I get your concern (this is the first time I’m hearing about it and oof). I would however point out that the core of transhumanism is the idea that we should have the freedom to modify our own bodies however we want. This is how I’ve always heard it used and how I’m going to keep using it.

I do understand where those people are coming from, though. If you have the technology to e.g. eliminate sickle cell anemia and choose not to do it, that’s as much eugenics as choosing to do so. I don’t know how to square that with individual liberty. Having parents decide is…not necessarily a great solution. Having society decide is also not a good solution, but probably the one we’ll have to end up doing.

As a grouchy old sci-fi nerd, can anyone explain why they think transhumanism is bad? Some Googling just leads to people claiming that it’s ‘anthropocentric’ - as if you can’t improve your body AND also care for nature at the same time.

It’s not an oh-marge, it’s ho-mahg-ee.

Are we talking brown bears or black bears?

Brown bears are violently territorial and will attack you for being in eyeshot.

Black bears are basically giant racoons and will move away from people - especially if you’re making loud noises and making yourself look big - because they don’t want that smoke. They’ll only get aggressive if you surprise them or get anywhere near their younglings.

I’d probably take a black bear over a lot of dudes. As long as we got a good hundred feet or so of distance, Mr Bear and I ain’t gonna bother each other.

Megamind. Just Megamind. The Incredibles is good, but Megamind is first class.

Mass Effect 2 and 3 are up there with some of the best shooters I’ve played. It’s just so smooth. And the weight/CDR system is incredibly simple yet impactful. I’ve played through 3 several times. Yes, the story beats weren’t always great. Still fun.

EDIT: Since we’re posting favorite builds: Sentinel gang. What’s that, I have access to literally everything you need to beat any enemy? Yes please.

How can we reconcile eugenics in dogs but not humans?

That’s the neat part, you don’t.

There’s absolutely a bunch of left-wing preppers out there whose version of ‘prepping’ is more like community disaster preparedness, escalating up to nearly independent communes. There’s a ‘redpreppers’ reddit sub, although it doesn’t seem terribly active. Those people probably gel with solarpunk ideals pretty well. There’s going to be some overlap in ideology there when it comes to things like community-owned gardens or farms, solar panels, creating community plans in case of disaster, etc. Do be warned, however, that they will inherently include self-defense, including firearms, in their plans, quite possibly for use against state oppression. Make peace with that or don’t interact.

One potential path is to redefine what we think of as ‘work’. That word is almost always used to refer to the types of things you can attach a monetary value to. Truth is, though, there’s an awful lot of work that gets left out of the definition. Raising kids is work - hell, being pregnant is work. Caring for relatives is work. Growing stuff in your garden is work. Learning new skills is work. Caring for the environment - everything from land management to rewilding to picking up litter - is work. Running social clubs, talking to your neighbors, and generally participating in society is work, particularly when it’s so easy to just look at a screen.

Obviously, saying that we simply need to change the way everything thinks is a bit pie in the sky. But I think it’s a serious tactic to try to employ. We’re letting the capitalists define what ‘useful work’ is, and we’re hurting for it.

Thead’s about lawns, not gardens. Different things.

Well, this is the first time somebody has managed to convince me that AI could actually improve things, so congrats on that. It has to do with your mentioning of AIs being made as a result of public debate; I’m seeing major parallels to scientific research. Research must be done and documented with rigor, and fully exposed to peer review and criticism. If - and I think only if - AI models end up being handled the same way, I think we have a chance. Not sure if it’s already too late for that, but it’s a chance.

Hmmm, is this from Crow and Coyote?

This is some of the most terminally-online brainrot I’ve seen. I really can’t take this seriously.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: cars should be mechanically speed-limited, the way they wanted to when cars were first introduced.

In Minnesota… bison. Because it was their native habitat before we killed them all, and because watching jackasses in cars trying to negotiate with 1500lb bison everywhere would be hilarious.

I was a Krait Phantom guy. Loved the shit out of it.

Question for ya: I grabbed the Buy Nothing app to check it out… and it immediately asked me to subscribe? And it won’t let you use features until you do? This seems like the opposite of a good platform. Is it worth using anyway?

With ya on this one. Really wish people would stop with their wierd insistence on putting solar panels in places should be eradicated. Don’t put solar panels on parking lots and cattle ranches. Get rid of parking lots and cattle ranches.