My response to "Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists" is this - Transhumanists need to be guided by actual science, not by wishful thinking or over-exuberant hype

In summary, "Joy" is an emotional rollercoaster, that illuminates an important part of medical history that ought to be better known, and also provides a useful comparison for understanding present-day opposition to researching cures for aging. Watch it at www.netflix.com/watch/81701716

(That 1970s MRC pomposity has, alas, echoes in the overly conservative approach many funding bodies have in 2025 to deciding which health research to support - with meaningful anti-aging research being starved of serious finance. It's a good reason to shout out at the world!)

There's lots of excellent acting in the film. And fine use of music. But you may be provoked to shout out to the screen at various times - for example, at the uncaring pomposity of the Medical Research Council assessors turning down a request for more funding for IVF research.

In the same way, visible progress with reversing aging has, so far, been frustratingly slow. Critics see this as a sign that the whole endeavour is flawed, and that funding should be diverted away to other causes. But a closer look shows that lots is happening behind the scenes.

In both cases, a superficial assessment of the slow pace of visible progress might lead you to agree with the critics. IVF failed on countless occasions before Purdy, Steptoe, and Edwards worked out how to increase the likelihood of success.

Episodes in the film have many echoes with the opposition still hurled nowadays at scientists who are dedicated to reverse aging. Aging is natural, people say. Talking of reversing aging just causes psychological harm. The wise thing to do is to accept aging. So the critics say.

The film covers the decades-long collaboration between IVF pioneers Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe, and Jean Purdy. The focus on Jean Purdy is particularly welcome, as it corrects what used to be a common historical oversight, in which she was omitted from the limelight.

The film "Joy", available on Netflix, features all these complaints, and lots more. It also shows the heartaches experienced by many women whose IVF treatments failed, in the early days before the first successful birth. The "Frankenstein" complaint almost seemed to be justified.

A: They were all unscripted tangents in the latest London Futurists Podcast episode, "Real-life superheroes and troubled institutions", featuring Tom Ough, who turned the tables on the hosts multiple times during a fascinating conversation londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com/2028982/epis...

To these seven strategies I would add: It's not (remotely) sufficient to be "against"; there must also be a credible positive vision *for* a shared abundance, underpinned by wise harnessing of the possibilities of new technologies, avoiding concentrations of wealth and power.

These headline descriptions may seem like empty phrases, but Hartmann develops each strategy into a bundle of concrete actions. He also describes how these strategies are being changed by the availability of ever more powerful AI algorithms - with numerous complications arising.

Hartmann's seven strategies are: Unite across traditional divides; Protect truth and information ecosystems; Defend and reform democratic institutions; Practice strategic non-violence; Build alternative power structures; Engage internationally; Prepare for the long struggle.

For positive inspiration, Hartmann points to encouraging pro-democracy examples in South Korea, Chile, Sri Lanka, and Poland, where various would-be authoritarian regimes had power wrested away from them. Alas, there are plenty of counterexamples too.

There are critical lessons for citizens in other countries, such as the UK, where similar oligarchic forces are poised to lie and cheat their way into power. These forces cannot be overcome merely by "politics as normal". That's what the US tried to do under Biden, and failed.