Sunday, October 26, 2003

Is this what they mean by "Posthuman"?

OK, I know that I'm not as well-read in science fiction yet as I'd like to be, mainly because I pretty much abandoned the genre between the ages of 16 and 26. So, I'm not totally up on the concept of "Posthumans", and I need someone to explain it to me. Specifically, are "posthumans" the types of folks who can survive being swept over Niagara Falls with no protective gear and the types of folks who can kill a shark with their bare hands? Is that what the whole thing is about?

By the way, I've been to Niagara Falls dozens of times, and the Canadian side - - the side the guy went over - - is always incredibly packed with tourists snapping photos. How did nobody get a shot of him just as he went over? I don't care about pictures of him waving in triumph after crawling onto a rock at the bottom! I want a shot of him just as he hits the brink, what I call the "Holy Shit!" moment. Come on, somebody's gotta have that picture!

And also by the way, if the guy who went over the Falls is telling the truth and it really was a suicide attempt, then he's got to be the most colossal screw-up in human history. Imagine picking the single most sure-to-be-successful manner of killing oneself that probably exists, and still surviving with only a few scratches. Oy.

(second link via He of All Things Horrific.)

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