Transhumanism vs. UFOs

I'm a bit concerned about the New Frontiers Symposium.

I consider myself a serious person (history degree, law degree, professional filmmaker, Capricorn), and I think Stan Friedman (M.Sc. in physics), Bob Zimmerman (award-winning historian), Nick Redfern and Greg Bishop (published authors), and William Wise (software engineer, archivist) are serious people too.

And they'll be talking about serious subjects - history, physics, space exploration, evidence for the objective reality of the UFO phenomenon.

So what's to worry about?

Well, here's my concern - Mac Tonnies.

You see, I'm not sure we want to be associated with him.

Now, don't get me wrong - Mac is a great guy, very bright, and has some very interesting things to say about UFOs, and Mars, and Veronica likes him and... well, lots of good stuff.

The problem, you ask?

Shh... don't tell anyone, but Mac is a... [gasp] transhumanist.

SHHHHH! I said to keep it quiet!!

[Pause]

Aw, crap, the cat's out of the bag.

As much as I like Mac, and consider him a good friend, I'm not sure the Symposium can afford to be associated with someone from a "movement" (cult?) that can offer no empirical or objective evidence for the things that they predict are going to happen to the human race.

I mean, really - people have been predicting things for years. Back in the 1950s, there were folks who said we would all be flying around in sky-cars by now. I don't know about you, but I don't have my sky-car yet.

But there are these transhumanists (at least the most rabid, evangelical ones, who are so dissatisfied with their own lives that they desperately long for another world where they hope that they'll be the top of the food chain), tossing about predictions like they were... well, fact. Received wisdom from the technological Gods they worship, or whatever.

And talk about intolerant of other people's views? Whew. Some of them are just downright nasty, in a Pat Robertson kind of way.

Hanging out with one of them might give we ufology types a bad name. It might diminish the credibility of the serious study of the UFO phenomenon. After all, we might not know what UFOs are, but we can prove they exist (that whole "unidentified" thing, which even Condon couldn't explain away). The transhumanists? Well, forgive me, but some of them seem like just another bunch of "sky-cars for everyone" people, updated to the 21st century. You know the type - they confuse Blade Runner with a history text book, and list "Jedi Knight" as their religion on census forms.



Alas, I've already bought Mac's tickets, and reserved his hotel room, and put his name in the ads, so I guess we're stuck with him. And as far as transhumanists go, he's one of the reasonable ones (and there is some interesting, thought-provoking stuff about tranhumanism).

He's not one of the crazy, bug-eyed, believer types (see photo, above).

So we serious UFO phenomenon guys (and Bob Zimmerman, who is talking about space exploration, not UFOs) might be okay.

Fingers crossed.

Paul Kimball