April 11, 2004

TTA Social: Roundup

Thanks to everyone who came to the Red Room last night. As usual, a good time was had by all. I still can't get over how good that avocado-brie sandwich was. It's true what they say about the Red Room: poor service, but great food and at reasonable prices.

Last night I finally had the opportunity to meet Toronto transhumanist, Allan Randall. Allan, in addition to being a very cool guy, is a philosopher at York University who teaches math, physics, and chemistry. During our conversation he took me to school about some elements in quantum many worlds theory, concepts of infinity and probability, quantum computing, and some cosmology (he actually convinced me that in some alternate many world I have sprouted wings and can fly -- simply because it's computationally probable).

Allan has some incredible insight into metaphysics, particularly as far as computationalism is concerned (it helps that he has a background in computer science). He's particularly critical of the Tipleresque notion of cosmic immortality, but believes that some forms of immortality are theoretically possible. Allan has spoken to the Immorality Institute people about his ideas, and they recently invited him to an online chat.

Allan also attends a Unitarian church, which, I'm fairly convinced, has contributed to his open attitude towards transhumanist ideas (James Hughes is another transhumanist with a Unitarian background). Allan invited Simon Smith and myself to deliver a talk to Toronto Unitarians about transhumanism, an offer which we graciously accepted. That should be interesting.

No comments: