36
#1
Fall 2008
Neuro / H+ Lab
could finagle a sweet big-money grant to
cure stupidity via microchip-aided neural
synchronization we would see some major
progress in this area, but that's not likely in
the U.S.A. anytime soon. Maybe China?
Maybe India? Hello, developing world, I
hear opportunity calling…
However, the most likely (and poten-
tially darkest) scenario for rapid intelli-
gence increase within a single generation is
the genetic one. With all the trendy bio-
tech being thrown down these days it is
only a matter of time until scientists find
a common splice or knockout method for
increasing the efficiency of learning and
memory genes and/or neurotrophin supply
at specific neural targets, leading to targeted
neural growth and plasticity in mammalian
neural networks, a technique that will then
be applied to neurogenesis and plasticity
along the intelligence and motor-skills cir-
cuits of animals in vitro in order to create
super-functioning organisms. Over a peri-
od of decades these methods will of course
be secretly tested in humans, resulting in a
jump in IQ on the order of two - threefold
in a single generation, no doubt spawning a
race of Kahn-like supermen who will beat
us at chess all the time, grow to loathe us,
and ultimately plot to destroy us all. But
that's still a few years out, so go play some
Halo 3 to get those hair-trigger reflexes up
to snuff. When the black-market neural
steroid hormones hit the milk supply we'll
have to hope we don't all go insane, but at
least SAT scores will be through the roof,
for once.
James Kent is the former publisher of
Psychedelic Illuminations and Trip
Magazine. He currently edits DoseNation.
com, a multi-user blog featuring drug news,
humor, and commentary.
H+ Lab
Natasha Vita-More
I am writing a paper on radical life extension
for a developmental field in the media arts
and sciences. Even though I have tried to
avoid it, the technological singularity keeps
appearing, not because it was propitious
for the paper but because it touches on
the very technologies that are crucial for
investigation of radical life extension.
e nano-bio-info-cogno (NBIC)
convergence and its offspring generate
inspiring and devastating narratives. (For
those who may be unfamiliar with NBIC,
the acronym refers to a nascent field that
employs the interdisciplinary possibilities
of nanotechnology, biotechnology,
information technology, and cognitive
science and technology.)
Passing through this nano-bio-info-
cogno intersection might require some fi-
nessing -- much like the smooth moves of
synthetic nanometer-scale material passing
through cell membranes without ruptures.
But MIT scientists has done this.
So why is it so difficult to locate enough
cognitive surplus to engage in meaningful
conversations about radical life extension?
Maybe it's because many people simply
want to be in the now and experience as
much comfort and joy as possible, and then
pass the knowledge on. I suppose it is easier
to accommodate our physiological wet-ware
by experiencing a sense of accomplishment
now, rather than in anticipating an arduous
reach toward H+ mental plasticity.
Anyway, since we are, in fact, experienc-
ing the now — we can look to the field of
Experience Media Design as a medium for
building narratives that can perhaps mimic
the experience of radical life extension.
For example, immersive environ-
ments, wearable technology, alternate-re-
ality games and, adjacently, bioart practices
touch on futuristic scenarios. ese works
can be found in two distinct fields: the field
of industrial design and the field of artis-
Stelacci Nano Research
www.medindia.net/news/Synthetic-Nanoparticles-
can-Penetrate-Cells-Without-Adverse-Effects-on-
Membrane-37853-1.htm
Resources
Working Memory Capacity
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_
memory#Working_memory_capacity
PFIT - Intelligence Circuit
www.physorg.com/news108722746.html
Diversity of Steroid Hormone Actions on the Brain
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=bnchm.
section.3529
Drug-induced Neural Plasticity
www.acnp.org/g4/GN401000067/CH067.html
Nootopics
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropics
Book: Mind Performance Hacks: Tips & Tools for
Overclocking Your Brain
www.amazon.com/Mind-Performance-Hacks-Tools-
Overclocking/dp/0596101538
VideoGame: Nintendo Brain Age
www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/26/brain.training/
Ways to overclock your brain
ririanproject.com/2006/11/03/22-ways-to-overclok-
your-brain/
ririanproject.com/2007/05/22/33-new-ways-to-
overclock-your-brain
Wired on Neurostim implants
www.wired.com/medtech/health/
news/2001/08/46278
Neurotrophins
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotrophins
Learning and Memory Plasticity Genes
www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2007/04/070418104300.htm
MindFit Brain Training Software Achieves Highest
Score in Wall Street
Journal Brain Aging Experts Review
www.pr.com/press-release/81533
