The Midway

 

And so I'm back in Chicago, once my home long ago, so long ago I barely remember it as it was when we left it a when I was five, also so long ago.  Since then I've been here many times as a visitor, now an aging one, sore from walking distances which made no difference once and now are daunting.

It's been whipped by an impressive snow storm, and recently whipped through the antics of an elderly cousin of an ape-like creature whose white-box haircut, wrinkled, corroded orange-tinted skin and feeble efforts at displays of chest-pounding render him ridiculous.  But he's malicious, and like Tiberius in his dotage is prone to cruelty he confuses with strength.  And so he sends sad creatures in para-military garb to harass those they may even here, unasked for and unwanted; has motorboats destroyed by the most powerful military in the world; and spends his time threatening a much weaker nation, all while racking in money wrinkled hand over swollen foot.

But Chicago survives and so do I.  Despite the posturing and the real violence, and the storm, downtown is crowded with tourists as it has been for years. This won't change as it's a real city, The Great American City.  No Bordello-Chic as the White House now displays. It knows con men well, and gangsters, and isn't fooled where others have been by cheap imposters.

At the Palmer House real history was made.  Real Presidents stayed here.  The Reno hearings after the Battle of the Little Bighorn took place here.  Custer stayed here on his way to  his death and the mutilation of his troops by the Sioux and Cheyenne.  The real won't be displaced by gaudy fraud or fraudsters.

Regarding Transhumanism

 

Transhumanism is, according to that invaluable and easily accessed source, Wikipedia, a movement advocating the modification of humans to increase longevity, cognition, condition and no doubt a host of other things considered desirable, through technology.  Such modification has been the subject of science fiction for quite some time, of course.  But now we have or will shortly have the technology needed to make the transhumanist dream come true.

Unsurprisingly, there are those who oppose this movement.  I suspect some do so merely because the dread prefix "trans" appears in the name.  Others may do so for religious reasons.  But those reasons are less and less persuasive these days.  They're reminiscent of claims like:  "If God had meant for us to fly, He'd have given us wings." And I suspect that few will be convinced if objections are made that we can't be changed because God made us "in his image and likeness."  What kind of god would consent to be like us?

I think most would like to be enhanced.  Assuming it's safe to do so, why not live longer, be smater etc.?  And I think the large corporations which I'm sure are pouring vast sums of money into the relevant technologies want us to be enhanced as well, and to pay dearly for enhancement.  So, I expect it to take place.

There's the risk that those controlling the technologies may use them to control the enhanced, of course.  But we've always valued our pleasure and satisfaction over our liberty.

I also expect that only the wealthy will be able to afford modifications to any great extent.  The benefits they already have will be increased accordingly.  They'll be not only richer than most, but will live longer, be smarter, stronger, healthier than most as well.  Gradually, a class of super humans will come to be, and grow.

Governments may be expected to take advantage of these technologies for military purposes, and enhanced soldiers will be developed.  Those unable to afford enhancements will be delegated menial tasks, though I expect a black market will develop through which enhancements will be made somewhat avaiable to the underprivileged, at least to the extent needed to keep them amused and from becoming dangerous.  Also, I think it should be expected that certain technologies of a lesser kind will become widely avaiable.

It sounds like a science fiction novel of the dystopian sort, doesn't it?  I have no doubt ethical concerns will be raised, but also have no doubt they'll be largely disregarded.

Perhaps transhumanism will allow us to compete with AI, though.  There's always a silver lining, they say.