Alexander Chislenko

Alexander "Sasha" Chislenko (December 2, 1959 – May 8, 2000) was an active member of the transhumanist and extropian communities, contributing many speculative essays on singularity-inspired topics between 1997 and 1999.

According to his homepage [http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/home.html] , he left Leningrad, Russia for Boston, Massachusetts in 1989.

Of particular note was his early belief in the value and power of collaborative filtering. In addition, he coined the term "fyborg" (a portmanteau of "functional" and "cyborg") to differentiate between the cyborgs of science fiction and the everyday ways humans extend themselves using technologies such as contact lenses, hearing aids, and mobile phones.

Later, in 1999 and 2000, Chislenko was involved in some start-up companies focusing on internet technologies.

Chislenko experienced episodes of depression for many years. In the early morning of May 8 2000, during a depressive episode, Alexander Chislenko committed suicide.

Quotes

"History shows that representatives of consecutive evolutionary stages are rarely in mortal conflict. Multi-celled organisms didn't drive out single-celled ones, animals haven't exterminated all plants and automobiles neither killed nor eliminated all pedestrians. Indeed, representatives of consecutive evolutionary stages build symbiotic relationships in most areas of common interest and ignore each other elsewhere, while members of each group are mostly pressured by their own peers." - Alexander Chislenko

ee also

* cyborg
* Cyborg theory
* Metasystem transition
* Transhumanism
* Extropianism

External links

* [http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/ Alexander "Sasha" Chislenko's Home Page] .
* [http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/articles/techuman.html Technology as extension of human functional architecture] (July 18, 1999)
* Media coverage:
** [http://interactive.wsj.com/millennium/articles/SB944517942941702408.htm A Total Makeover] , Wall Street Journal, Wendy Bounds, January 1, 2000.
** [http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,13384,00.html Net Fallout: A Chaotic Economy] , Wired News, June 1, 1998.