Of Madness and Mentats... (Of Saviors and Supermen -- Part II) -- AL, CPS, Dark, SF, Soc, Super

*
Here's a response to my "Of Saviors and Supermen" article from Max, someone who takes a great interest in tracking down and learning about exceptionally gifted people. Whether or not we could as yet have anyone remotely on a par with Paul Atreides -- even given the lack of millions of heavily augmented people in our society as a counterbalance -- is a discussion for another time. For now, the furious pace of biotech enhancements (genetic, nootropic, etc) and the existance accelerated learning methods suggests that it's an issue worth eyeing now, before our opinions become something of a moot point.

And given the purpose of this site is too expand perspectives and share information and viewpoints, I thought I'd include Max's comments, and my response...

Very well thought-out, man. And there's not a thing there I can argue with.

It's a very dangerous ground, superhumans in a position where they are capable of directly steering the evolution of a society or a culture. It brings to mind Jim Jones, and it worries me that a person with even more personal power and influence could cause such a thing on an even greater scale. Or that a super-Hitler could gain control of a country.

I am reminded of the current storyline in comics of a character with the ability to directly steer a person's thoughts, and how he has created an extremely dangerous organization, in the interest of controlling events to his personal liking. What is really troubling is that such a person may indeed exist somewhere in the world as we speak. How would we know? The person would of course stay in the closet, so to speak, and work in the background. We would never see them until it was too late.

There is also, of course, the problem that would automatically arise if a metahuman suddenly appeared in the world, that decided he/she LIKED all the cult growing around him/her. I can foresee a situation similar to the Branch Davidians occurring. No matter which side of that particular conflict you came down on, it was a tragedy. A meta with a following would be exceedingly dangerous to society.

Yeah, I know. I'm the one who's the big proponent of seeing metas coming "out of the closet". But I have to acknowledge the huge risk. My best friend reminded me of the blood analogy of society, and its application to metas. It's like this. Compare society to blood, plain old red blood. What is seen is red. All the red blood cells. What is not seen are all the white blood cells, all the antibodies. Metas are like those white blood cells, those antibodies. They are necessary to society, in that they combat rampant sameness, which is the death of society. But you can't center blood around the white cells. They are essential, but not the primary focus of the blood. Metas are necessary, but we must not allow them to be central to the flow of society.

I am still of the opinion that metas should come out of the closet, even if in only a circumspect manner, masked by usernames and hidden on the outskirts of the culture, but not to control. I think that, just as we have to know about white blood cells and antibodies in order to better help in healthcare, we need to know about metas in order to better help society. White blood cells cannot carry oxygen; neither can metas run the world. They are meant to be no more than firemen, and examples of what is possible in the world.

Boy, did YOU open a can of worms.....

I responded...

My personal opinion, Max, is that the more advanced, enlightened and capable people are, the more easily society as a whole will be able to deal with extraordinary dangers, both metanormal and "normal" (like Al Qaeda, etc). One of the big problems in Dune was the existance of such a huge mass of people ready to follow Paul Atreides to hell and back. Or rather, ready to follow what they thought was the will of Paul Atreides, or what they thought was his example.

Admittedly, this issue isn't purely cleared up by the simple hand-waving answer of "we'll make everybody a meta" or "we'll make everyone superbright." The Fremen effectively were metas of a kind, and an unstoppable, fanatical army of millions in control of the Spice was, of course, more than enough to conquer the galactic empire a few times over. Which made them a big part of the problem, not the solution.

The question, I think, is in what particular abilities you emphasize in your education of people. Whether or not you separate out normal students from the gifted and "the Gifted," it's worth considering what skills would make it particularly hard to manipulate your pupils in the future. NLP? Self-hypnosis emphasizing mental flexibility, self-awareness and self-control? Philosophies like General Semantics?

You see, I think there may be too much emphasis on the whole "meta vs non-meta" divide (to the extent that anyone thinks about this question at all). Comic book characters provide a useful example. Think of all those classic superbeings in comics who may just be very strong, or better still, simply blast energy at people, but aren't too bright and don't really have any other exceptional abilities. In what way is the guy who unleashes a formidable amount of energy from his hands (enough to destroy a tank) intrinsically superior to a normal human being? For example, how is he superior to a normal insurgent with a rocket propelled grenade, or a normal soldier with an advanced shoulder-fired rocket?

My point is that many technologies or gifts we might think of as "superhuman" could easily exist in a person while leaving them largely unchanged, and hence just as vulnerable as any normal individual.

My own idea of a "true" superhuman generally assumes some degree of enhanced mental function and/or overall health. But remember, most of the factions in Dune were enhanced beings of one kind or another... Bene Gesserit, Spacer Navigators, Fremen, Sardaukar, Mentats, Tleilaxu Face Dancers and geneticists, and even the military cadres of the Atreides. Yet when Paul emerged at the height of his powers, he realized he had begun a legend -- and a Jihad -- which he could not control. And which even these varying factions could not thwart, either alone or together. To the extent that they were responding to him in a fully conscious way at all.

I think that basic notion -- be aware of what is occurring around you, both in your personal and societal space, and be conscious of the implications of events, and your own actions -- is a good rule of thumb. We may not yet have tools for every ordinary person to defend themselves against a superhuman manipulator... but how many people are truly proof against a mere mortal manipulator of great skill?

-----

I'd like to add one more comment. We can do a great deal to improve ourselves as "mere mortals," whether to increase our resistance to outside coercion or to improve ourselves generally. I'll say more about this in the future, but ask yourself the next time you're shaking your head at the political opinions of a friend or co-worker, "How much do I know about this subject?" Odds are, even if you're an exceptionally well-informed person, there's a great deal you don't know about, at least not in any depth.

Now, in fairness, I'm something of a voracious consumer of all media, but in particular of news. And admittedly I don't know nearly enough either, yet am often dismayed at just how much time I unconsciously devote to news reports and articles. But the point remains, a simple, basic understanding of most common subjects would help alert you to the most outrageous lies you hear -- assuming you apply your own knowledge and perceptions to the question instead of just blindly accepting whatever you hear from one source or a handful of people in the media and office-cooler echo chambers.

There are probably other tools out there, but some of the most effective to start with are the ones you need every day. Know what you're talking about. Know what they're talking about. Remember, you don't have to agree with other people just to please them. You don't have to argue with nutcases either. And if you don't want a confrontation, you can always hold your tongue... or change the subject.

Just remember, when all else fails, start with the simple things you do understand.


Future Imperative