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Provolve vs Uplift?

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Jérémie Jérémie's picture
Provolve vs Uplift?
Thinking about a translation of the Uplift EP concept, and I stumble unto Provolve which translate nicely (where Uplift is a nightmare for French). Any hard-science and trans/post-humanist specialists around here to stop me from using the word? Is there a sizeable difference between Uplifting and Provolving? My Brin reading days are way behind me, can't remember the details :(
Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture
Re: Provolve vs Uplift?
Hmm, I have mainly seen uplift used. But since there is no standard term in use for animal enhancement using provolve works well too. Here are two typical papers: http://ieet.org/archive/IEET-01-AllTogetherNow.pdf http://jme.bmj.com/content/35/11/678.abstract
Extropian
Jérémie Jérémie's picture
Re: Provolve vs Uplift?
Uplift is a very good word, meaningful, straight, yet poetic. However, I don't think it's possible to localize it in French and keep all of it. Even by creating a new word, or at least none that I can think of. On the other end, Provolve (provolution, etc.) is very easy to translate, French and English words (proactive, progressive & evolution) are quite similar. So I was thinking about localizing (translating, but better ;) ) [i]to uplift[/i] by [b]provoluer[/b] (literally to provolve). It's not poetic at all, but at least it's accurate. Then I got a doubt. Some sources seems to indicate both words mean the same thing; but others hint there's a difference: mainly, uplifting could be achieved by any mean necessary—for example computer assisted cognitive functions; while provolving would be only the real evolution of the animal (although accelerated). So I was asking the local experts to see if in the field there's a real difference or not :)
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Provolve vs Uplift?
Yeah the problem with the french is that Uplift gets translated as "élever" which also means to "raise" as in raising animals. So that can easily lead to confusion. Are you raising horses or uplifting them?
Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture
Re: Provolve vs Uplift?
Rhyx wrote:
Are you raising horses or uplifting them?
To some degree we are. Horses that cannot interact well with the 'smart' human environment and humans will tend to be selected against. Just like we have selected for various smartness traits in some of our other companion animals (dogs, cats, perhaps several others). Not a very organized uplift and not aiming at human intelligence, but still an uplift project.
Extropian
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Provolve vs Uplift?
This is very true when it comes to animals bred with specific goals in mind. I'm thinking Dobermans, Pitbulls, Huskeys, but also seeing eye dogs, hunting dogs. In a way they are being reprogrammed away from their original feral "source code" and tasked with things that can be useful to us and our way of life. And because of this their species seem to thrive or are at least protected by us and part of our evolution as well. However I do wonder why some animals can be domesticated and others can't. In this way I'm sure if we genetically engineer a species enough and give them enough cranium space we can eventually get an "uplift" of any species, but it's not really an uplift because the baseline is probably going to be a human brain in a animal body as opposed to a "provolution" where the base brain gets made more human. In many ways that explains the Mercurial movement in Uplifts and AGI. In their eyes they were not given much of a choice about involving themselves in human affairs.