# Summary of IRC Log - May 26, 2012

* A discussion about the framing of scientific discoveries in media headlines noted how MIT is frequently credited directly ("MIT builds...") while other universities' work is often attributed more generically to "scientists" or "researchers."

* Participants debated the appropriateness of using the term "evolution" in transhumanist contexts, with some arguing it dilutes the meaning of biological evolution while others noted evolution concepts extend beyond natural selection.

* The book "Radical Evolution" by Joel Garreau was mentioned, which discusses how genetic, robotic, information and nanotechnologies are altering human capabilities and potentially creating "the next stage of human evolution."

* Kanzure shared a resource collection of longevity-related papers (http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/longevity/) for someone looking for reading materials on transhumanist topics.

* A brief reference was made to Ray Kurzweil's criticism of John Searle's Chinese Room Argument as "hopelessly tautological," showing alignment between Kurzweil and one of the channel participants.

* There was a short discussion about patent trolling as a business model, noting how it depends on the prohibitive expense of patent litigation and the difficulty of disproving infringement claims against products.