Sentient Developments Retrospective: Part IV

This week marks the 5th anniversary of Sentient Developments. Over the next few days I will be reflecting on some of my favourite posts from the past 5 years. Today's retrospective reviews the best of May to October 2006.

Last year I speculated about death and the brain and wondered if there can be awareness in the vegetative state.

I blogged about miraculous memory for mere mortals and protopanpsychism and consciousness uploading. I wondered if the brain taps into the future and if we could fight back against mind hacks.

I wrote about eating ethically and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh on the welfare of apes in captivity.

We constructed the case for enhancement at Stanford. I argued that we are ethically obligated to uplift non-human animals. James Hughes interviewed me about this, and then the Church of the Subgenius remixed our conversation. I also argued that humans crave uplift.

I wrote about Peter Singer and the fear of genetic inequality.

I wrote film reviews for Avalon, Superman Returns, Minority Report, Code 46, Darren Aronofsky’s "π", Fight Club, and The Day the Earth Stood Still.

I wondered if philanthrocapitalism was actually philanthrobabble.

I tried to figure out when intelligence first emerged in the universe. I also went on a rant about unidentified flying idiots.

I scrutinized SENS.

The Toronto Transhumanists attended the World Future Society Conference in Toronto.

I worried that global warming would put an end to human freedom.

I wondered if there was such a thing as universal phenotypes.

I argued that radical Islam could be considered fascistic, and that we had entered the Age of Weapons Containment. I worried about the ongoing threat of nuclear apocalypse and the the U.S. plan for a 21st century nuclear blitzkrieg.

I tried to protect our children from the god delusion.