Pragmatic Transhumanism
| Ⓒ By Jonathan Roseland |
I'm not a doctor, medical professional, or trained therapist. I'm a researcher and pragmatic biohacking practitioner exercising free speech to share evidence as I find it. I make no claims. Please practice skepticism and rational critical thinking. You should consult a professional about any serious decisions that you might make about your health. Affiliate links in this article support Limitless Mindset - spend over $150 and you'll be eligible to join the Limitless Mindset Secret Society.
You were very lucky to be born in an era of unprecedented innovation in which if you invest in your health, you can anticipate living long enough to live as long as you want.
Throughout history, death was the great equalizer. We flocked to priests, preachers, gurus, churches, and temples to assuage our fear of the inevitable. The most powerful kings and queens built giant monuments of stone, brick, and metal to try to cement their immortality.
There's a chance that you may escape what has long been regarded as utterly inescapable thanks to the two greatest creations of the rational, critical, questioning western mind...
- The free market
- The scientific method
The Transhumanist Wager
This is a rationalization that I think comes out of the objectivist school of thought.
“The Wager is the most logical conclusion to arrive at for any sensible human being: We love life and therefore want to live as long as possible— we desire to be immortal. It's impossible to know if we're going to be immortal once we die. To do nothing doesn't help our odds of attaining immortality, since it seems evident that we're going to die someday and possibly cease to exist. To attempt something scientifically constructive towards ensuring immortality beforehand is the most logical solution.”
The novel The Transhumanist Wager by Zoltan Istvan in fictional form makes an argument for a social move toward transhumanism...
Transhumanism is your choice and largely it's a health choice. Or more specifically the result of a vast multiplicity of choices that you make about your health.
- If you invest time and resources into maintaining your health you'll likely live long enough to have the option of extending your life as long as you want. If you don't prioritize health, it's unrealistic to expect that bioscience will invent interventions in time to fix the consequences of your bad decisions.
- Transhumanism will succeed and transform society for the better or it will be the ultimate disappointment and go down in history as pure wishful, naive thinking based on its success in the free market. So if you want to see the promises of Transhumanism manifest support it financially. Invest in anti-aging products and services.
I recently finished this fairly dense book by Dr. Lee Know summarizing the state of the art of Mitochondria science and research. The major takeaway from the book is that Mitochondrial dysfunction is (likely) the underlying cause of the nasty health conditions and mental illnesses that deprive us of aging gracefully and living life fully.
Anti-Aging Agents
CoQ10 -- Is an antioxidant close to being a household name and it's one of the most researched Mitochondrial support supplements. Pretty much everyone advancing through their fourth or fifth decades of life should be taking it and you definitely should if you're dealing with one of those check engine light conditions.
Now there's a catch to CoQ10, it's not very bioavailable some forms of it are pretty useless.
Unfortunately , absorption of this rather large fat - soluble molecule is challenging , which is a main factor limiting its therapeutic use . Research has shown that oil - based formulations ( typically softgels ) are much better absorbed , and water - dispersible liposomal or pre - emulsified formulations are even better . Ubiquinol ( reduced CoQ10 ) seems to offer much better absorption than ubiquinone ( oxidized CoQ10 ) , and water - soluble ( solubilized ) ubiquinol is even better absorbed .(2364-2368)
Three vendors that meet fit these high standards for absorption are...
Piracetam -- According to a 2013 University of Frankfurt paper, Piracetam is something of a Mitochondria hack.
“In previous studies we were able to show that piracetam enhanced ATP production, mitochondrial membrane potential as well as neurite outgrowth in cell and animal models for aging and [Alzheimer's disease]. To investigate further the effects of piracetam on mitochondrial function, especially mitochondrial fission and fusion events, we decided to assess mitochondrial morphology... “
Magnesium -- Unless you supplement Magnesium regularly you're probably deficient (especially if you drink a lot of coffee)...
Magnesium is likely one of the most underrated minerals and most people are just not consuming enough of it . One reason most are deficient in this mineral is that water softeners , while great for making your faucets shiny , has reduced the water’s hardness by removing minerals such as magnesium...Then there’s our rising caffeine intake , which increases the amount of magnesium we lose through urine... All these factors contribute to the alarming statistic that 70 – 80 percent of the developed world population is deficient in magnesium. (2569-2575)
Personally, given the option, I reach for the Mercedes-Benz of Magnesium, Magnesium L-Threonate. It's more bioavailable and has greater benefits to cognition but it first caught my attention for a really silly reason...
About a 20 years ago, before all these silly, over-commercialized Star Wars and Star Trek movies came out there was an (actually good!) Star Trek movie called Insurrection featuring Captain Picard and the rest of the Next Generation Enterprise cast. In the movie, they were in this tense political standoff with these aliens that were using these banned, illegal space weapons called Threonate.
You should watch that movie if you like science fiction and regularly supplement magnesium if you care about your Mitochondria!
Adaptogens
Are a category of natural nutraceutical herbal supplements that modulate our nervous system to better handle stress -- a real killer! The book The Rhodiola Revolution, explains the connection between aging and stress.
Yet regardless of our genetic inheritance, scientists are beginning to suspect that one pivotal factor in the development of heart disease, high blood pressure, and many other illnesses is overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system and underactivation of the parasympathetic nervous system. (531-533)
Not surprisingly, much of the current research suggests that an overactive stress response system seems to accelerate the aging process.(564-565)
Rhodiola -- The king of Adaptogens. A powerful Adaptogenic nutraceutical herb that modulates your autonomic nervous system for peak performance and the best positive mood promoter.
Eleuthero -- The best natural solution for chronic fatigue and an effective immune system booster. Also known as Siberian Ginseng, it's cheap, effective, and side effect free.
Ashwagandha -- The best stress and anxiety reliever. A tranquilizing yet non-addictive natural Indian herb that dissolves stress and enables great sleep.
Schisandra -- As an adaptogen, it modulates the hormones up and down, so sometimes it will make you more energetic and sometimes it will make you more relaxed and tranquil. It makes your nervous system more permeable in its responses.
If you want to empower your health and autonomic nervous system I enthusiastically recommend stacking these three Adaptogens, otherwise known as Adapt-232
Mindfulness
There are over 100 scientific publications linking meditation to anti-aging. The OG Biohacker Dave Asprey clarifies in his book Head Strong the longevity-promoting effects of a mindfulness practice...
Studies show that meditation changes the brain on a structural level. Think of it like strength training; when you lift weights, you gain visible results in the form of stronger, shapelier muscles. A regular meditation practice also yields visible results— you develop more folds in the outer layer of the brain, a trait that’s highly correlated with intelligence across species. When you have more folds in your brain, it’s easier to process information because your neurons can access more surface area within the same skull volume. This allows them to communicate with each other more quickly and efficiently. Aging naturally flattens these folds, but meditation slows this process. (pp. 181-182)
Obviously, meditation can be boring, that's why I encourage you to explore the wide range of mindfulness options out there
- HRV training
- Using a float tank
- Dual N-Back brain training
- Orgasmic Meditation
Biohacking Tech
Heartmath emWave2 -- This is a mindset quantification device for Biohackers, transhumanists, meditation practitioners, stress hackers, and flow state junkies. emWave® technology is based on 20 years of research on the mindset state of “coherence” between the heart, brain, and autonomic nervous system.
Red Light Therapy -- Just like there is junk food that is bad for us there is also junk light, notably the fluorescent, white lighting that most of us sit below all day long every day. If you want to live a long, healthy life it's a really good idea to spend time every day being illuminated by LED red lights. The Maestro of Mitochondria explains in his book...
Your mitochondria are meant to experience red light all day, with less blue at the start and end of the day. When we spend time outside, as nature designed humans to do, our eyes (and the mitochondria they contain) are constantly exposed to full-spectrum light. Unfortunately, these days we spend relatively little time outdoors soaking up the sunshine— and our mitochondria are paying the price. When we’re indoors we get tons of blue light, but no red, no infrared, and no UV. It’s no wonder the mitochondria get confused and don’t perform as well as they should. (p. 163)
I use the REDcharger, which has more than forty thousand red and infrared LED lights that illuminate my entire body to help me recharge my mitochondria, make more EZ water in my cells, and grow healthier collagen. It’s an amazing biohack, and you can use red light at home very affordably. (p. 72)
You'll want to have your red lights in your working environment
One of the simplest things you can do if you work indoors under bright fluorescent or LED lighting is to add some red to your environment. You are getting overdosed on blue light, so changing the ratio of blue to red can help your eyes and your brain, and your mitochondria will thank you. Simply install a red light somewhere in your field of vision. I use red LED “tape lights” on the ceiling above my desk and leave them on all day to balance out the blue in my monitor. (pp. 241-242)
When it comes to red light therapy the Mercedes-Benz option is the LED red lights by Joovv.
Keto Lifestyle
5 days a week, try to practice what the world's leading anti-aging researchers and biohackers recommend enthusiastically, a daily fast of about 16 hours. Do all your eating and snacking within an 8-hour window; for most people, this means eating a large, filling dinner around 9 PM, going to bed, skipping breakfast, and eating a substantial lunch with lots of healthy fats around 1 PM. This puts your body into a ketogenic state; burning fat instead of glutamate.
- At first, it may be excruciating to fast for 16 hours but quickly you get used to it and it doesn't really bother you.
- Skipping breakfast and snacks ends up saving you quite a bit of time and money.
- Avoid eating carbs, sugar, or bread especially when you're fasting as your body will switch back over to glutamate.
- As long as you're feeding your brain lots of the healthy fats it needs, you'll have plenty of energy.
If you're really a performance enhancement junkie you'll want to consume some high-quality MCTs while in a fasted state, many do this by starting their morning with a Bulletproof-style coffee mixed with butter and MCT oil.
But if you want to experience all the cognitive and longevity benefits of Ketosis that you hear everyone online ranting and raving about you don't want to consume just any old MCTs, you're going to have to be very discriminating!
- You're going to want to avoid the useless and harmful MCTs; lauric acid, C6, and C12.
- Be wary of impure MCT products, a certified organic stamp is not enough, ideally, you want to see the manufacturer's certificate of third-party analysis with spectroscopy report evidencing above 97% purity, what is considered pharmaceutical grade.
- Of course, you'll want to avoid anything containing artificial sweeteners, coloring, or weird chemicals with names you can't pronounce!
Ultra Keto+MCT by Ultra Human meets my stringent standards, combining Patented Exogenous BHB Ketones and Pure C8 MCT along with selenium citrate, pink Himalayan salt, and malic acid that gives it a delicious, none artificially sweetened taste.
If you can't afford to or are unable to get your hands on high-quality MCTs, try intermittent fasting anyway; it's still a smart lifehack for health and productivity!
What I like about this morning ketosis cocktail is that these performance enhancers work on totally different neurobiological mechanisms than Racetams, Modafinil, or other common smart drugs which is great news for long term Nootropics users who have built up a tolerance to cognitive enhancers that they have to take at increasing dosages for increasingly underwhelming results.
Exercise
About cardio, if you're not doing cardio regularly, DO CARDIO. From Dr. Know's book:
It’s been known for decades that aerobic exercise can increase the number of mitochondria in your muscle cells by up to 50 percent in as little as six weeks . To get the benefit , however , you need to do aerobic exercises ( such as running , cycling , swimming , or walking briskly ) at an intensity that’s at least half of your maximum capacity . This intensity needs to be sustained for at least fifteen to twenty minutes per session , three to four times a week .(3014-3017)
Wow! So you get a 50% uptick in Mitochondria in your muscles from just 15-20 minutes of cardio a few times a week. If you don't want to sprain an ankle jogging or get hit by an SUV cycling you can do what I do and do Dual N-Back brain training on your smartphone while pedaling vigorously on a stationary exercise bike.
Habituate Flowstate
Flowstate is a temporary state of altered consciousness that drastically empowers productivity and creativity at attention. You may have experienced it before while intensely playing sports, deep meditation, experimenting with psychedelics, or during a vivid spiritual experience.
The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler goes deep on this subject and explores the 17 flow triggers, the ultimate message of the book is that the significant challenges we face as individuals and as a global civilization can only be overcome by unlocking this human technology of flow.
Flow is an optimal state of consciousness, a peak state where we both feel our best and perform our best. (p. viii).
The great civil rights leader Howard Thurman once said, "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs most is more people who have come alive." (p. x).
The US military trained snipers in flow twice as fast as normal. McKinsey established that executives in flow are five times more effective than their steady-state peers. (p. 193).
The book concludes
We must learn how to play with fire. We must learn to learn faster. We must learn to live thousands of lives in our lifetime— and not lives of quiet desperation, rather of raucous innovation (p. 193).
Longecity
This is a forum and community devoted to ending the blight of involuntary death.
You can really get into the weeds here discussing the philosophical nuances of Transhumanism but I see the most value in the forum in the respectful, informed feedback and answers that you can get to your biohacking questions; if you're uncertain of how certain anti-aging supplements work or you want to crowdsource a diagnosis of symptoms of a health issue that you're having this is the place.
Books
Some other titles are well worth the attention of a thoughtful transhumanist...
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever by Ray Kurzweil
Transhumanism = Technologically Mediated Global Communism?
You don't need to research Transhumanism long before you find transhumanists making political prescriptions, many of which are clearly leftist, like...
- Paying everyone a Universal Basic Income as a solution to technological unemployment.
- Making the healthcare, technology, and medicine that extend life a human right and free to everyone, somehow...
- Dissolving individual nations and borders to enable mass migration and mixing of large populations groups.
- Centralized control and management of institutions of government, education, science, etc.
- The merger of big government and the financial system to regulate economic cycles.
- Getting rid of money and switching to a resource-based economy.
- Banishing religion or the concept of masculine-feminine duality or the traditional nuclear family.
There's a real danger that transhumanism done wrong might bring about an oppressive, authoritarian communistic system of global government. Socialism has been tried at least 66 times in different countries around the globe; there are exceedingly few examples of it actually working to improve human well being, in the best cases it just results in economic contraction and diminishing opportunity, and in the worst cases it's responsible for most morbid and dehumanizing episodes in history. It has a death toll of at least 94 million in the past century and, as PragerU explains here, it ruined the lives of a billion people.
Socialism has such a consistently bad track record that it's just not worth trying in a community or population greater than Dunbar's number of 150 people. I urge skepticism and critical thinking when considering Transhumanist proposals involving big government, or forced equalization of the outcomes. Transhumanism promises a beautiful Utopian future but realizing that promise means letting the free market work and keeping the amazing technological innovations produced out of the hands of the control-freaks and psychopaths that are attracted to big government. If we don't manage to shrink the size and power of the government we can be certain of a Transhuman (or post-human) dystopian future.
Technological Unemployment
Many might ask...
What about robots and AI taking our jobs? In 5 - 10 years AI will certainly take the jobs of truck drivers for example. Will AI create more jobs than it takes?
This is I think an inevitability and worthy of serious consideration. These two thorough articles contain more reasonable solutions for the appreciable issue of technological unemployment than those proposed by leftist Transhumanists.
Please respond...
Either below in the comments (or for privacy, send me an email or social media message)
What got you into transhumanism? Are you more of a pragmatic or ideological transhumanist? Are you more into the practical biohacks and lifehacks for optimizing longevity? Or are you more into the grand ideological mission to end involuntary death?
Finally...
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