BEING SUPERHUMAN...

Super is a derivative of the word “superlative” which denotes the extra-ordinary.

What exactly do we, as humans, find extra-ordinary when we have the power to transform every thought into a tangible reality?

We wished to fly, so we made an aeroplane.

We wished to swim across oceans, as undetectable as a fish, we made submarines.

We wished to travel into the celestial world and we propelled Armstrong onto the moon!

So then what is it that has enabled us to achieve what we once thought was impossible? The answer is very simple. We live with it every minute of the day. Technology.

Technology’s what enables us to achieve the superlative and it is what will help us to create an altogether superior lifestyle that mankind has barely even been able to dream of before now.

It is man’s inherent nature to improve. We are always looking for ways to make ourselves better than we were, trying to correct our faults and compensate for our disabilities. It is this primal need for correction and betterment that drives us to expand our horizons and innovate our imagination.

As a rule, we have been obsessed forever with that which we can’t do. And often these desires are the driving force behind our creations.

Consider this: Color blindness is a fairly common condition. It isn't a detrimental disease but is surely inconvenient. Neil Harbisson was however, inconsolably inconvenienced, and he decided to right the wrong that wasn't his. He augmented his inability to see and distinguish colors by using a camera that captured light, identified its frequency and converted its frequency into audio signals thus effectively enabling him to HEAR colors. This process enabled him to distinguish more than three hundred colors and their varying shades-far better than the average human’s range. In his words, “all painters for me are now composers”.

Thus technology is instrumental in embellishing the capabilities of us humans. Even our superheroes are privy to this fact.

Think Iron man and his suit. Despite being a playboy, billionaire and philanthropist he is still just a human. His suit, though fictional, gives him the superhuman edge.

Think batman and his bat-mobile that has millions of boys, men, girls and women swooning over it. It’s a cutting edge piece of fictional technology that’s well on its way to becoming a reality.

The primary section of science and technology today, which deals with conferring superhuman capabilities to us, is something rudimentary known as wearable technology. 

Wearable technology covers a wide gamut of devices ranging from digital watches to robotic limbs. It is a boon for the handicapped as they can replace virtually any limb with the help of robotics. We may have heard of lizards growing back their tails, well we now have something to tell them in return! Craig Hutto suffered a shark attack that led to the amputation of his left leg from above the knee. He now uses a mechanical prosthesis that has replaced his non-existent muscles. This mechanical leg is able to emulate 90% of the functions of his natural limb.

Apart from helping the disabled, wearable technology enhances the already present capabilities of man given them a surreal revamp. An excellent example is the EXOCORTEX.

EXOCORTEX- it’s a part of the mind-functional technologies that includes concepts of BCI and MIND UPLOADING.

BCI is brain computer interfacing which is practically the exchange of information between our mind and a computer albeit with no medium of exchange- direct transmission. Synthesis of data collected from our physical senses can be performed directly within the computer.

MIND UPLOADING is another mind-boggling concept that allows us to upload our conscience (which is the sum total of our mind and memory) into a computer. That way our conscience lives on forever!

EXOCORTEX provides us with the over-all sharpening of mind. It will well and truly enable us to work at computer-speeds with just as accurate results within our mind space. It will effectively eliminate any need of calculators or other computing devices. It basically provides super-intelligence as our super-power!

Somewhere people are already working on these concepts and are converting them into reality. It is not far away when we can say “it’s all in the mind” and mean it quite literally!

As far as the ‘’cool’’ spectrum of superhuman is concerned, we have the HUMAN UNIVERSAL LOAD CARRIER (HULC) that enables an average human being to carry around 200 pounds, quite nonchalantly! Speaking of super-strength, the Japanese have their own- hybrid assistive limb (HAL) that is currently being employed for medical purposes but has basically the same functions of the HULC.

Also one must have noticed, our superheroes have an unnaturally accurate and immaculate immune system. The good news is, now we can get one too. Nano-medicines or medicines on a molecular scale size are being tested to treat diseases like lung cancer. Inhaled through an aerosol, these particles get deposited near the diseased area and are then super heated thus killing the cancerous cells. Speculative use of this branch involves the use of nanobots- self-replicating machines that are utilized to specifically target the diseased area and treat it. Looks like we are on the right path to creating age proof bodies!

Moore’s law suggests that we should avail of these types of technology by 2045. Incredibly within our lifetime we will be able to witness this conversion from human to superhuman.

The trans-humanist movement comprises of one such sect of people who strongly believe that we must allow technology to invade the natural course of life and do away with the moral obligations of such tampering. Who’s to stop us if we want to become super-human after all?

Well, it just depends on us. Human or superhuman, as long as we have our hearts in the right place (the metaphorical ones), we can hope to survive this stage of evolution as well with our planet in tow. Till then, peace out!

Arundhathi Swami