, my dystopian fears also crop up. Fears of a "Repo men" scenario resurge when I hear that Medical devices such as pacemakers and cosmetic devices such as breast implants are being enabled with RFID tags to enable smoother processing of patient data. Insurance companies are going to have a field day with scanning all their defaulters very quickly. Naturally, legislations would be in place to protect the interests of individuals against threats to their inherent privacy and dignity.For example, states in USA have passed bills protecting against forced implantation of microchips (California Bans Forced RFID Tagging of Humans).

I do not wish to state that we avoid allowing technology getting under our skin. However, we should only become aware of the amount of control we have over the electronics that we allow to merge with our biological bodies. So far, the biological body with which we are born is the last frontier for any sense of self-identity. Violation of the human dignity with intrusive proprietory technology may only be allowed under dire or highly essential circumstances. I just hope it does not become as casual as sharing personal information on an online social network only to be gobbled up by info-seeking companies. It really has started getting scary now that technology is getting under our skin !!!

Further Reading :

The First "body slaves" : how ready are we for the posthuman body ?

Branding yourself electronically with Electronic Epidermal Systems

Iron Man 2 and the cyborg technology offshoots

A DEAD BLACKBERRY

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Branding yourself electronically with Electronic Epidermal Systems

2013-01-26T19:59:00.000-12:00

Seems just like yesterday that Prof.Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading, UK took that bold step to implant a BrainGate device onto his median nerve in his forearm to be able to control electronic devices.

The road further down has revealed a fascinating bunch of technological features. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana have developed what is called an "Epidermal Electronic System" (EES) which is a bendable electronic device that uses the molecular force on skin cells for adhesion. It even boasts of a power source small enough to power it. Interestingly, these could quite soon replace identification tags or become alternatives for Biometric systems. Hmmm, come to think of it, party goers could now be given a fancy tatoo with a hidden electronic circuit in their arms. Healthcare monitoring is just the begining.Read more here : Breakthrough: Electronic circuits that are integrated with your skin. A video of the electronic tatoo is as shown here :

While the Epidermal Electronic system does have it's own bendable power source which can be built into it, other parallel efforts at powering such devices are also on the way to fruition. This is especially true in the case of development of an inner ear battery by MIT's Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and Harvard's MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) to make self powered implantable devices. This device for the first time has tapped into the naturally present region with electric potential for it's power requirements. Read more about it here

There are some emergent ethical issues stemming from these technologies. I can already guess the EES system being potentially used to tag artificial organs and corporate patients in hospitals. Even now few of us would refuse if a hospital insisted on using an epidermal electronic tatoo patch on us for their patient inventory system. Informed consent has just taken on a whole new different set of meaning. However, the advantages far outweigh the fears of social discrimination and eugenic nightmares. Systems such as Epidermal Electronic devices could eventually help in timely drug delivery especially during medical emergencies.

These technologies are the offshoot of continued innovations in materials research. For example, it was the work on enabling electronic circuit printing on flexible substrates that eventually led to the EES. Wonder what comes next ?

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Bionic hearing gets social with Cogni-Wave

2013-01-24T07:10:00.001-12:00

A few years ago I posted an article on Cochlear implants where I had expressed the desire emanating from Beethoven to modern day differently abled persons to be able to hear in a more refined manner rather than just hearing (Cochlear Cyborgs : The Human issues surrounding Cochlear Implant Technologies) . Every sense that is naturally acquired is capable of being refined over time. A popular example would be that of the ubiquitous wine taster. With the coming times, this refinement acquired naturally will be eventually replicated in their Bionic counterparts.

Whenever we ("we" as in those of us who are capable of natural hearing) walk into a party or a crowded environment, we possess the innate ability to screen out the cacophony of unwanted sounds or noises and concentrate on what is required. This may involve focusing our hearing towards a person conversing beside us. However, it is a Herculean task for a differently abled person with a hearing aid to do the same. The hearing aid could be adjusted at best to increase or decrease the amount of noise entering or being processed. However, technology is still at a significant distance to achieve a refinement over the kind of noises or to put it simply, preferential hearing. This ability is otherwise called social hearing.

Two students ( Brian wang and Michael shen ) from University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) have come about with a new social hearing solution called Cogni-wave which can enable users with hearing aids to screen out environmental sounds and focus on one voice at a time. Their system uses a series of rotating microphones working in sync to screen out environmental sounds and enable functional hearing.This is awesome and the students hope to become entrepreneurs with their venture. More of this on Commercializing hearing technology: from people to pipelines.

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Dreams to be projected and Minds to be conquered, the next best thing to the Android phone !!!

2013-01-20T07:30:00.001-12:00

When was the last time you had a beautiful dream ? What if you could record it and play it back on a TV over and over again ?

It sure would be great if I could record all my favourite dreams. Let us explore our fantasy a bit further and think about showing others our dreams and visions. It would have been awesome if Martin Luther King Jr or Mahathma Gandhi or Karl Marx projected their incredible dreams for a utopian and non-discriminatory humane world !

We have already entered the visual communication age where we are more influenced by what we see than what we read. Business and academic presentations simply wouldn't work now with just a whiteboard. Somebody in the audience would eventually make a passing comment on why a visual presentation isn't accompanied so they could understand better. The fact that cell phones which can accomodate presentation softwares are more preferred is testament to this fact. In fact, now we have cell phones and digital cameras that can project images and presentations. All you need is a wall and maybe that too would no longer be necessary.

So what's next ? How about simply transferring our dreams and thoughts onto the computer and projecting them for the world to see ?!? Seems like the Science fiction movie "Total Recall" where the main protagonist is subjected to a treatment where images are fed into his head.However, it is no longer Science fiction. It is going to be real. From what I could see, there are atleast two distinct groups working on this. For years now, Electroencephalography techniques have established that the brain has distinct patterns which can be measured and interpreted as specific activity in response to distinct stimuli. We are now gradually but surely going towards controlling the devices around us with just our thoughts. From video games to wheelchair control, brain controlled electronic devices is the next wave in user interface technology.

The wave that is to come once this brain computer interface technology is mainstream is going to a Tsunami ! And, the ripples have already begun forming as early as 2011. The technique now being used to make the first images of our thoughts and dreams is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging technique. The promise of these technologies have been demonstrated by atleast two different researchers at two different ends of the planet. One is Dr.Yukiyasu Kamitani of the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan and the other is Prof.Jack Gallant and his team of researchers at the University of Berkeley, California. They have both been able to record dreams using algorithms that match brain patterns at different levels of consciousness with a database of most probable images.

The uncovering of the consciousness would be extremely interesting. Many years ago, I had argued that people in Permanent Vegetative States actually could have very minute but active brain activity that we are not yet technologically capable of measuring. These technologies could mean that we are definitely getting there and this would revolutinize the way we deal with our current definition of "brain death". Of course, the commercial applications of such technologies would range from street level fantasy games to forensic applications.

Ethical issues associated with such technologies would probably be one of the last frontiers on the pervasion of technology into our private lives. Our thoughts could be stolen just as Christopher Nolan showed us how in the movie "Inception". Intellectual property would no longer be intellectual. Perhaps in a dystopian future, we might actually have to move around with thought shielding helmets or else pay a premium price for thought security services !!! Anything is possible including the capability of handing over or grabbing control of another's willpower. Imagine walking into a seminar in the future where you can actually become self motivated by changing your brain wave pattern !!!

The ride down the slippery slope has already begun...Hold on.

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Lance Armstrong, Performance enhancing drugs and the resurrection of a fallen hero

2013-01-18T06:28:00.003-12:00

Much of the world loved to penalize World Famous Cyclist Lance Armstrong and strip him off his seven Tour de France titles. The man who became famous enough to take a leisurely bicycle ride with former US president George W Bush was reduced to all but nothing overnight. Why ? Because it was proven with much room for speculation that he had enhanced his body's oxygen transfer capacity using EPO (Erythropoietin)link. This might have given him an unfair advantage over other players. However, in a sport where the majority of players are known to take some form of performance enhancement drugs (PED's) invariably; the extreme damage done to a man who campaigned relentlessly for Cancer survivors throughout the world.

It is the way of this world isn't it ? It loves throwing stones at the slightest instance and is reluctant to forgive and forget even when that person is unlike any other athelete in a similar situation. In "Why Lance Armstrong still matters" , Rich Kaalgard puts this in very good perspective as :

"$470 million. That is the amount of money the Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised since 1997 to help people in the fight against cancer. The Foundation has helped 2.5 million cancer survivors with free patient navigation services. There are more than 1,000 grassroots Livestrong Day events held in 65 countries annually to support the cancer battle. Was it all a lie? Who cares. Cheater or not, has any athlete done more with their fame than Lance Armstrong to benefit other people?"

Michael Phelps is naturally born and is allowed to compete even with his unfair anatomical advantage in the Olympics. How is this being allowed ? Is the world biased towards or suffering from a primitive form of the next wave of discrimination ? We will have to wait and see.

We don't want "perfect heroes". Just like the Dark Knight, we should learn to embrace Lance Armstrong as he is a rare beacon of inspiration in an otherwise bleak world. Like his famous book "It's not about the Bike" !!! I'm sure Lance is going to come out of this pitfall too !
RELATED POST : Lost in Transcendence : A Tribute to Dr.Albert Hofmann

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The things to come in the era of the dissapearing computer

2013-01-12T07:22:00.000-12:00

A Black marble like slab comes alive to display a virtual represntation of the real world. It enables one to communicate, interact and socialize with one's peers. It enables one to sense all that is around. It is a "Cell Phone" with touch facility ! Did it not just seem absurd to read the previous sentences ? That's right. We have become used to what was otherwise once "indistinguishable from magic" as the famous science writer Arthur C.Clarke once put up ("Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic").

What is yet to come now that we are so close to touching and feeling our way across the "networked world" ? Soon enough, we shall have "Sixth sense" technologies to interact with the electronic devices in our position. We would have "wearable computers" such as the "Eye tap" from Steve Mann and "implantable chips" as being researched by Prof.Kevin Warwick. Maybe we are yet too far from artistic depictions of the cyborg concept as by STELLARC. see my earlier posts ( Cyborg Eyes: http://cyborgfantasy.blogspot.com/2007/08/cyborg-eyes.html , and Cyborg What, Cyborg Who and Cyborg How : http://cyborgfantasy.blogspot.com/2007/07/cyborg-what-cyborg-who-and-cyborg-how.html).

But surely, the future is beset with a huge list of events where the computer is going to eventually dissapear from the desktop or laptop and re-appear within us; much like an organ.

Already, we have immense practical applications of Remote sensing, Geographical positioning systems and Remote sensing to sense the world around us. Governments use Remote sensing techniques to identify annual crop productions and calculate market prices. What about us ? We use GPS on our phones and use satellite based navigation systems to drive around. These do not seem much now that they have come of age. However, the next step is already here.

Already, Companies such as Shimmer are offering wearable sensors that can sense the world around us. These can be used for therapeutic purposes to identify potential risks around us.

Kahp-Yang Suh, an engineer at Seoul National University is developing Environmental sensors that behave much like the sensing of a human hair. These devices could soon mean that we would be not be wearing small panels or boxes for ennvironmental sensing. Instead, we would have these sewn or stuck to our bodies so that we could be forewarned on entering a dangerous area (say an area with a high concentration of carbon monoxide which is otherwise odourless).

A huge future lies ahead and we will be living it. Next up....the brain and all it's dreams captured ! It is not fiction but is growing day by day as

electroencephalography !!! More on that later.....

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Global warming needs jackets from Back to the Future

2013-01-08T06:30:00.000-12:00

I am always amazed that I am living in a time where "The Future is Now"...everything that we could ever have imagined through science fiction is now becoming reality at an ever increasing rate !

One of my all time favourite Sci-fi movie scenes from the "Back to the Future" movie series was the auto drying jacket ! It seemed at that time awesome to think that in the future, we might wear a jacket that circulated fresh air while being worn ! But it's become reality now; much largely due to a company from Japan called Kuchofuku. They have come up with a unique jacket that can be worn. It has fans circulating air while being worn. The wearer is comfortable throughout ! Another milestone in the fight against Global warming and quite the "cool factor" !

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Behavioural acceptance of Existing Superhumans : The path to equal acceptance of the differently abled

2013-01-06T17:58:00.000-12:00

Sukesh Kuttan singing in Asianet Idea Star Singer

On December 23 (2012), many keralite (people hailing from Kerala, a southern state of India) viewers both home and abroad anxiously glued their attentions to their Television sets, for their favourite singer, Mr.Sukesh Kuttan in the finale of the hit reality TV show on Asianet channel called “Idea Star SingerSeason 6”. However, Sukesh did not sing much to the disappointment of the viewers. In fact, he wouldn’t sing due to reasons known only to him as he could never express himself in a way that normal society could interpret as effective communication. However, whenever Sukesh did sing in the past episodes of the show, he sang like none other; beating all other traditionally trained contestants as if they were mere wisps of somebody’s imagination of grandeur.

However, Sukesh is known to normative society as “Autistic”. He is extremely sensitive to external stimuli and could sing only when his doting mother was beside him to calm him. However, despite his mother’s presence; Sukesh Kuttan could not sing probably owing to the tremendous noise of the crowd and the intense studio lights which might have disturbed his otherwise serene musical world. Somebody else won the competition and that was that. But deep down and from the amount of spectators who had voted for him (through SMS), it was obvious who won the real competition. It was an inspiring moment in Indian television to feature a differently abled person and give him a sporting chance.

Sukesh Kuttan is every bit as sensational as was Kyle Coleman [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2112030/Kyle-Coleman-Mute-autistic-man-stuns-experts-amazing-singing-voice.html], James Durbin [youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ6a0RALpEI ] and several other extraordinary persons who defied convention with their remarkable talent in music. [ For a list of famous people who are viewed differently, see : http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html ].

There seems to be a widely accepted common denominator for a normal state of human consciousness amongst individuals within any given society. For years, people who are differently abled and showing remarkable traits (sometimes known as “Savants”) have lived and continue to live amongst us. The “normal society” has never quite accepted nor tried it’s best to understand them. If the ability is exceptionally higher than what normative members of the society can achieve, the possessor of the trait is hailed as a prodigy. If not, the so called normal people outcast the child as differently abled and is treated as a burden only to be tolerated to uphold the loosely held dictums of personhood and ethics (both of which are fundamentally flawed systems seeking continued evolution). Some of the names used to describe such individuals are Dyslexic, Autistic, Savants and many others. I would rather think that there is a general problem with the entire human society that identifies itself as “civilized”. It tries to rationalize common behavior as being normal. Children are repeatedly taught to adhere to certain norms and cultures without any specific justified reason offered to them. Pressure from Parents, Peers and behavioural psychologists force otherwise talented children to become proficient only in areas which the “normal” society deems as worthwhile pursuits. Thus, may potential artists, musicians are forced into “fitting in” to a dull society that has already proved it’s uselessness by way of mindlessly unsustainable consumption of resources. In “The Drama of the Gifted Child”, Alice Duer Miller rightfully writes “It is among the commonplaces of education that we often first cut off the living root and then try to replace its natural functions by artificial means. Thus we suppress the child's curiosity and then when he lacks a natural interest in learning he is offered special coaching for his scholastic coaching for his scholastic difficulties”.

Whenever the inherent genius in the child refuses to oblige and retaliates violently, the parents and most often the society labels them as differently abled. When we see a child being overly sensitive to stimulation that others perceive as normal; we take it to be a sign of a neuro degenerative disorder. Could it not be the other way around that it is we who have lost our sense of sensitivity to all that surrounds us? How do we know that it might be us who are in need of medication and awakening to a new state of altered consciousness?

Their abilities raise an amusing question in my mind. Could it not be probable that the rest of us are actually retarded; and therefore require formal training in music to perform even marginally as these naturally extraordinary singers with no prior traditional training ? The Human brain and the way it functions still needs to be interpreted in a proper way. Our neural perception of this world could actually be limited when compared to the perceptions of a “Savant” or “autistic” person.

There is a Dystopian movie called “Equlibirum” which shows a nation state that defines curbing human emotions such as love through drug intake as normative behavior. When everybody does it, it seems normal owing to the benefits it supposedly offers from a world of crime or disorder.This movie need not be all that dystopian since it is only a futuristic depiction of what has happened in the past and is continuing to happen in the present. How idiotic now do our ancient civilizations seem, where men and women were bought and sold as slaves much like commodities in a market. How equally absurd does it seem now that we humans once regarded people with black skin as inferior! When such things have happened, it is little wonder that the dystopian movie scenario might happen as well.

A famous movie from India called “Taare Zameen Par” tells the tale of an extraordinarily talented boy who sees the world in an extremely different but creative manner. The story is about how he is outcasted by the regimental academic system until a talented teacher discovers and inspires him to unfold his colourful interpretation of the world once more[Youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9o6smDsoOE ]. It is very rare that such things happen in the non-celluloid world. But, it should happen more often. The celebrated Mathematician and game theorist John Forbes Nash [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash,_Jr. ] was the subject of the Russel Crowe starrer “A Beautiful Mind”. He suffered from paranoid Schizophrenia and yet displayed remarkable genius. I have always believed that if there was one sane person in a room full of insane people, it would be the the sane person who would be perceived as insane and outcasted.

This is the nature of things and becomes even more important in the consideration of a posthuman/transhuman world where we expect human evolution to advance beyond it’s current limitations. How would we resolve our conflicts in the future if we are not able to contend with our own behavioural diversities. In her article “The Misbehaviour Of Behaviourists Ethical Challenges to the Autism-ABA Industry”; Michelle Dawson has this to say about Applied Behavioural Analysis…”Autism equals tragedy, suffering, and doom. Either autistic children are successfully treated through early intensive behaviour interventions or they are condemned to a life of isolation and institutionalization. Autism is incompatible with achievement, intelligence, physical and psychological integrity, dignity, autonomy, and learning: either you are autistic or you have access to these possibilities. Either the autistic gets ABA, and comes to resemble a non-autistic, or the autistic is doomed. Autism equals a nuclear bomb, a stroke, diabetes, a terminal illness, being "riddled with pain from a terrible accident", and again, always, cancer. If you are against ABA then you are for institutionalization. If ABA is criticized then children will be destroyed. Autism is incompatible with humanity: either you are autistic or you are human. If an autistic is deprived of ABA then he will end up being thrown to the floor and sat on by four large attendants in a group home”. This clearly demonstrates the amount of discrimination prevalent in society for so called “differently abled” people.

Human societies throughout history have always resisted any deviation from what is commonly perceived as normal behavior. Society has time and again felt threatened by individuals whose wisdom and independent viewpoints are so profound that they shake the very foundations of existent power structures. More famously; Galileo Galilei, the father of modern science (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei); was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life for supporting Heliocentrism. From Galileo to Ablert Einstein, there is a long list throughout human history of discrimination and prosecution for thinking differently[http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/famous-persecuted-scientists/].

I think we have a long way to go before we upload our consciousness into supercomputers. I also think we are not all that noble as we assume to be; unless we acknowledge equal worth in the diversities that exist between our species in terms of culture, race, religion and most importantly; behavior. We humans have an extremely bad habit of wanting to change all the beauty and diversity in this world to suit our stereotyped and narrow perceptions. Why is it that we cannot let things be as they are? The yearning to evolve radically is very nice. However, such an evolution must be complemented with acceptance of diversity; however radical it may seem. The path to enhanced drugs that increase cognitive capacity must be thoroughly examined for slippery slopes. In fact, I would suggest that transhumanist enthusiasts be very careful when treading on issues of behavioural corrections, interpretations and techno-biological upliftment for humans and animals.

I find the current behavior of ourselves as unacceptable. What are we angry at ? Why do philosophies such as Transhumanism exist ? Do they exist merely to answer the frustrations of mortality and the physical limits of hedonism ? Our brains are already evolved to do wonders even without cognitive enhancement. People like Sukesh Kuttan or James Durbin have repeatedly demonstrated that the brain is capable of incredible feats that defy conventional explanation. I think it is time that society that yearns for a radical change into a postmodern world first realize and rightfully recognize the Superhumans who already exist amidst us; instead of suppressing them.

In "The Dream of Scipio", Iain Pears writes “Was not Hypatia the greatest philosopher of Alexandria, and a true martyr to the old values of learning? She was torn to pieces by a mob of incensed Christians not because she was a woman, but because her learning was so profound, her skills at dialectic so extensive that she reduced all who queried her to embarrassed silence. They could not argue with her, so they murdered her.”

Readings :

1.      Galileo to Turing: The Historical Persecution of Scientists : http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/famous-persecuted-scientists/

2.      American Idol 2011, James Durbin, is an amazing Autistic Singer : http://technewszone.com/tech-news-zone-and-paying-it-forward-for-autism-zone/american-idol-2011-james-durbin-amazing-autistic-singer/

3.      THE MISBEHAVIOUR OF BEHAVIOURISTS Ethical Challenges to the Autism-ABA Industry by Michelle Dawson (http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_aba.html)

4.      Famous People With Autism ( http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html )

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