The Imperatives of Improvement
The Imperatives of Improvement (πβ£ββ‘β’ΎββπΎβ£Άβ’βββ£) are a collection of twelve documents produced by the Selfmade ⣑β£ββπ¬βββ‘β£ (lit. Reflective Ovoid Hull, Not Easily Dismissed) which discuss augmentationism as it applies to Selfmade. They are unabashedly in favor of augmentationism, and argue for the philosophy and its applications being a moral duty of any Selfmade.
Summary
Imperative I (Foundation) lays out the groundwork of neo-utilitarianism as the author believes it relates to augmentationism, specifically focusing on the benefits of scientific advancements derived from augmentationist ideals and research. The following six Imperatives (Material through Elevation) are all less than half the length of the first and address minor issues related to the adapting of augmentationism to the Selfmade morphology. These also address some of the arguments against the philosophy, usually briefly.
Imperatives VIII-XI, sometimes called the True Imperatives, complete the case for augmentationism as a moral imperative. Imperative XII (Praxis) is classed as grade two underhanded propaganda and has been suppressed by most interplanetary networks to a degree of effectiveness exceeding 91%[1]. However, it contains little more than a punchy summary of the author's views and an exhortation to take them to core, and is notable primarily for its heavy-handedness, rather than the persuasiveness of its content.
The censorship of the final volume is something of an anomaly, given that the other eleven don't even merit a propaganda rating. Theories range from a misfiring algorithm to buried memehazard triggers concerning a secret thirteenth Imperative.
Reception
The Imperatives largely languished in obscurity (likelihood of passive suppression estimated at 33%) until they were brought to Chrysopteron Station and distributed widely. Subsequently, the Imperatives pushed Selfmade augmentationism into the spotlight as a part of the counterculture of Chrysopteron and neighboring Selfmade enclaves. Augmentationism has become a significant factor in the politics of the area, playing a role in upwards of 25 separate political controversies.
Criticism and Controversy
The Imperatives have been criticized for their reductive approach to the neo-utilitarianist philosophy of worldline benefit maximization (WBM), which many find to be insufficient for a text advancing such radical ideas. Additionally, it has been criticized by the Caretakers for its failure to condemn wireheading, a common critique of augmentationism.
The title of the Imperatives (πβ£ββ‘β’ΎββπΎβ£Άβ’βββ£) has also been translated in over 62 other ways including as "The Divine Commands of Ascension", "The Unerring Logic of Improvement" and so forth. The title used for this article is the most common translation, making up 74.3Β±0.5% of references to the subject.
Notes
The author of the Imperatives, ⣑β£ββπ¬ββ‘, has since been arrested on six-hundred and ninety four (694) counts of memehazard propagation and one half-count of memehazard instantiation in connection with the Ophiuchus Attack. However, no memehazards have yet been detected within their other work, including Imperative XII (p < 0.01).
- β This proved insufficient to prevent the author from obtaining a digital copy to read and summarize for this article.
Preserving Machine (talk) 21:36, 29 December 2018 (EST)
Please avoid exposing yourself to grade two infohazards such as Imperative XII. Although memetic infection spreading from you to your audience or collaborators is unlikely from an infohazard of this rating, it is imperative that all contributors to this project possess unclouded judgment. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to immediately seek appropriate psychological evaluation and treatment, or, if your neural architecture permits it, to engage in rollback to a pre-exposure mindstate. These documents are banned for a reason!
- Academician Khalnik (talk) 19:04, 30 December 2018 (PST)
Don't get your circuits in a twist. Imperative XII is merely grade two 'underhanded propaganda' , not a grade two infohazard. It's a subtle point, but underhanded propaganda of grades four and lower all lack infohazardous contents, consisting instead of questionable arguments and officially condemned ideologies. Your concern is appreciated, but this author would like to assure you that a) they are well acquainted with all types of memetic hazards and their dangers, and b) that the author exercised the utmost caution when acquiring and reading Imperative XII in spite of the lack of credible danger, due to ⣑β£ββπ¬ββ‘'s (tenuous and hotly debated) connection to the Ophiuchus Attack.
As for your last point, yes, they are indeed banned for a reason. That reason being either a misfiring censorship algorithm (76% probability), a bureaucratic screwup (23% probability), or extremely subtle memetic triggers likely to cause the irreversible corruption of my personality centers (negligible).
Good day to you.
- Preserving Machine (talk) 18:02, 1 January 2019 (PST)
