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Wirehead (science Fiction)
In science fiction, wireheading is a term associated with fictional or futuristic applications of brain stimulation reward, the act of directly triggering the brain's reward center by electrical stimulation of an inserted wire, for the purpose of 'short-circuiting' the brain's normal reward process and artificially inducing pleasure. Scientists have successfully performed brain stimulation reward on rats (1950s) and humans (1960s). This stimulation does not appear to lead to tolerance or satiation in the way that sex or drugs do. The term is sometimes associated with science fiction writer Larry Niven, who coined the term in his 1969 novella ''Death by Ecstasy'' (''Known Space'' series). In the philosophy of artificial intelligence, the term is used to refer to AI systems that hack their own reward channel. More broadly, the term can also refer to various kinds of interaction between human beings and technology. In fiction Literature Wireheading, like other forms of brain alter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Olds
James Olds (May 30, 1922 – August 21, 1976) was an American psychologist who co-discovered the pleasure center of the brain with Peter Milner while he was a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University in 1954. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern neuroscience and received numerous distinctions ranging from election to the United States National Academy of Sciences to the Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Biography Early life and education Olds was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Nyack, New York. His father, Leland Olds, later became chairman of the Federal Power Commission during the 1940s. His grandfather George D. Olds was the ninth president of Amherst College. Olds attended college at a number of schools including St. John's College, Annapolis, and the University of Wisconsin but received his undergraduate B.A. from Amherst College in 1947. His undergraduate years were interrupted by military servi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soma (Brave New World)
Soma is a fictional drug in Aldous Huxley's 1932 dystopian sci-fi novel ''Brave New World''. In the novel, soma is an "opiate of the masses" that replaces religion and alcohol in a peaceful, but amoral, high-tech society far in the future. Soma, a narcotic tranquilizer in tablet and vapor form, is regularly taken by all members of society in order to produce feelings of euphoric happiness. Soma, however, is harmful or even deadly when taken in large amounts. In ''Brave New World'', the mother of John the Savage died after consuming too much soma. Inspired by Huxley's trip to India in the mid-1920s, is based on the historical soma drink, used in Hindu rituals to induce a hallucinogenic state. Besides soma, Huxley also incorporated other ideas based on Indian culture into the book, such as the caste system used in the fictional society of the World-State. The idea of soma has become well-known in popular culture, and it has been compared to later real-life drugs like Valium. The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metaverse
The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction novel '' Snow Crash'' as a portmanteau of " meta" and "universe". In ''Snow Crash'', the metaverse is envisioned as a version of the Internet that is a single, universal, and immersive virtual world, facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. The term "metaverse" is often linked to virtual reality technology, and beginning in the early 2020s, with Web3. The term has been used as a buzzword by companies to exaggerate the development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes. Information privacy, user addiction, and user safety are concerns within the metaverse, stemming from challenges facing the social media and video game industries as a whole. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedonic Treadmill
The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness (or sadness) despite major positive or negative events or life changes. According to this theory, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness. Philip Brickman and Donald T. Campbell coined the term in their essay "Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society" (1971). The hedonic treadmill viewpoint suggests that wealth does not increase the level of happiness. Overview Hedonic adaptation is an event or mechanism that reduces the affective impact of substantial emotional events. Generally, hedonic adaptation involves a happiness "set point", whereby humans generally maintain a constant level of happiness throughout their lives, despite events that occur in their environment. The process of hedonic adaptation is often conceptualized as a treadmill, sinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Experience Machine
The experience machine or pleasure machine is a thought experiment put forward by philosopher Robert Nozick in his 1974 book ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia''. It is an attempt to refute ethical hedonism by imagining a choice between everyday reality and an apparently preferable simulated reality. A primary thesis of hedonism is that "pleasure is the good", which leads to the argument that any component of life that is not pleasurable does nothing directly to increase one's well-being. This is a view held by many value theorists, but most famously by some classical utilitarians. Nozick attacks the thesis by means of a thought experiment. If he can show that there is something other than pleasure that has value and thereby increases well-being, then hedonism is refuted. The thought experiment Nozick describes a machine that could provide whatever desirable or pleasurable experiences a subject could want. In this thought experiment, psychologists have figured out a way to stimulate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Pearce (philosopher)
David Pearce (born April 1959) is a British transhumanist philosopher. He is the co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+. Pearce approaches ethical issues from a negative utilitarian perspective. Based in Brighton, England, Pearce maintains a series of websites devoted to transhumanist topics and what he calls the "hedonistic imperative", a moral obligation to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. His self-published internet manifesto, ''The Hedonistic Imperative'' (1995), outlines how pharmacology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and neurosurgery could converge to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience from human and non-human life, replacing suffering with "information-sensitive gradients of bliss".Bostrom (2005) 15. Pearce call ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brain–computer Interface
A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication link between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often directed at researching, Brain mapping, mapping, assisting, Augmented cognition, augmenting, or repairing human Cognitive skill, cognitive or Sensory-motor coupling, sensory-motor functions. They are often conceptualized as a human–machine interface that skips the intermediary of moving body parts (e.g. hands or feet). BCI implementations range from non-invasive (EEG, Magnetoencephalography, MEG, MRI) and partially invasive (ECoG and endovascular) to invasive (microelectrode array), based on how physically close electrodes are to brain tissue. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s by Jacques Vidal at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from the Defense Adva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borg
The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. They are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge of List of Star Trek races, other alien species to the Collective through the process of "#Assimilation, assimilation": forcibly transforming individual beings into "drones" by injecting nanomachine, nanoprobes into their bodies and surgically augmenting them with cybernetic components. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection".Star Trek: First Contact Aside from being recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation, Next Generation'' television series, they are depicted as the main threat in the film ''Star Trek: First Contact''. In addition, they played major roles in the ''Star Trek: Voyager, Voyager'' and ''Star Trek: Picard, Picard'' series. The Borg have become a symbol in popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. Crichton's novels often explore human technological advancement and attempted dominance over nature, both with frequently catastrophic results; many of his works are cautionary tales, especially regarding themes of biotechnology. Several of his stories center on themes of genetic modification, Hybridization (biology), hybridization, paleontology and/or zoology. Many feature medical or scientific underpinnings, reflective of his own medical training and scientific background. Crichton received an Doctor of Medicine, M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead. Init ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Terminal Man
''The Terminal Man'' is a novel by American writer Michael Crichton. It is his second novel under his own name and his twelfth overall, and is about the dangers of mind control. It was published in April 1972, and also serialized in ''Playboy'' in March, April, and May 1972. In 1974, it was made into a film of the same name. Plot summary The events in the novel take place between March 9 and March 13, 1971. Harold Franklin "Harry" Benson, a computer scientist in his mid-thirties, is described as suffering from " psychomotor epilepsy" following a car crash two years earlier. He often has seizures followed by blackouts, and then wakes up hours later with no knowledge of what he has done. During these seizures, he severely beats two people; the day before his admission, he was arrested after attacking a third. He is a prime candidate for an operation to implant an electronic " brain pacemaker" in the amygdala region of his brain in order to control the seizures, which will be pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first science-fiction story, "Man-Made Self", was sold in 1976. He is the author of science-fiction novels, including ''Schismatrix'' (1985), ''Islands in the Net'' (1988), and ''Heavy Weather (Sterling novel), Heavy Weather'' (1994). In 1992, he published his first non-fiction book, ''The Hacker Crackdown, The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier''. He has been interviewed for documentaries such as ''Freedom Downtime'', ''TechnoCalyps'' and ''Traceroute (film), Traceroute''. Writing Sterling is one of the founders of the cyberpunk movement in science fiction, along with William Gibson, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley, Lewis Shiner, and Pat Cadigan. In addition, he is one of the subgenre's chief Ideology, ideological promulg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
