humanity and transhumanity

• science fiction
• science fact
• remarks

science fiction readings

• Philip K. Dick
  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (+ film, Blade Runner)
• Greg Egan
• Axiomatic
• Permutation City
• Distress
• Diaspora (chapter 1: Orphanogenesis)
• Stanislaw Lem
• The Invincible
• Cyberiad
• A Perfect Vacuum
• One Human Minute
• Fiasco
• Solaris (+ film, Solaris)
• Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• Roadside Picnic (+ film, Stalker)
• Waves Damp the Wind
• Vernor Vinge
• True Names
• A Fire upon the Deep

science fact readings

1. The genetics of genius, D. T. Lykken, in Genius and the Mind: Studies of Creativity and Temperament in the Historial Record, Oxford University Press (1998)
2. The gift of Saturn: creativity and psychopathology, A. Preti, Serendip (1996)
3. The coming technological singularity: how to survive in the post-human era, V. Vinge, Proc. of VISION-21 Symposium, sponsored by NASA Lewis Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (1993)
4. A critical discussion of Vinge's Singularity concept, R. Hanson, Extropy: Journal of Transhumanist Solutions (1998)
5. Brain-Computer Interface [web page of a recent NIPS workshop]
6. Journal of Evolution and Technology [a peer-reviewed (ahem) periodical where a typical article may be titled How to Live in a Simulation]

remarks

• meeting 1: Waves Damp the Wind (A. and B. Strugatsky); The genetics of genius (D. T. Lykken); (Apr 14)
• meeting 2: student presentations (Apr 21)
• meeting 3: True Names (V. Vinge); also Marvin Minsky's afterword; The coming technological singularity: how to survive in the post-human era (V. Vinge); A critical discussion of Vinge's Singularity concept (R. Hanson); (Apr 28)