#thetagram

[mitigatedchaos]

Biomechanoid Discourse Anon Round-Up

(~1,500 words)

I received 54 anons in response to my short post about biomechanoids that went viral last week, so I've decided to gather some of the ones I actually intend to answer here, in this round-up post.

[ Anon#1 ]

wait are you against fat-body cyborgs?

You may have encountered "fungrams" vs "thetagrams" as synthoid enthusiast slang. This stands for "functional grams" (weight that contributes to the functionality of a body), and "aesthetic grams" (weight that's mostly just aesthetics), respectively. (Just like with a natural human body, there's a bit of a blur between the two.)

Fat Cyborg Activists may, for example, carry an extra 200 kg of glorified silicone padding, causing them to get bumped up a bracket in the combined-force-and-mass classification used in most jurisdictions, since being dive-tackled by a 300 kg Yokozuna-style body even with just a natural human level of strength can be enough to cause serious injury. They then complain about the brackets.

I don't think it should be illegal to carry 200 kthetagrams of articial fat. Fat Cyborg Activists are just deliberately misinterpreting the League of States Charter when they claim that the bracket system should be abolished because it's "a fundamental human right" to weigh up to 500 kg.

Obviously, as I've written before, these rights are an abstraction based on a human range of behavior and capabilities. This is how the courts have always interpreted it in the League, and if a baseliner hit 500 kg the weight would crush his organs to death.

We also need to talk about Neo-Penitents.

A lot of baseliners are Neo-Penitents and refuse tissue engineering. We as cyborgs should not be encouraging them to get that fat. Yes, they will die earlier than they otherwise would die due to refusing treatment. No, we should not be encouraging that to happen more quickly. I don't use tobacco cigarettes, either.

Most children are born to religious natals (including Neo-Penitents). We should mediate the environment so that they don't experience cyborgs as something to fear. (If you're feeling hostile to them and want a cynical reasoning - we depend on recruitment and they outnumber us.)

[ Anon#2 ]

Why are you against age liberation?

Rejeuvenation therapies, biomechanoidization, and kaitosomes prolong personal lifespan, but personal development still happens at different rates for different people.

I disagree with the contemporary reactionary view that life extension techs fundamentally stall out or delay self-discovery and consideration, though I think it can have that effect on some people who forget that they will die. It's a matter of a certain kind of emotional and intellectual sophistication that allows people to learn from observing their own lives (and the lives of others). If you read through early-21st century archives (Twitter is a good example, here), there are a lot of people that made it to their 40s, 50s, and 60s that became older without really advancing all that much intellectually.

So for this reason, a lot of people would really like to reset the clock when they start getting serious (often around 50). (Our society still treats young people as having more potential than old people, among other reasons.)

I sympathize, but there are three problems. First, someone who has been clubbing without much consideration for 30 years has still has a power advantage over someone who is 17 (much less 12, which is favored by more extreme activists). Second, as part of healthy cultural development, each generation should be able to have some of their own culture to help form a stable self-image. Third, the brain is still aging even with rejeuventation therapy, and at increased risk of costly age-related disease and degeneration. That usually isn't covered by state insurance, except for Class IV rejeuvenation, which inherently causes some level of permanent memory loss.

We already had the battle for "age liberation." The compromise was laws that prohibit new bodies from looking under 18 (unless intended for, and used by, literal children), and cryptographically-signed augmented reality chronological age display. (Only a few carveouts have been made, such as the Shanghai Ethnopolity's "R+[years since rejeuvenation]" for Class-IV rejeuvenation.)

What activists are demanding is age unlocking.

They want to be able to claim they are 104. They want to be able to claim they are 14. Because these have certain cultural associations, and they want those cultural associations. You can already refuse to provide a number (which is a trend these days). The whole thing is self-negating.

[ Anon#3 ]

die fascist scum

I get these all the time. Just noting for the record that I delete pretty much all of them. Either make a real argument or move to the World Union.

[ Anon#4 ]

In your post you said you're against allowing biomechanoidization before age 21. Weren't you raised biomech?

It's possible, if expensive, to hold a natal body for an adult. It's even more difficult to do for children, since you have to match growth for growth. (Even if you do a return procedure, you still pretty much have to fit the body for a cyberharness anyway, so it will never be quite the same.)

The current push to "allow children and teens" to "explore their options" through biomechanoidization is because biomech bodies have gotten "too good," and we're in a downturn so people are holding out longer rather than switching or upgrading (or simply refreshing).

For a child's growth trajectory, a company can sell 5-6 bodies, or 3 if they start during the teen years. Biomech bodies don't grow (skeletally, not in terms of muscle/fat). If for any reason manufacturing gets disrupted for a few years, the child could have a really serious problem.

I'm worried it could also disrupt the formation of the child's self-identity, but as you know that's much more politically disputed.

I was raised as an officer for the military of a country that no longer exists. It's not really the same.

[ Anon#5 ]

We read your blog out here printed on paper in Outer Mongolia due to attention regulation laws in our ethnopolity (actually it's just our way of life), where it's distributed as part of a newsletter. I had my friend Dave send this. [Hi! -Dave] What is the difference between "biomechanoids" and "synthoids"?

It's really more of a gradient than a binary.

We can basically divide things into whole-grown bodies (natal bodies, cloned replacement bodies), constructed bodies (biomechanoids, synthoids), dolls (bodies without onboard life support), and static life support systems.

For constructed bodies, every body except for a few high-end specialized bodies uses at least some engineered biological tissue for long-term life support, because it's cheaper, usually more resilient (against some classes of problems), and easier to use to balance the biochemistry of the brain. But the human brain only uses about a fifth to half of the body's resources, so for the rest of the body, the designer has the option to use either synthetic systems or cultured biological tissue.

In general, the more organic tissue is used, the more "biomechanoid" a body is, and the more synthetic systems are used, the more "synthoid." (There's a practical limit to how much of a constructed body can be biological. Constructed body designers have to use a synthetic framework that allows the parts to be grown, printed, or assembled individually, then integrated.)

Biomechanoids usually have lower maintenance costs during the rated lifetime of the body, since biological tissue is self-repairing against minor stress. Synthoids can be more robust against certain kinds of problems, and there's more freedom in the overall design, but their systems have a limited number of uses at time of manufacture because they're generally not self-repairing.

[ Anon#6 ]

what are your thoughts on the new sex variants

They turned out to be a lot easier to create than anyone in the year 2010 would have thought. Those genotypes are out in the wild now, social conservatives are just going to have to learn to deal with it.

As for myself, World Union regulations classify all paramilitary cyborgs as "male," regardless of appearance, and thus subject to "anti-oppression rules." After San Diego changed hands and became part of the League of States, I just never updated my registration.

[ Anon#7 ]

You work for the caveman ethnopolities? The fuck do they pay you with, rice?

Cosmopolitans pay handsomely for artisanal foods, especially animal products. League citizens from higher-tech polities will purchase vacation packages ranging from a few days to spending six months milking cows and working a farm by hand. Low-tech ethnopolity governments also lease out about 10-20% of the land. Cosmopolity governments tend to pay for things that might spill beyond the borders, like environmental remediation.

They can be surprisingly tolerant (as long as they view you as 'just visiting'), but they can be slow to trust, and tend to pull from a small pool of contractors.

Technically there's only one neolithic ethnopolity (though that's really more of a park) and most low-tech ethnopolities are early modern (think 1700s).

But yes, sometimes they do pay in rice.

[kanakitoblr-blog]

桜見れるのもあとわずか。。 #theta360 #thetagram #thetaのある生活 #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #thetas #ricohtheta #ricohtheta360 #360度カメラ #360photo #360camera #360photography #littleplanet #tinyplanet #zenkoji #善光寺 #cherryblossom #桜 #insta360 #instaflower #全天球カメラ #桜満開 #長野 #springhascome #寺社巡り #しだれ桜 #lifeis360 #cherryblossoms #flowergram #お花見 (Zenkoji Temple)

[petermavrikos]

Kinda in love with the #ThetaS #thetagram (at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport)

[kanakitoblr-blog]

鶴岡八幡宮 #theta360 #thetagram #thetaのある生活 #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #ricohtheta #thetas #360度カメラ #360photo #360camera #360photography #littleplanet #tinyplanet #torii #kamakura #tsurugaokahachimangu #shrine #鶴岡八幡宮 #寺社巡り #鎌倉 #鎌倉八幡宮 (Tsurugaoka Hachimangū)

[kanakitoblr-blog]

江ノ島神社⛩ #theta360 #thetagram #thetaのある生活 #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #thetas #ricohtheta #mirrorball #360度カメラ #360photo #360camera #360sphere #360photography #insta360 #instagood #instajapan #shrine #torii #enoshima #江ノ島神社 #ミラーボール #寺社巡り #江ノ島 #全天球カメラ #鳥居 #鎌倉旅行

[kanakitoblr-blog]

ステンドグラスアーティストの方に偶然出会って思い出した。まだ載せてなかったやつ。 #instagood #instatheta #hakone #thetagram #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #360度カメラ #360photography #360camera #theta360 #箱根彫刻の森美術館 #ステンドグラス #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #insta360 #彫刻の森美術館 #幸せを呼ぶシンフォニー彫刻 #フォトジェニック #螺旋階段 #らせん階段 #letsveer @letsveer #全天球カメラ

[kanakitoblr-blog]

早く春来て欲しい。 #thetas #theta360 #thetagram #insta360 #instagood #instajapan #instatheta #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #letsveer #littleplanet #little_planet #tinyplanet #instaflower #桜 #cherryblossom #河津桜 #ricohtheta #リトルプラネット #花 #豊洲公園 #toyosu

[kanakitoblr-blog]

浅草仲見世。 #instajapan #instatheta #thetagram #instagood #insta360 #japan #360度カメラ #360camera #360photography #asakusa #thetas #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #浅草 #kimono #浅草 #sensoji #sensojitemple #全天球カメラ #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #仲見世通り #仲見世 #青空 #晴れ女 #晴天

[kanakitoblr-blog]

#カレッタ汐留 #イルミネーション #carettashiodome #thetas #insta360 #instatheta #instagood #theta360 #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #全天球カメラ #thetagram #beautyandthebeast (Caretta Shiodome)

[kanakitoblr-blog]

ネコカフェ🐱 #theta360 #thetas #thetagram #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #littleplanet #little_planet #tinyplanet #360度カメラ #360photography #360camera #ねこカフェ #ねこ #cat #catcafe #猫カフェmocha

[kanakitoblr-blog]

まだある。 #thetaで遊ぼう #instagood #instatheta #hakone #thetagram #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #360度カメラ #360photography #360camera #theta360 #箱根彫刻の森美術館 #ステンドグラス #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #insta360 #彫刻の森美術館 #幸せを呼ぶシンフォニー彫刻 #フォトジェニック #螺旋階段 #らせん階段 (箱根彫刻の森美術館 - The Hakone Open-Air Museum)

[kanakitoblr-blog]

やっぱり最高にフォトジェニックな場所。 #instagood #instatheta #hakone #thetagram #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #360度カメラ #360photography #360camera #theta360 #箱根彫刻の森美術館 #ステンドグラス #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #insta360 #彫刻の森美術館 #幸せを呼ぶシンフォニー彫刻 #フォトジェニック #螺旋階段 #らせん階段 #全天球カメラ #little_planet #theta��ある生活 #mirrorball #ミラーボール #ricohtheta #thetas (箱根彫刻の森美術館 - The Hakone Open-Air Museum)

[kanakitoblr-blog]

明治神宮からの表参道。 #thetas #theta360 #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #360度カメラ #360camera #360photography #全天球カメラ #instagood #instajapan #instatheta #thetagram #青空 #bluesky #晴天 #晴れ女 #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #omotesando #表参道 #ラフォーレ原宿

[kanakitoblr-blog]

写真とてもわかりにくいけど大涌谷。 黒たまごは残念ながら売り切れてました。 #thetaで遊ぼう #instagood #instatheta #hakone #thetagram #theta持って出かけよう #thetaを持って出かけよう #360度カメラ #360photography #360camera #theta360 #箱根 #tinyplanet #littleplanet #リトルプラネット #晴天 #晴れ女 #寒波到来 #めっちゃ寒い #大涌谷 #hakone #owakudani #黒たまご売り切れ

[kanakitoblr-blog]

浅草寺 #instajapan #instatheta #thetagram #instagood #insta360 #japan #360度カメラ #360camera #360photography #kaminarimon #asakusa #thetas #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #浅草 #kimono #浅草寺 #浅草寺五重塔 #五重の塔 #sensoji #sensojitemple #全天球カメラ #littleplanet #tinyplanet #リトルプラネット #letsveer @letsveer

[kanakitoblr-blog]

#instatheta #thetagram #tinyplanet #littleplanet #360度カメラ #360camera #360photography #thetas #theta #thetaのある生活 #thetaを持って出かけよう #theta持って出かけよう #全天球カメラ #箱根彫刻の森美術館 #hakone #instagood #instajapan #bluesky #青空 #晴天 #晴れ女 #hakoneopenairmuseum #museum #リトルプラネット (箱根彫刻の森美術館 - The Hakone Open-Air Museum)