Transhumanism and the Second Uncanny Valley

The above schematic is an extension of the “uncanny valley” theory that futurist Jamais Cascio proposed in 2008: a “second uncanny valley” that occurs after culture moves into “transhuman” territory. I like this because it causes us to rethink the structure of “uncanny valley” theory through — uncannily — its mirror reflection, or double image.… Continue reading Transhumanism and the Second Uncanny Valley

Next Nature

In his essay on “The Uncanny,” Sigmund Freud writes: …an uncanny effect is often and easily produced when the distinction between imagination and reality is effaced, as when something that we have hitherto regarded as imaginary appears before us in reality, or when a symbol takes over the full functions of the thing it symbolizes,… Continue reading Next Nature