VALENCIA!!

Ben net terug van een paar dagen Valencia. Wat een lekker stadje.
Me vooral overdag en ’s avonds ondergedompeld in de fantastische architectuur van "Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències" en het vrij dynamische & intensieve nachtleven ;)) "No Sleep ’till…Holland"

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències

Hoewel ik enorm kan genieten van futuristische & onaardse architectuur was ik niet voorbereid op de enorme oerkracht van de herskenspinsels van architect Santiago Calatrava.

you will absolutely enjoy this minimal & maximal graphic representation of it: Shift Happens II.

An other early adoptation:

Verhalen - Rolverdeling - Radiouitzending - Podcast - Colofon - Nieuwsbrief - Gastenboek - Oproep!

Podcast
U kunt het Bommelhoorspel via podcast automatisch downloaden naar uw computer.  Voer http://feeds.feedburner.com/bommel in uw podcastprogramma in. Problemen? Podcastinformatie.

Wat is het?

Podcast is het automatisch downloaden van de mp3 van de afleveringen van het Bommelhoorspel naar uw computer. U abonneert zich als het ware op de wekelijkse aflevering.

U hebt een hulpprogramma nodig (gratis) als bijvoorbeeld iTunes of Juice.
- Downloadsite iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes/
- Downloadsite Juice http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/index.php

Het Bommelhoorspel is auteursrechtelijk beschermd. Dat betekent dat u de afleveringen en de afbeeldingen niet zonder toestemming van de makers mag verspreiden of publiceren.

Meer podcast

Publieke omroep: http://www.radiocast.nl/
Podcastinfo: http://www.podcastinfo.nl

Speaker: David Weinberger

Attend this two-day pre-conference seminar and learn about all the cool new technologies coming out from the Microsoft Connected Systems Division (CSD). Learn about BizTalk Services (BizTalk in the cloud), the integration between WF and WCF, and the new features in BizTalk Server 2006 R2. During this in-depth technical seminar you will be taught by industry-renowned Pluralsight instructors (Jon Flanders, Matt Milner, and Aaron Skonnard) and the experience will prepare you for the conference week ahead. The seminar will be lecture and demo only. Attendees will receive the class materials and all the demo code presented during the 2 days.

Highlights

.NET 3.5 (Orcas) ramp-up
WCF Web API for REST/POX
WCF RSS/Ajax features
Workflow Services
WCF/WF/BTS integration
What’s new in BTS 2006 R2
WCF adapters for R2
BizTalk RFID
BizTalk Services (in the cloud)
Who Should Attend

Microsoft SOA and Business Process Conference 2007
2-day Preconference Training Seminar

This event is being held in conjunction with the Microsoft SOA and Business Process Conference 2007 as a 2-day preconference training seminar. It will help you ramp-up on the cool new technologies being developed by the Microsoft Connected Systems Division (CSD). For example, you’ll learn about BizTalk Services (BizTalk in the cloud), the new integration between WF and WCF, and the new features in BizTalk Server 2006 R2. The sessions are designed for developers and technical decision makers and will be taught by recognized Pluralsight instructors (Jon Flanders, Matt Milner, and Aaron Skonnard).

The seminar has been designed to enhance your conference experience with in-depth developer-focused lectures and demos (but no labs) and plenty of time for discussion with the instructors, providing you with the foundation you need for the years ahead. Attendees will receive electronic copies of the class materials and demo code.

Who should attend

Developers and technical decision makers interested in learning the details surrounding the emerging CSD technologies listed above and how they can be applied in future architectures and solutions.

Event schedule

Sunday October 28th 9AM to 5PM and Monday October 29th 9AM to 4 PM. Conference reception immediately following.

Location

MSCC building 33 Hood Room, Redmond campus, Redmond WA.

For more information and to receive the conference discount please contact Bill Williams at +1.781.749.9238 or
Scott Deadrick +1.310.251.9901 or visit

Source

http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/WhatsNewInCSD.aspx

Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder

I place this book in the company of other books about the internet and information; Ambient Findability - Peter Morville, Wikinomics - Don Tapscott, Wealth of Networks - Yochai Benkler. To me it’s about the changes wrought by current trends on the internet. Weinberger is deeply familiar with internet and all it’s implications, since he is one of the original authors of Cluetrain Manifesto which was probably the first book to outline the game changing nature of the internet. Here he tackles how to cope with the seeming chaos of digital information that we are deluged with.  This is a thought provoking book and will make you look at organizing information in a different way. It will help you understand some of the current trends on the internet and put it into historical context.

Audience

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in internet trends especially as it relates to organizing information. If you are at all interested in the history of information and how we as humans have struggled to come to terms with the world, then this book is one of the best I have come across. It is well written and a pleasure to read.

Details

David Weinberger, internet visionary, has again synthesized an intellectual romp through another important topic - Information. We, humans, are obsessed with defining, categorizing and organizing information as our way of bringing some order to the chaotic world we live in.
Weinberger explores our obsession with information from Plato and Aristotle to our modern-day digital explosion of information.
He frames this exploration by defining 3 orders of organizing information:

1. 1st Order organization is of the physical world, manipulating physical objects and organizing them,
2. 2nd Order of organization is the use of metadata to organize and categorize physical objects i.e. library card catalogs. This is still limited by physical constraints.
3. 3rd Order of organization is the world we live in today, as we move from the physical to the digital, organizing information becomes freed from physical constraints allows us to simultaneously define, categorize and organize information into a million different taxonomies.

The 1st and 2nd orders of organization are covered as Weinberger explores the history of our obsession with categorizing information; from Plato’s `Joints of Nature’, to Aristotle’s `Trees of Knowledge’. We have been lumping and splitting information for thousands of years. Until recently we have been constrained by the laws of physics, it is hard for objects to be in two places. It is also hard to categorize the real world into orderly taxonomies i.e. what category does a duck-billed-platypus fit into?

The 3rd order organization is what Weinberger is referring to in his title, `Everything is Miscellaneous’. In a world where we can organize information any way we want, nothing needs to be categorized per-se and everything can live in a state of limbo in the miscellaneous category until we need it and then, and only then, does it need to be grouped, filtered, sorted for our immediate consumption.

The 3rd order world has freed information and people to categorize information anyway they want. It is no longer an academic exercise to come up with taxonomies. With tools like Digg, del.icio.us, Flickr etc. we slice and dice the world of information to our personal needs.
Understanding this digital disorder we live in and how we cope is the ultimate point of this book. True to form, Weinberger has given us a wealth of information to ultimately understand where we are today and how to build the tools to cope in the future.

Key Take-Aways

You will come away from this book understanding the following:

• Our historical struggle to organize information from the physical to the digital
• That we live in a new reality where information is freed from its physical constraints.
• The world of information is now available to all of us and can now be organized any way we want.

Summary

If you enjoyed any of Weinberger’s previous books (Cluetrain Manifesto, Small Pieces Loosely Joined) you will not be disappointed. This is a pleasure to read and will make you think - my two most important attributes when it comes to books. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in information and the current trends on the internet. Weinberger has been right on the money with his observations of the internet and this book is no different; organizing information in the age of the internet is an important subject.

Read why there is more to information than search alone.

K. Sampanthar "Inventor of ThinkCube" (Boston, MA)

Buy book: Amazon

Microsoft is pleased to announce the 2007 Microsoft SOA & Business Process Conference to be held from October 29th through November 2nd, 2007 at the Microsoft Conference Center on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA. During 4 days of breakout sessions, chalk talk discussions, hands-on-labs, peer networking, and social events you will learn about both Microsoft’s current portfolio and long-term strategy for SOA & Business Process initiatives. Whether you are a developer, architect, or business decision maker we will have something for you with tracks spanning technology, architecture, and business value topics.

VENUE

Microsoft Conference Center
16070 NE 36th Way
Redmond, WA  98054
The Microsoft Conference Center is located on Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond, WA.  Underground parking is available

Tracks

SOA & Business Process issues reach across the entire organization from developers service enabling existing investments to architects recommending IT standards to business analysts optimizing processes and business owners investing in their IT portfolios. The Microsoft SOA & Business Process Conference will provide guidance across this spectrum through tracks focused on Solution Architecture, Infrastructure Architecture and Business Value.

Tools

The Tools track will provide details on the broad portfolio of SOA and business process tools and technologies available from Microsoft and it’s partner ecosystem. You can expect sessions on everything from the new designers coming in Visual Studio “Orcas” to the wide array of offerings from our SOA & Business Process Alliance partners. You will also see how to leverage new tools in BizTalk Server 2006 R2, Office System 2007, System Center, and others.

Solution Architecture

The Solution Architecture track will focus on the design and implementation of service oriented and business process solutions. We will provide best practices and proven patterns for handling challenges with many aspects of solution architecture including: data, identity, user experience, messaging, workflow, and rules. We will also focus on key capabilities such as service and process analysis and design, service enablement, service composition, process modeling, service instrumentation, service & process lifecycle management and others.

Infrastructure Architecture

The Infrastructure Architecture track will focus on the organizational and technical issues faced when planning and establishing service oriented and business process infrastructures in the enterprise. We will provide guidance and best practices on topics ranging from designing and implementing shared infrastructure for service and process management to overcoming cultural challenges when defining standard governance processes. We will also focus on key infrastructure capabilities such as service virtualization, SLA management, policy enforcement, service and process monitoring, governing service consumption and others.

Business Value

The Business Value track will focus on issues ranging from business capability analysis to establishing a SOA roadmap to defining metrics to measure your return on investment. We will provide case studies and guidance to ensure your SOA and business process initiatives demonstrate value quickly and stay focused on business goals. Whether you are a partner practice manager evaluating the business opportunity of SOA and business process or an enterprise decision maker evaluating the potential return on investment of your SOA/BPM initiatives, the Business Value track is for you.

Microsoft SOA and Business Process Conference 2007, Microsoft Conference Center - Microsoft Main Campus, Redmond, WA,USA, October 29th ’till November 2nd, 2007.

Source: http://www.mssoaandbpconference.com/

Met de Design by Fire conferentie voegt Chi Nederland een nieuw niet-te-missen evenement toe aan de lange rij succesvolle conferenties. De kiem voor de conferentie ligt in Andrei Herasimchuk’s publicaties over design. In 2004 durfde hij een redesign van Jakob Nielsen’s website te presenteren tijdens SxSW, ’s wereld meest invloedrijke conferentie. Sindsdien blijft hij de hci gemeenschap uitdagen om interaction design serieus te nemen.
De conferentie is genoemd naar zijn weblog designbyfire.com. We zijn zeer enthousiast dat Andrei naar Nederland komt om de keynote te verzorgen!

23 oktober 2007, Utrecht

Wie je gaat ontmoeten..

100 Interaction designers, user experience onderzoekers, creatieve pioniers en Web3.0 avant-gardisten zullen de conferentie bezoeken.

Waar en wanneer we jou verwachten…

De conferentie wordt gehouden op dinsdag 23 oktober in het Catharijneconvent, Utrecht.

Registreer snel, het aantal kaarten is beperkt!
Ga voor registratie en meer informatie naar www.designbyfire.nl

Bron: Chi Nederland & www.designbyfire.nl

Passion for Interaction Design

The Design By Fire conference strives to be the incubator for the newest ideas on interaction design. We invited eight inspiring professionals with a passion for interaction design to share their vision with you.

Are you an interactive media professional and did you like The Web and Beyond? You will love Design By Fire! With the Design by Fire conference Chi Nederland adds a new must-have-been-there event to the long row of successful conferences.

The germ of the conference lies in Andrei Herasimchuk’s publications on design. In 2004 he dared to present a redesign of Jakob Nielsen’s website during SxSW, the world’s most influential conference. Since then he keeps on challenging the HCI community to take interaction design seriously.

The conference is named after his weblog designbyfire.com. We are very excited that Andrei is coming over to be our keynote speaker!

Who you will meet

110 Interaction designers, user experience researchers, creative pioneers and Web3.0 avant-gardists will be coming to conference.

Where and when we expect you

The Design By Fire conference is held on Tuesday 23^rd October in the authentic Catharijne Convent, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Source: Chi Nederland & www.designbyfire.nl

Did You Know; Shift Happens

Source: The Fishbowl (Carl Fisch)

"My administration asked me if I wanted to speak at one of our beginning of the year faculty meetings. I often provide updates on what’s new and different with technology in our building and what teachers need to know to get the year started. But this year I’m really focused on staff development and the "vision" of where we should be headed, so I wanted to do something different. I don’t know for sure how it is in your schools, but I imagine they are like mine - a faculty meeting is a horrible place to have the conversations we need to have. In addition, since 49 of my teachers are involved in the staff development described elsewhere on this blog, I felt it would be a waste of time - and possibly counterproductive - to try to discuss anything of substance in the faculty meeting.

So, instead, I decided to take David Warlick up on his idea of telling the new story. I put together a PowerPoint presentation with some (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas. I was hoping by telling some of these "stories" to our faculty, I could get them thinking about - and discussing with each other - the world our students are entering. To get them to really think about what our students are going to need to be successful in the 21st century, and then how that might impact what they do in their classrooms. It would also help the faculty that are not currently participating in my staff development join the conversation.

So I basically said most of the above to the faculty, and then told them that even though I would usually argue that just showing something and not discussing it afterward was a bad idea, that this time - since a meaningful conversation at the end of a long faculty meeting was unlikely - that’s what I was going to do. But that I wanted them to hopefully think about this for their own classrooms, and then hold the conversation with each other over the next few days (and hopefully weeks and months and . . .).

I remixed content from David Warlick, Thomas Friedman, Ian Jukes, Ray Kurzweil and others, added some music, and came up with the following presentation. If you want the music, you’ll have to download both files (and make sure you put the mp3 file in the same folder as the PowerPoint file so that it can find the music). On a PC, right-click on each and choose Save Target As, on a Mac with a one-button mouse control-click."

PowerPoint File and Music (mp3) File (link removed by request 3-20-07) - download to the same folder for the music to play.
Windows Media Player version
Did You Know Sources (Word, PDF)
Did You Know Text (Word, PDF)
Follow-Up Post about Did You Know?/Shift Happens (3-28-07)
Scott McLeod’s version (removes my school-specific slides)

Source: The Fishbowl (Carl Fisch)

Wie kent ‘m niet.

Geschreven door Silly Wandelpeen en uitgegeven door de “Uitgeversmij. N.V. Bastaard Boekhandel”

Meer: http://members.chello.nl/r.veen3/boek1.html 

After seeing the South Park episode “Trapped in the Closet” (Episode 912 (#137) original air date 16 November 2005) I was flabbergasted by all the absurd info about Scientology.

“THIS IS WHAT THEY REALLY BELIEVE”

“The plot of the episode centers on the South Park character Stan Marsh, as he joins Scientology in an attempt to find something “fun and free”. After the discovery of his surprisingly high “thetan levels”, he is recognized as the resurrection of the founder of the church, L. Ron Hubbard. The episode parodies several celebrities who have been involved with Scientology, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.”

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapped_in_the_Closet_(South_Park)

The day after seeing the South Park episode I added a line to my ‘To Do list’: “Read more about Scientology”. I forgot about it ’till a few weeks ago. One of my friends bought the book ” Dianetics”…

” Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the relationship between the spirit, mind and body that were developed by author L. Ron Hubbard. According to Hubbard’s claims, mental and psychosomatic physical problems are caused by traumatic recordings called engrams that are stored in the reactive mind. The goal of Dianetics is to become rid (or “cleared”) of this portion of one’s mind. Once at this state of “Clear,” according to Hubbard, an individual becomes able to function at his or her full potential. Dianetics is still employed and disseminated by the Church of Scientology, as reaching the state of “Clear” is a requirement to access Scientology’s upper levels.”

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics

After reading a few paragraphs my mouth kept hanging open…wow this really is strange stuff…too absurd to be believed…or is it? As an die hard science fiction fan I am used to read about fantastical Universes..but there is no author who claims his universe is true…and we are living in it. Thus time to investigate further…I then started to sift the net for more information about Scientology and its far out beliefs. I came across a guerilla type website, run by a Scientology critic: Andreas Heldal-Lund.

Site: http://www.xenu.net/

” The site is one of the focal points of what some have termed “the war between Scientology and the Internet“. The Church of Scientology had threatened legal action to various Internet service providers that host the site, demanding it be removed from the Internet for hosting information copyrighted by the Church of Scientology. In various incidents documented in such publications as The New York Times, Slashdot and Wired, Scientology has also used the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to force notable Web sites (including the Google search engine) to remove the Operation Clambake homepage, and several leaflets containing copyrighted information, from their indexes. This did not affect all pages on the site. While Google quickly returned the Operation Clambake home page to its index, many of its pages containing quotations from Scientology materials are still not listed by the search engine. Some anti-DMCA webmasters still link the word Scientology to http://www.xenu.net/ in order to improve Operation Clambake’s ranking in a Google search. The publicity stemming from this incident was the impetus for Google contributing to the Chilling Effects archive, which archives legal threats of all sorts made against Internet users and Internet sites.”

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Clambake

As stated above this site (and its admin) have a really straightforward mission: “To Fight Against Scientology on the Net” . This mission is implemented by: “Operation Clambake” (subtitle: Undressing the Church of Scientology since 1996″ . This site really is a good starting point to discover lots of ‘leaked’ and ‘classified’ Scientology material. Something very interesting is the old testament of Scientology: the fantastic tale about its origin and there ‘god’: Xenu (an alien galactic ruler who lived 75 million years ago)

In my next post about scientology I will reprint 3 stories about Xenu:

• a quote of the original text (a part of classified Scientology material called: OPERATING THETAN Section Three (OT III))
• A rewritten interpretation of that text by Andreas Heldal-Lund.
• Some notes & a summary by David S. Touretzky

* Dianetics and Scientology are trademarks of the Religious Technology Centre (RTC)

EuroIA invites your participation to this premier European event on Information Architecture. Join us in Barcelona, Spain, September 21-22, 2007, for two incredible days of presentations, panels, and networking with information architects from across Europe and around the world. This year we will explore the theme of “Translating Information Architecture”, whether between languages, within our profession, to our clients, transforming ideas into practical solutions, or reaching out to other electronic and physical spaces.

Who should participate?

Anyone concerned with the design of navigation, organization, labeling, and search systems that help people find and manage information more successfully. Specifically:

• Librarians, webmasters, and content owners responsible for creating taxonomies and information architectures.
• Application Developers who design web and software solutions and select the technologies and staff to support them.
• Project and business managers needing to understand the benefits and challenges of information architectures in electronic information spaces.

Frequently asked questions

• What do you mean by “information architecture” and “IA”?
• Can I help promote the Summit and become a country ambassador?

More Info at www.euroia.org

• Keynote: Ricardo Baeza-Yates. Director of the Yahoo! Research Labs in Barcelona, Spain and Santiago, Chile. Ricardo will be sharing his insights on “Web Mining for Web Design and Knowledge”. Don’t miss it!
• Programme: http://www.euroia.org/Programme.aspx
• Registration: http://www.euroia.org/Register.aspx
• Speakers: http://www.euroia.org/Speakers.aspx

Event Information

• When, where and how
• When: September 21-22, 2007
• Where: Abba Garden Hotel, Barcelona, Spain, Reservation code: H11V8331-M3 IMPORTANT NOTE: You must use the reservation code to book a room. Otherwise, the hotel says it is full on these dates. Moreover, you must CALL them. This code will not work on their web site. (Isn’t it fun to be an IA?)
• Airport: Barcelona airport information

“Translating Information Architecture” is organised under the auspices of the European Chapter of ASIS&T (http://www.asis.org).

[all the above content is taken from: http://www.euroia.org/]

“Sometimes after slaying a monster together your hearts are racing and you’re celebrating a great triumph, and then it just happens,” said Andrea Fryer, Finnish digital artist and game designer. “You get closer and then, well, you’re having sex.”

Ben je het daten zat? Is telefoonsex alweer saai? ..en heb je echt niets beters te doen…

Dan is er een oplossing voor .jou: “Virtual Hottie” (http://www.virtualhottie2.com/)

” …There is plenty in Virtual Hottie 2 to keep you coming back for more. There are a few issues with collision detection and some other minor gripes, but these are easily forgiven when you consider the wealth of possibities. You can make two girls lovingly tongue kiss, or add a guy into the mix for a threesome and a different menu of excellent looking positions for three people. You can have two girls go down on one guy, or have one guy finger both girls. You can have one girl masturbate for you, or have two girls ass to ass with a double dildo. Combine all those options with a great interface, pretty graphics, and stunning animation, and you have a winner. Solark continues to release free updates to registered customers, and I’ve seen many fantastic improvements over earlier builds and am confident that this will continue. This just might be the best way to experience your fantasies outside of the real thing….”

“…You control the action with your mouse, which is also used to effortlessly move the camera to any angle or vantage point. You may also elect to let your virtual fuck friends take things into their own hands, at one of three different speeds. On occasion various buttons pop up, among which allow you to carry out a very gentle “slap,” or tell the girl to play with her tits or pussy while she’s getting fucked, or switch between hand job and blow job. There are also a few sex toys….”

http://www.adultgamereviews.com/review_virtualhottie2.php

Check it out

• Site: http://www.virtualhottie2.com/

• Trailer: http://www.virtualhottie2.com/v2/VirtualHottie2_med.mov

Google Sky: http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.htm

Google Earth is much more than just a mapping software. It’s a tool for viewing, creating and sharing location-specific information which can be explored in an interactive and visually intuitive interface. Below are example KML (Google Earth file format) files for Google Sky created by users and organizations around the world, viewable in Google Earth.

Google Sky KML Gallery

A disturbingly true look comparing the past to the present and a glimpse of things to come. All to show you how, shift happens.

Source: The Fishbowl (Carl Fisch)

"My administration asked me if I wanted to speak at one of our beginning of the year faculty meetings. I often provide updates on what’s new and different with technology in our building and what teachers need to know to get the year started. But this year I’m really focused on staff development and the "vision" of where we should be headed, so I wanted to do something different. I don’t know for sure how it is in your schools, but I imagine they are like mine - a faculty meeting is a horrible place to have the conversations we need to have. In addition, since 49 of my teachers are involved in the staff development described elsewhere on this blog, I felt it would be a waste of time - and possibly counterproductive - to try to discuss anything of substance in the faculty meeting.

So, instead, I decided to take David Warlick up on his idea of telling the new story. I put together a PowerPoint presentation with some (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas. I was hoping by telling some of these "stories" to our faculty, I could get them thinking about - and discussing with each other - the world our students are entering. To get them to really think about what our students are going to need to be successful in the 21st century, and then how that might impact what they do in their classrooms. It would also help the faculty that are not currently participating in my staff development join the conversation.

So I basically said most of the above to the faculty, and then told them that even though I would usually argue that just showing something and not discussing it afterward was a bad idea, that this time - since a meaningful conversation at the end of a long faculty meeting was unlikely - that’s what I was going to do. But that I wanted them to hopefully think about this for their own classrooms, and then hold the conversation with each other over the next few days (and hopefully weeks and months and . . .).

I remixed content from David Warlick, Thomas Friedman, Ian Jukes, Ray Kurzweil and others, added some music, and came up with the following presentation. If you want the music, you’ll have to download both files (and make sure you put the mp3 file in the same folder as the PowerPoint file so that it can find the music). On a PC, right-click on each and choose Save Target As, on a Mac with a one-button mouse control-click."

PowerPoint File and Music (mp3) File (link removed by request 3-20-07) - download to the same folder for the music to play.
Windows Media Player version
Did You Know Sources (Word, PDF)
Did You Know Text (Word, PDF)
Follow-Up Post about Did You Know?/Shift Happens (3-28-07)
Scott McLeod’s version (removes my school-specific slides)

Source: The Fishbowl (Carl Fisch)

dan is er veel moois te verzinnen. suck.co.ck is voor een magere $300,- van JOU!

Check: http://www.101domain.com/country_domain.htm 

A posthuman is a ‘person’ of unprecedented physical, intellectual, and psychological capacity; a self-programming, self-constituting, potentially immortal, effectively god-like entity. Posthumans could be either highly advanced AIs or people who have technologically enhanced themselves to the point where they can no longer be called ‘human’. Posthuman is what all transtopians hope to become.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Posthuman (critical theory) [Wikipedia]

The posthuman or post-human, in critical theory, is a speculative being that represents or seeks to enact a re-writing of what is generally conceived of as human. It is the object of posthumanism criticism, which subverts humanism, a perspective of philosophy that began in the Age of Enlightenment and makes claims of a human nature that is autonomous, rational, capable of free will, and unified in itself as the apex of existence. Thus, the posthuman recognizes imperfectability and disunity within him or herself, instead understanding the world through context and heterogeneous perspectives while maintaining scientific rigor and a dedication to objective observations of the world. Key to this posthuman practice is the ability to fluidly change perspectives and manifest oneself through different identities. The posthuman, for critical theorists of the subject, has an emergent ontology rather than a stable one.

The posthuman, and posthumanism with it, are philosophical positions that overlap and are constantly engaged with much of postmodern philosophy, biotechnology, and evolutionary biology, so the field is constantly changing. The notion of the (critical) posthuman is isolated from these fields as the embodiment of critical engagement itself; that is to say that the posthuman is not necessarily human in the first place, but is rather an embodied medium through which critical consciousness is manifested.

The posthuman is roughly synomous with the cyborg of “A Cyborg Manifesto” by Donna Haraway. Haraway’s conception of the cyborg is an ironic take on traditional conceptions of the cyborg that inverts the traditional trope of the cyborg whose presence questions the salient line between humans and robots. Haraway’s cyborg is in many ways the “beta” version of the posthuman, as her cyborg theory prompted the issue to be taken up in critical theory.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthuman_%28critical_theory%29]

Posthuman (human evolution) [Wikipedia]

A posthuman or post-human is, according to transhumanist philosophers, a hypothetical future being “whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards.”

The difference between the posthuman and other hypothetical sophisticated non-humans is that a posthuman was once a human, either in its lifetime or in the lifetimes of some or all of its direct ancestors. As such, a prerequisite for a posthuman is a transhuman, the point at which the human being begins surpassing his own limitations, but is still recognisable as a human person or similar.

Posthumans could be a symbiosis of human and artificial intelligence, or uploaded consciousnesses, or the result of making many smaller but cumulatively profound technological augmentations to a biological human, i.e. a cyborg. Some examples of the latter are redesigning the human organism using advanced nanotechnology or radical enhancement using some combination of technologies such as genetic engineering, psychopharmacology, life extension therapies, neural interfaces, advanced information management tools, memory enhancing drugs, wearable or implanted computers, and cognitive techniques.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthuman_%28human_evolution%29]

What is Transhumanism?

According to the World Transhumanist Organization, Transhumanism (>H or H+) is

“the intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.”

Transtopianism is a transhumanist sect or splinter group. It represents a more radical, politically incorrect, individualistic, and pragmatic breed of Transhumanism. For a list of the major transhumanist organizations and mailing lists, see the Transhumanism section.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Transhumanism [Wikipedia]

…is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as stupidity, suffering, disease, ageing and involuntary death. Transhumanist thinkers study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.^[1]

Although the first known use of the term “transhumanism” dates from 1957, the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s, when a group of scientists, artists, and futurists based in the United States began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers postulate that human beings will eventually be transformed into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label “posthuman“.

Transhumanist foresight of a profoundly transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters as well as critics from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by a proponent as the “movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity, while according to one outspoken opponent, it is the world’s most dangerous idea.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism]

What is a transhuman?

A transhuman, not to be confused with a ‘transhumanist’ (advocate or adherent of Transhumanism), is someone who, through technological augmentations, has become more than human; superhuman. Basically this is an intermediate stage in the transition from human to posthuman. A transhuman AI is a (sentient) artificial intelligence that has surpassed the capabilities of the (natural) human brain in every way. A superior life form. Once an entity, especially an AI, achieves transhuman status, it is generally expected to rapidly bootstrap itself towards full-blown powerhood, triggering a technological Singularity in the process.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Transhumanism [Wikipedia] 

Transhuman is a term that refers to an evolutionary transition from the human to the posthuman. The etymology of the term “transhuman” goes back to futurist FM-2030 (born F. M. Esfandiary) who, while teaching new concepts of the human at The New School university in 1966, introduced it as shorthand for “transitory human”. Calling transhumans the “earliest manifestation of new evolutionary beings,” FM argued that signs of transhumans included physical and mental augmentations including prostheses, plastic surgery, intensive use of telecommunications, a cosmopolitan outlook and a globetrotting lifestyle, androgyny, mediated reproduction (such as in vitro fertilisation), absence of religious beliefs, and a rejection of traditional family values

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhuman]

What is a Power?

A Power is highly advanced posthuman being; an AI or transformed human of tremendous intelligence and capability.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What is the (technological) Singularity?

According to mathematician and SF author Vernor Vinge, the Singularity is

“the postulated point or short period in our future when our self-guided evolutionary development accelerates enormously (powered by nanotech, neuroscience, AI, and perhaps uploading) so that nothing beyond that time can reliably be conceived.”

More specifically, it is the birth of hyperevolving superhuman intelligence, and its presumed subsequent reshaping of the world — and possibly the entire universe. The Singularity is generally expected to occur somewhere between 2015 and 2050. In other words, barring some world-wide cataclysm, many of us will live to see it. For more information, visit the Singularity section.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Technological singularity [Wikipedia]

In futures studies, the technological singularity (often the Singularity) is the predicted imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence. This event is thought to be of major importance by its promoters because of the acceleration of technological progress that is likely to follow as a consequence. Futurists give varying predictions as to the date, the cause, the consequences and even the likelihood of the event.

The idea was originally popularized by computer scientist Vernor Vinge, who predicts a future in which “superintelligence” takes control of the world. Vinge expects the singularity to happen soon in the future, claiming in 1993: “I’ll be surprised if this event occurs before 2005 or after 2030″. He notes two ways by which superintelligence might be created for the first time: strong artificial intelligence, which describes computers capable of at least human-level thought, and intelligence amplification, in which technology like brain-computer interfaces could be used to dramatically increase the power of human thought. He also mentions what I. J. Good (1965) described as an “intelligence explosion”. Good predicts that if at some point artificial intelligence reaches equivalence to human intelligence, it will soon become capable of improving its own intelligence with increasing effectiveness, far surpassing human intellect. In the 1980s, Vinge dubbed this starting point “the Singularity” and began popularizing it by giving lectures, writing essays, and also including it in his science fiction writing.

The imminence of a technological singularity has been promoted heavily in recent years by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil’s definition of the Singularity differs slightly from Vinge’s in that it does not directly refer to the creation of superhuman intelligence. He defines the Singularity as “technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history”. Kurzweil claims that technological progress follows a pattern of exponential growth, suggesting rapid technological change in the 21st century and the singularity occurring by 2045. Kurzweil considers the advent of superhuman intelligence to be part of an overall exponential trend in human technological development seen originally in Moore’s Law and extrapolated into a general trend in Kurzweil’s own Law of Accelerating Returns.

While some regard the Singularity as a positive event and work to hasten its arrival, others view it as dangerous or undesirable. The most practical means for initiating the Singularity are debated, as are how (or whether) it can be influenced or avoided if dangerous.

The Singularity is also frequently depicted in science fiction.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity]

What is a Singularitarian / Singularitarianism?

Singularitarian: originally defined by Mark Plus (’91) to mean

‘one who believes the concept of a technological singularity‘,

this term has since been redefined to mean ‘Singularity activist’ or ‘friend of the Singularity’; that is, one who acts so as to bring about a Singularity. [Mark Plus, 1991; Singularitarian Principles, Eliezer Yudkowsky, 2000] Source: Lextropicon.

Singularitarianism: the (philosophical) movement, spearheaded by The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SingInst, founded by Eliezer ‘father of modern Singularitarianism’ Yudkowsky), which wants to bring about a ‘benevolent’ technological Singularity a.s.a.p. by means of “Friendly AI“. The latter is a hypothetical superintelligent Sysop that is supposed to be bring everlasting peace and prosperity for all mankind by creating a virtual paradise with just one rule: thou shalt not harm or coerce other sentients.

The Sysop will ensure that any act of aggression, maybe even aggressive thoughts themselves, will be physically impossible. The philosophy behind SingInst or Yudkowskian Singularitarianism (Y-Sing) can be summed up as: altruism-based, collectivist, and somewhat paternalistic.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Singularitarianism [Wikipedia] 

Singularitarianism is a moral philosophy based upon the belief that a technological singularity — the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence — is possible, and advocating deliberate action to bring it into effect and ensure its safety. While many futurists and transhumanists speculate on the possibility and nature of this type of singularity (often referred to as just the Singularity; capitalized and objectivized to indicate its sheer magnitude as a historical event), Singularitarians believe it is not only possible, but desirable if and only if guided safely. Accordingly, they “dedicate their lives” to acting in ways they believe will contribute to its safe arrival. 

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularitarian]

Singularitarian [Wikipedia] 

Originally the term singularitarian was defined in 1991 by Extropian Mark Plus to mean “one who believes the concept of a Singularity”, this term has since been redefined to mean “Singularity activist” or “friend of the Singularity”; that is, one who acts so as to bring about a Singularity. 

In his essay “Singularitarian Principles” (2000), Eliezer Yudkowsky writes that there are four qualities that define a Singularitarian:

• A Singularitarian believes that the Singularity is possible and desirable.
• A Singularitarian actually works to bring about the Singularity.
• A Singularitarian views the Singularity as an entirely secular, non-mystical process — not the culmination of any form of religious prophecy or destiny.
• A Singularitarian believes the Singularity should benefit the entire world, and should not be a means to benefit any specific individual or group.

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularitarian]

What is Transtopia?

• Trans: 1.Across; on the other side; beyond (2.Through. 3.Change; transfer ).
• Topia: from the Greek word ‘topos’, meaning ‘place’.

Hence, Transtopia is the ‘place beyond’ (or ‘beyondplace’); the realm of the Posthumans. Of course, Transtopia can also be seen as a contraction of Transhuman(ism) and Utopia. In either case it refers to a state or place which is (near-)perfect; a technological, virtual paradise where we ourselves are the gods. Transtopia represents literally unimaginable knowledge, power, and pleasure — infinite existence under the best possible conditions. It is the ancient dream of heaven and immortality, which, thanks to accelerating scientific and technological progress, may finally be within our reach.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What is a transtopian?

A transtopian is someone who (generally) agrees with and (tries to) live in accordance with the Transtopian Principles; a hardcore individual. Alternatively, the term could be -though rarely is- used to describe a Posthuman denizen of Transtopia, the future technological paradise.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What is Transtopianism?

Transtopianism is the philosophy and movement that promotes transcendent self-actualization by means of reason, science, and technology.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What are the Transtopian Principles?

The 12 Transtopian Principles are the philosophical foundations of the transtopian movement. They currently are: Truth, Technology, Transcendence, Pragmatic Morality, Intelligent Hedonism, Rational Religion, Singularitarianism, Social Individualism, Preservation of the Dead, Non-Procreation, Dynamic Pessimism, and Memetic Evolution.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Transtopian Singularitarianism

Transtopian Singularitarianism (T-Sing) is in many ways the opposite of Y-Sing: it is self-interest and contract group based. No grand world-saving schemes here, just a group of progressive individuals who seek to become posthuman by ‘whatever means available’ (i.e. there is no special focus on AI). T-Sing is old skool, personal Transhumanism. Rather than being some goal in itself, the Singularity is seen as the inevitable side-effect of the transition to posthumanity, and is essentially value-neutral.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

Is Transtopianism a cult or religion?

No — not in the usual sense of the word, anyway. There are no superstitious beliefs, no brainwashing, intimidation, and no worship of either imaginary beings, dead or living persons, ’sacred’ objects, or dogma. People can join and leave freely. We’re simply a group of more or less like-minded individuals who cooperate for mutual benefit. The slightly ‘cultish’ symbols and terminology have been included for aesthetic reasons, to underline the iconoclastic nature of our ideology, and to mock those who –either out of malice or sheer ignorance– accuse Transhumanism and Singularitarianism of cultishness.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What is the Technocalypse?

The term ‘technocalypse’ was first used by Michael Grosso in his 1995 book The Millennium Myth, where he defined it as the convergence of technology and the apocalyptic imagination. In the transhumanist / transtopian sense, the Technocalypse is another name for the Singularity in general, and one with strong apocalyptic overtones in particular. It is the kind of Singularity that destroys worlds and wipes out billions — a significantly more pessimistic, and, one might argue, realistic vision of the future than that of the Transhumanist and Singularitarian mainstream.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

What is uploading?

Uploading (sometimes called ‘mind uploading’ or ‘brain reconstruction’) is the hypothetical process of transferring a mind from a biological brain to an artificial substrate — a highly advanced computer.

The idea is that after scanning the synaptic structure of a brain, we could implement the same computations on an electronic medium that would normally take place in the neural network of the brain. A brain scan of sufficient resolution could be produced by disassembling the brain atom for atom by means of nanotechnology, possibly while the subject remains fully conscious. Other approaches, such analyzing small the brain slice by slice in an electron microscope with automatic image processing have also been proposed.

Once uploaded, one could, for example, inhabit a much more robust and powerful ‘body’ of any shape or size, move between bodies at will, live in a fully customized virtual environment, reprogram and copy oneself, enhance one’s clock speed and intelligence by many orders of magnitude, gather, store, access & assimilate vast amounts of data (simultaneously), travel at the speed of light as pure information etc. etc. Once freed from its feeble, doomed fleshy prison, the mind would effectively be immortal and god-like. Uploading is technological self-liberation taken to its logical extreme, and more or less the Holy Grail of Transtopianism. For more information, visit the Mind Uploading section.

[Source: http://www.transtopia.org/faq.html]

“[The Technocalypse is] cyberspace, nanotechnology, cryonics, futurism, the eschaton encoded in the now malleable protein chains of DNA, as well as the eventual transcendence of death.“

• Trans: 1.Across; on the other side; beyond (2.Through. 3.Change; transfer ).
• Topia: from the Greek word ‘topos’, meaning ‘place’.

Beyond the tyranny of entropy; beyond the dictate of nature; beyond this plane of existence. It is the transhumanist utopia or heaven; the perfect, ideal place or state on the other side of the Singularity, where we can live forever under optimal conditions.

The Singularity, in the symbolical sense, is a transdimensional portal between the mundane and the divine; between the realm of men and the realm of gods.

All who want to reach Transtopia must pass through it.

Must I agree with all the Principles in order to become a member / call myself a Transtopian?

No. Though full agreement is obviously preferred and encouraged, pragmatism demands that agreement with the general spirit of the Principles is sufficient for membership. One has to be rational, progressive, and hardcore; theists, conservatives, and bleeding-heart liberals need not apply. A true transtopian has very high memetic (socio-political & technological) shock levels, and genuinely despises taboos, dogmas, and superstition. He is an ideologically streetwise, pragmatic, and somewhat cynical romantic and visionary.

Transtopians

those who embrace and (try to) live in accordance with the Transtopian Principles.

Transtopianism

the philosophy and movement that promotes transcendent self-actualization by means of reason, science, and technology.

[source: http://www.transtopia.org/]

No flesh shall be spared!

Soon we’ll either be gods or extinct; either way, the flesh is finished. To quote Bart Kosko: “Biology is not destiny. It was never more than tendency. It was just nature’s first quick and dirty way to compute with meat. Chips are destiny.” The phrase is based upon a passage in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 13, which describes the Apocalypse. Mar 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

ERITIS SICUT DII (You shall be as gods)
Transhumanism’s tantalizing promise. The phrase is taken from Genesis 3:5, and is part of the fateful conversation between the Serpent and Eve. [And the Serpent spake:] “Scit enim Deus quod in quocumque die comederitis ex eo aperientur oculi vestri et eritis sicut dii scientes bonum et malum.” (For God doth know, that in the day ye eat of [the forbidden fruit], then your eyes shall be opened: and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil).

EX MACHINA LIBERTAS (Technology will set you free)
Only rationally applied technology can fundamentally improve the human condition. Without it, we would be pathetic animals. With it, there is no limit to what we can do, and become.

TRUTH, TECHNOLOGY, TRANSCENDENCE
The first 3 Principles, and the very essence of Transtopianism.

POST NOS DILUVIUM (After us, the Deluge, or Après nous, le déluge in French)
The popularity of the [French] phrase stems from its use by Madame de Pompadour, celebrated beauty and intimate of King Louis XV of France. The French Court at the time was famed for its lavish and wasteful extravagances. When Pompadour, whose philosophy was “Live for the minute - who cares what happens when we’re gone?” was reproved for these excesses, she replied, “Apres nous, le deluge.” In the Transtopian context, the phrase urges people to seize the day, for there may be no tomorrow. After us…the technocalypse.

[source: http://www.transtopia.org/symbolism.html]

Lets take a ride, and run with the dogs tonight in Transtopia !!

General goal: infinite existence under optimal conditions
Primary means: reason, science, and technology
Motivation: enlightened self-interest

Transtopianism is a memeplex, a collection of mutually supporting and overlapping concepts, lifestyles, worldviews, and philosophies. Though none of its separate components –grouped together in 12 Principles– are particularly new or unique, the combination is. Transtopianism is a typical example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts; its rational enlightenment spontaneously emerges from a collection of progressive but individually limited memes, just like human consciousness spontaneously emerges from a collection of sophisticated yet individually limited brain cells.

Transtopianism is an ongoing, evolving attempt to codify the essence of reason, as well as a quest for truth and transcendence of the human condition. Above all, however, this is a philosophy of freedom: freedom from false gods; freedom from tyrannical laws; freedom from ignorance; freedom from pain and suffering; freedom from death itself. Transtopians want to take personal empowerment to its logical conclusion, and secure an open-ended existence under optimal conditions. Radical though such a goal may seem, it really is nothing more than basic common sense. It is only ‘extreme’ in the context of a world dominated by religious conservatism, egalitarian socialism, and other ridiculous, archaic ideologies; an oppressive, deathist world where insanity is the norm, and rationality a mental aberration.

Few have the courage to face reality in all its hideous glory, and even fewer have the strength to bend it to their will. Are you, or would you like to become, one of the few? Can you free your mind from the shackles of mainstream ‘morality’? Are you ready to transcend the limitations of the flesh and move onto a higher, postbiological plane of existence?

Are you a Transtopian? Read on and find out.

http://www.transtopia.org/