On Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 8:43 PM, Abram Demski wrote: <snip> > By the way, where does this term "wireheading" come from? I assume > from context that it simply means self-stimulation. >
Science Fiction novels. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirehead> In Larry Niven's Known Space stories, a wirehead is someone who has been fitted with an electronic brain implant (called a "droud" in the stories) to stimulate the pleasure centers of their brain. In 2006, The Guardian reported that trials of Deep brain stimulation with electric current, via wires inserted into the brain, had successfully lifted the mood of depression sufferers.[1] This is exactly the method used by wireheads in the earlier Niven stories (such as the 'Gil the Arm' story Death By Ectasy). In the Shaper/Mechanist stories of Bruce Sterling, "wirehead" is the Mechanist term for a human who has given up corporeal existence and become an infomorph. -------------- BillK ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=111637683-c8fa51 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
