Funkmaster George Clinton once said, “Think. It ain’t illegal yet.” And while Clinton’s intent was probably to encourage a greater diversity of political opinions and cultural lifestyle choices, it seems that today we also need to remind people (and ourselves) that it’s not a crime to think expansively about the enhancement and extension of human potentialities through science, technology and technique. While the 1990s saw a great flowering of popular interest in technological and scientific innovation; a combination of the tech market bust and some 14th Century religious ideologues armed with box cutters pushed most citizens (of the globe as well as the US) into a reactive mode. Now that we’ve had enough time to absorb these complexities, and to prepare for possible further difficulties, it is time again that some of us focus energy and attention on more promising possibilities.

The conception that human beings could radically alter their own situation the phenomenological world by understanding and using its gifts is at least as old as alchemy. Dreams that people may one day fly (done), project their voices and images over vast distances (done), go to the moon (done), and live for hundreds of years (working on it), occupied a psychological terrain on the borderline between science and magic for long centuries. By the late 20th Century it was clear that the radical expansion of possibilities was a science project. Neophiles (lovers of the new) were contemplating a whole new set of technical “miracles” including:

    * The rejuvenation of the body and its healthy survival beyond the natural biological life span

    * Control over the molecular structure of matter (nanotechnology)

    * Control over the neurochemistry of intelligence and emotion

    * The easy and intuitive sharing of information and the contents of the human imagination on a global scale

    * The building of intelligent machines to accomplish previously unthinkable tasks

    * The comprehension and manipulation of the genome

    * The expansion of human life into space

    * Clean and plentiful energy

    * The end of human scarcity

And while there is no proof that most of these goals can be achieved in full, extraordinary strides have been made.

Here at The NeoFiles we will be exploring scientific and technological advances towards these and other objectives over the coming months in interviews and articles. However, the seriousness and immediacy of these potentially life- altering developments is perhaps best indicated by evolutions in business and culture. On the one hand, hopes are symbolized by the long-term existence of Wall Street-ready businesses dedicated to marvels like the expansion of maximum life span. On the other hand, our fears are expressed by the increasingly vocal anguish of those who see potential for disaster in these developments.

A recently published book called Merchants of Immortality by science journalist Stephen S. Hall chronicles scientific and business developments in the field of gerontology going back to the 1992 founding of Geron, a biotech company initially dedicated to “the notion of using molecular biology to cure aging.” Hall shows how this field of endeavor has expanded to become surprisingly lively and competitive. Nanotechnology, once only a theoretical gleam in the eye of visionary scientist K. Eric Drexler, has now spawned over a hundred businesses around the globe, many of them already generating products.

Meanwhile, no less a figure than Leon Kass, advisor to the President on bioethics, has begun to fret about the impact of widespread life extension on the body politic. And retired Sun Microsystems Chief Scientist Bill Joy has received extensive and serious media coverage for his recent musings on the quasi-apocalyptic possibilities contained within many of these same technological evolvements.

For YOU: Novelty Seekers

Many understandably react with outrage against those who pursue visionary goals, insisting that all attention should go towards resolving the terrible problems and miseries of the most downtrodden and oppressed among us. The reality is that in a complex world of six billion plus people, human beings pursue all sorts of goals and engage in a wide variety of activities. Some activities obviously contribute to the overall welfare while others seem to be about self-    interest, pleasure, or pure curiosity. Many activities are a little of both. Some are risky and some aren’t. People skydive, climb mountains, ingest experimental chemicals, and dedicate their entire lives to exploring obscure scientific theories that stand only the slightest chance of being proved. There is apparently an inherent tendency among some people to seek out novel ideas and experiences, while others are wired to play it safe. Researchers have even located a dopamine receptor gene called DRD4 that appears frequently in people who report high levels of novelty seeking, as well as award-dependant traits, according to a 2003 American Journal of Medical Genetics report.

Societies that allow people to pursue the widest possible range of interests and activities have a greater chance of success than those that limit people to those things that are obviously and immediately beneficial or aligned with the customs, religion or morality of the majority. As novelist Ken Kesey pointed out, we don’t always find our solutions looking in the problem box. For example: some day, a particularly effective member of Doctors Without Borders might carry on administering to poor refugees thanks to an experimentalist who developed a rejuvenation drug simply because it seemed like the most interesting thing to do.

This newsletter will explore the latest information, news, and views of those who are redefining the outer limits of human potential. It is dedicated to all novelty seekers — to those who know they are and those that suspect they might be.