ARE YOU a TRANSHUMAN? About the Author
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ARE YOU A TRANSHUMAN? Our world is changing — quickly ... transforming itself into a brave new age that will require new values, technologies, and lifestyles in this highly astute assessment of the years to come, controversial futurist FM-2030 shows you which attitudes and trends will survive—and which will go the way of the dinosaurs. You'll discover- how sweeping social, economic, medical, political, and technological changes will affect the way people live, love, work, and play...and how some people, the "transhumans," will make a smooth transition into this time—while others will be left behind. Most important, you'll learn how the person you are today can make the most of the wonders of tomorrow. "FM is one of the first thinkers in history to live, teach, plan, and campaign for a future for mankind as a universal species. He has suggested in bold controversial terms an utterly new way of life." —The Futurist on FM's previous book, Up-Wingers "A prophet of Boom. ... He maintains 'we are at the beginning of an age of limitless abundance . and an age of immortality.' " — New York Times "An engaging visionary- and a lover of humankind . FM has the transcendental presence of a master." —New Age magazine About the Author "I AM A 21ST-CENTURY PERSON WHO WAS ACCIDENTALLY LAUNCHED IN THE 20TH. I HAVE A DEEP NOSTALGIA FOR THE FUTURE." - FM-2030 Born with a conventional name, FM-2030 (twenty-thirty) changed both his first and last names to reflect his beliefs and confidence in the future. As he explains, "conventional names define a person's past: ancestry, ethnicity, nationality, religion. Long ago I outgrew such territorialities. I am not who I was ten years ago and certainly not who I will be in twenty years. I would rather be defined by my future - my hopes and dreams. The name 2030 reflects my conviction that the years around 2030 will be a magical time. The solar system will be alive with people linking in and out of planets and moons and orbital communities. In 2030 we will be ageless and everyone will have an excellent chance to live forever. 2030 is a dream and a goal." FM-2030 is the author of several pioneering books on the future, including Optimism One, Up-Wingers, and Telespheres. A renowned philosopher, formerly with the United Nations, he is currently a consultant to industry, government, film and TV productions, and the Space Agency. He is a dreamer, a visionary, a social critic, a futurist with "a hailstorm of ideas." (Washington Post) ARE YOU A TRANSHUMAN? Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth In a Rapidly Changing World by FM-2030 WARNER BOOKS A Warner Communications Company Copyright © 1989 by FM-2030 All rights reserved. Warner Books, Inc., 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103 Warner Communications Company Printed in the United States of America First Printing: January 1989 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data FM-2030. Are you a transhuman? 1. Social perception. 2. Self-evaluation. I. Title. BF323.S63F56 1989 158'. 1 88-20436 ISBN 0-446-38806-8 ATTENTION: SCHOOLS AND CORPORATIONS WARNER books are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchase for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information, please write to: SPECIAL SALES DEPARTMENT, WARNER BOOKS. 666 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10103. ARE THERE WARNER BOOKS YOU WANT BUT CANNOT FIND IN YOUR LOCAL STORES? You can get any WARNER BOOKS title in print. Simply send title and retail price, plus 50c per order and 50c per copy to cover mailing and handling costs for each book desired. New York State and California residents add applicable sales tax. Enclose check or money order only, no cash please, to: WARNER BOOKS, P.O. BOX 690, NEW YORK. N.Y. 10019 Dedications and Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to fellow transhumans everywhere. I wish to express particular appreciation to the following: My mother and father who gave me one of the loveliest gifts parents can offer their children— the opportunity to grow up all over the planet. Farida and Fay—for their humanity. Flora—friend and companion and longtime supporter of Up-Wing objectives. Sylvana—Terrine—Emiliano—John H.—Nancie (NC)—for their companionship and collaboration. Fellow activists in the Immortality and Space programs. The people at our futurist seminars—particularly at the New School for Social Research in New York and at UCLA (Extension). Their curiosity and enthusiasm has made the exploration of the future all the more stimulating. Dean Allen Austill—Lester Singer—Wally—who in the 1960s gave me a launching pad for my ideas at the New School at a time when the study of the future had not yet crystallized into a discipline. Emilie Jacobson—my literary representative at Curtis Brown—for her support and confidence. My editors at various publishing houses through the years. Particularly Harry Braverman at Grove Press. Merril Polack at W. W. Norton. Pat O'ConnoratFawcett. Jamie Raab at Warner Books. For their receptivity to new ideas. Contents Foreword ix Scoring Procedure x 1. How Updated Is Your Vocabulary? 2. How Telespheral-age (Postindustrial) Are You? 3. How Information Rich Are You? 4. How Time Rich Are You? 5. How Fluid Are You? 6. How High Tech Is Your Attention Span? 7. What Is Your Cultural Orientation? 8. How Power Oriented Are You? 9. How Competitive Are You? 10. How Affluent Are You? 11. How Ritualistic Are You? 12. How Creative Are You? 13. How Emotional Are You? 14. How Intelligent Are You? 15. How Family Oriented Are You? 16. How Ecology Conscious Are You? 17. How Telecommunitized Are You? 18. How Global Are You? 19. How Cosmic Are You? 20. What Is Your Ideological Orientation? 21. How Future Oriented Are You? 22. How Optimistic Or Pessimistic Are You About The Future? 23. What Is Your Level Of Humanity? 24. How Immortality Oriented Are You? 25. How Transhuman Are You? Conclusion: Aligning and Accelerating Your Rate of Personal Growth (RPG) Afterword Stretching Exercises Reference Notes Suggested Reading Foreword The central purpose of this interactive book is to help you monitor and improve your rate of personal growth (RPG) in a rapidly changing world. To this end—the book is comprised of twenty-five self- tests—each of which has been designed to explore a different area of development and to answer such vital questions as: How updated are you in an age when information—values— lifestyles—technology—depreciate quickly? How on track are you in an age of discontinuity when the guideposts change all the time and it is therefore easy to lose one's bearings? How well does your adaptability rate adjust at a time of swift recon-textings? How clear are you about your professional and investment directions at a time when entire professions and technologies phase out and new ones phase in? How stuck are you in the high-stress-low-yield industrial world at a time when you can shift to the low- stress-high-yield postindustrial stage? These self-tests are intended as a gyroscope—an aligner—an accelerator. They offer a unique means of learning more about yourself and what the future promises for all of us. The title of this book Are You a Transhuman? anticipates massive changes ahead. Most of the self-tests contained here focus on immediate everyday changes in our lives. However—as I explain in the final chapter—we are at the beginning of the age of transhumans (a stage beyond the human). Persistent advances in many areas of life are forging fundamental transformations in the human condition. These changes will grow all too evident in the coming years. The title serves as a reminder of the Larger Picture that is steadily crystallizing all around us. Scoring Procedure Go over each monitor (question sheet) and give your answer to each question. Give answers that most closely reflect your positions. Don't skip any questions. Then turn to the answer sheet that follows each monitor and score your answers. The numbers in parentheses indicate the points you give yourself for each answer. No number indicates zero value. At the end of the self-tests add up your scores for all twenty-five monitors. The total points will give you an approximate measure of your rate of personal growth (RPG). The implications of your final score will be discussed in the conclusion of the book. On most questions there are no right or wrong answers. The questions assume the direction and the pace at which I see us progressing—particularly here in North America. These self-tests are not conclusive but suggestive. The monitors in this book are based on my work in the field of forecasting and long-range planning since the early 1960s. I have used variations of these self-tests in my seminars at the New School for Social Research—UCLA (Extension)—and at countless seminars and workshops conducted for professional groups—corporations—government agencies—scientific organizations. MONITOR 1 How Updated Is Your Vocabulary? Below are two lists of commonly used terms. Working your way down the page, check the term from either column A or column В that is closer to what you would use. Column A Column В 1 __________Boyfriend-girlfriend __________Friend-lover 2 __________Bachelor __________Single 3 __________Unsuccessful marriage __________Dissolved marriage 4 __________Illegitimate child __________Child 5 __________Broken home __________Single-parent home 6 __________Promiscuous __________Fluid—open—liberated 7__________Test-tube baby __________In vitro fertilized baby— high-tech baby 8 __________Homosexual __________Gay 9 __________Sex object __________Lover 10 __________Pornography __________Erotica 11 __________Relationship __________Romance—friendship— linkup 12 __________Courtesy title: Mr.— __________No courtesy titles.