FM-2030
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FM-2030 (October 15, 1930 – July 8, 2000) was a transhumanist philosopher and futurist. FM-2030 was born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary (Persian: فریدون اسفندیاری). He became notable as a transhumanist with the book "Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World", published in 1989. In addition he wrote a number of works of fiction under his original name F.M. Esfandiary. The son of an Iranian diplomat, he traveled widely as a child,[1] living in 17 countries by age 11;[2] then, as a young man, he represented Iran in the 1948 Olympic Games[1] and served on the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine from 1952 to 1954.[3] On July 8, 2000, FM-2030 died from pancreatic cancer and was placed in cryonic suspension at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where his body remains today.[4] He is survived by his four sisters and brother.
F.M. Esfandiary changed his name to FM-2030 for two main reasons. Firstly, to reflect the hope and belief that he would live to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2030; Secondly, and more importantly, to break free of the widespread practice of naming conventions that are rooted in a collectivist mentality, and exist only as a relic of humankind's tribalistic past. Traditional names almost always stamp a label of collective identity - varying from gender, to nationality - on the individual, thereby existing as prima facie elements of thought processes in the human cultural fabric, that tend to degenerate into stereotyping, factionalism, and discrimination. In his own words, "Conventional names define a person's past: ancestry, ethnicity, nationality, religion. I am not who I was ten years ago and certainly not who I will be in twenty years. [...] The name 2030 reflects my conviction that the years around 2030 will be a magical time. In 2030 we will be ageless and everyone will have an excellent chance to live forever. 2030 is a dream and a goal."[5]
Many of FM-2030's predictions about social trends from the 1970s through the early 21st century proved remarkably prescient.[5] FM-2030 argued that the inherent dynamic of the modern globalizing civilization would bring such changes about despite the best efforts of conservative elites to enforce traditional beliefs.[3]
FM-2030 once said, "I am a 21st century person who was accidentally launched in the 20th. I have a deep nostalgia for the future."[6]
[edit] Books by FM-2030
- Fiction
- The Day of Sacrifice 1959 available as an eBook
- The Beggar 1965
- Identity Card 1966 (ISBN 0-460-03843-5) available as an eBook
- Non-fiction
- UpWingers: A Futurist Manifesto 1973 (ISBN 0-381-98243-2) (pbk.) Available as an eBook ISBN FW00007527 , Publisher: e-reads, Pub. Date: Jan 1973, File Size: 153K
- Telespheres 1977
- Optimism one; the emerging radicalism 1970 (ISBN 0-393-08611-9)
- Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World 1989 (ISBN 0-446-38806-8).
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.mahmag.org/philosophy.php?itemid=119
- ^ http://www.ghandchi.com/esfandiary.htm
- ^ a b http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/faids/fm2030.pdf
- ^ Shermer, Michael. "Nano Nonsense and Cryonics". http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000E274C-2DD2-1C6F-84A9809EC588EF21.
- ^ a b http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1076532
- ^ http://www.nycny.com/columns/nichols/nichols09-15-00.html
