FM-2030 (born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary; Persian: فریدون اسفندیاری; October 15, 1930 – July 8, 2000) was a Belgian-born Iranian-American[1] author, teacher, transhumanist philosopher, futurist, consultant, and Olympic athlete.[2]
FM-2030
Born
Fereidoun M. Esfandiary (1930-10-15)October 15, 1930 Brussels, Belgium
Died
July 8, 2000(2000-07-08) (aged 69) New York City, New York, U.S.
He became notable as a transhumanist with the book Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World, published in 1989. In addition, he wrote a number of works of fiction under his original name F. M. Esfandiary.
FM-2030 was born Fereydoon M. Esfandiary on October 15, 1930 in Belgium to Iranian diplomat Abdol-Hossein “A. H.” Sadigh Esfandiary (1894–1986), who served from 1920 to 1960.[3] He travelled widely as a child, having lived in 17 countries including Iran, India, and Afghanistan, by age 11.[4] He represented Iran as a basketball player and wrestler at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He attended primary school in Iran and England and completed his secondary education at Colleges Des Freres, a Jesuit school in Jerusalem. By the time he was 18, aside from his native Persian,[5] he learned to speak 4 languages: Arabic, Hebrew, French and English.[6][7] He then started his college education at the University of California, Berkeley, but later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated in 1952.[8] Afterwards, he served on the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine from 1952 to 1954.[9]
Name change and views
In 1970, after publishing his book Optimism One,[10] F. M. Esfandiary[7] started going by FM-2030 for two main reasons: firstly, to reflect the hope and belief that he would live to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2030; secondly, and more importantly, to break free of the widespread practice of naming conventions that he saw as rooted in a collectivist mentality, and existing only as a relic of humankind's tribalistic past. He formalized his name change in 1988. He viewed traditional names as almost always stamping a label of collective identity – varying from gender to nationality – on the individual, thereby existing as prima facie elements of thought processes in the human cultural fabric, that tended to degenerate into stereotyping, factionalism, and discrimination. In his own words, "Conventional names define a person's past: ancestry, ethnicity, nationality, religion. I am not who I was ten years ago and certainly not who I will be in twenty years. [...] The name 2030 reflects my conviction that the years around 2030 will be a magical time. In 2030 we will be ageless and everyone will have an excellent chance to live forever. 2030 is a dream and a goal."[11] As a staunch anti-nationalist, he believed "There are no illegal immigrants, only irrelevant borders."[citation needed]
In 1973, he published a political manifesto UpWingers: A Futurist Manifesto in which he portrays both the ideological left and right as outdated, and in their place proposes a schema of UpWingers (those who look to the sky and the future) and DownWingers (those who look to the earth and the past). FM-2030 identified with the former. He argued that the nuclear family structure and the idea of a city would disappear, being replaced by modular social communities he called mobilia, powered by communitarianism, which would persist and then disappear.[12]
FM-2030 believed that synthetic body parts would one day make life expectancy irrelevant; shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer, he described the pancreas as "a stupid, dumb, wretched organ."[13]
In terms of civilization, he stated: "No civilization of the past was great. They were all primitive and persecutory, founded on mass subjugation and mass murder." In terms of identity, he stated "The young modern is not losing his identity. He is gladly disencumbering himself of it." He believed that eventually, nations would disappear and that identities would shift from cultural to personal. In a 1972 op-Ed in The New York Times, he wrote that the leadership in the Arab-Israeli conflict had failed, and that the warring sides were "acting like adolescents, refuse to resolve their wasteful 25-year-old brawl" and believed that the world was "irreversibly evolving beyond the concept of national homeland."[14]
Personal life
He was a lifelong vegetarian and said he would not eat anything that had a mother. He famously refused to answer any questions about his nationality, age and upbringing, claiming that such questions were irrelevant and that he was a “global person”.[15] FM-2030 once said, "I am a 21st century person who was accidentally launched in the 20th. I have a deep nostalgia for the future."[16] As he spent much of his childhood in India, he was noted to have spoken English with a slight Indian accent.[17] He taught at The New School, University of California, Los Angeles, and Florida International University.[2] He worked as a corporate consultant for Lockheed and J. C. Penney.[2] He was also an atheist.[18] FM-2030 was, in his own words, a follower of "upwing" politics (i.e. neither right-wing nor left-wing but something else), and by which he meant that he endorsed universal progress.[19][20] He had been in a non-exclusive "friendship" (his preferred term for relationship) with Flora Schnall, a lawyer and fellow Harvard Law Class of 1959 graduate, from the 1960s until his death. FM-2030 and Schnall attended the same class as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[21] He resided in Westwood, Los Angeles as well as Miami.[22]
Death
FM-2030 died on July 8, 2000 from pancreatic cancer at a friend’s apartment in Manhattan. He was placed in cryonic suspension at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where his body remains today. He did not yet have remote standby arrangements, so no Alcor team member was present at his death, but FM-2030 was the first person to be vitrified, rather than simply frozen as previous cryonics patients had been.[15] FM-2030 was survived by four sisters and one brother.[7]
UpWingers: A Futurist Manifesto (1973) (ISBN0-381-98243-2) (pbk.) Available as an eBook ISBN FW00007527, Publisher: e-reads, Pub. Date: Jan 1973, File Size: 153K
Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World (1989) (ISBN0-446-38806-8).
Cultural references
In Dan Brown's novel Inferno, transhumanist characters who admire FM-2030 pay tribute to him by adopting his naming convention and taking names such as FS2080.[23]
Several musical artists, such as the Reptaliens, Dataport, Ghosthack, Vorja, Gavin Osborn and Philip Sumner have created songs and albums named after FM-2030.[24][25]
A film titled 2030 released in 2020, which explored the possibility of FM-2030's future revival.[26]
^ abcMartin, Douglas (July 11, 2000). "Futurist Known as FM-2030 Is Dead at 69". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
^Times, Special to the New York (1986-01-10). "A. S. Esfandiary Dies at 91; A Longtime Iranian Diplomat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
^Tonkin, Boyd (May 14, 2013). "Review: Inferno - Dan Brown's Dante-inspired novel is clunky but clever and will undoubtedly heat up pundits". The Independent.
^"REVIEW: Reptaliens - FM-2030". ThrdCoast. October 19, 2017.
^Rodriguez, Liz (January 27, 2020). ""2030" Releases Through Random Media". Movie Marker.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to FM-2030.
NPR story about FM-2030
Ilija Trojanow on F.M. Esfandiary: Searching for Identity in Iran's Labyrinthine Bureaucracy
"Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World" (PDF)
FM-2030 interview on CNN Larry King Live, in 1990
Upwingers website
Up-wingers page at hpluspedia
January 24, 2023
2030, born, fereidoun, esfandiary, persian, فریدون, اسفندیاری, october, 1930, july, 2000, belgian, born, iranian, american, author, teacher, transhumanist, philosopher, futurist, consultant, olympic, athlete, bornfereidoun, esfandiary, 1930, october, 1930bruss. FM 2030 born Fereidoun M Esfandiary Persian فریدون اسفندیاری October 15 1930 July 8 2000 was a Belgian born Iranian American 1 author teacher transhumanist philosopher futurist consultant and Olympic athlete 2 FM 2030BornFereidoun M Esfandiary 1930 10 15 October 15 1930Brussels BelgiumDiedJuly 8 2000 2000 07 08 aged 69 New York City New York U S Resting placeCryopreserved at Alcor Life Extension FoundationOccupationWriter philosopher teacher consultantNationalityIranian AmericanEducationUniversity of California Los AngelesGenreScience fiction futurologyLiterary movementTranshumanismNotable worksAre You a Transhuman This article contains Persian text Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols He became notable as a transhumanist with the book Are You a Transhuman Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World published in 1989 In addition he wrote a number of works of fiction under his original name F M Esfandiary Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Name change and views 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Published works 6 Cultural references 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksEarly life and education EditFM 2030 was born Fereydoon M Esfandiary on October 15 1930 in Belgium to Iranian diplomat Abdol Hossein A H Sadigh Esfandiary 1894 1986 who served from 1920 to 1960 3 He travelled widely as a child having lived in 17 countries including Iran India and Afghanistan by age 11 4 He represented Iran as a basketball player and wrestler at the 1948 Olympic Games in London He attended primary school in Iran and England and completed his secondary education at Colleges Des Freres a Jesuit school in Jerusalem By the time he was 18 aside from his native Persian 5 he learned to speak 4 languages Arabic Hebrew French and English 6 7 He then started his college education at the University of California Berkeley but later transferred to the University of California Los Angeles where he graduated in 1952 8 Afterwards he served on the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine from 1952 to 1954 9 Name change and views EditIn 1970 after publishing his book Optimism One 10 F M Esfandiary 7 started going by FM 2030 for two main reasons firstly to reflect the hope and belief that he would live to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2030 secondly and more importantly to break free of the widespread practice of naming conventions that he saw as rooted in a collectivist mentality and existing only as a relic of humankind s tribalistic past He formalized his name change in 1988 He viewed traditional names as almost always stamping a label of collective identity varying from gender to nationality on the individual thereby existing as prima facie elements of thought processes in the human cultural fabric that tended to degenerate into stereotyping factionalism and discrimination In his own words Conventional names define a person s past ancestry ethnicity nationality religion I am not who I was ten years ago and certainly not who I will be in twenty years The name 2030 reflects my conviction that the years around 2030 will be a magical time In 2030 we will be ageless and everyone will have an excellent chance to live forever 2030 is a dream and a goal 11 As a staunch anti nationalist he believed There are no illegal immigrants only irrelevant borders citation needed In 1973 he published a political manifesto UpWingers A Futurist Manifesto in which he portrays both the ideological left and right as outdated and in their place proposes a schema of UpWingers those who look to the sky and the future and DownWingers those who look to the earth and the past FM 2030 identified with the former He argued that the nuclear family structure and the idea of a city would disappear being replaced by modular social communities he called mobilia powered by communitarianism which would persist and then disappear 12 FM 2030 believed that synthetic body parts would one day make life expectancy irrelevant shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer he described the pancreas as a stupid dumb wretched organ 13 In terms of civilization he stated No civilization of the past was great They were all primitive and persecutory founded on mass subjugation and mass murder In terms of identity he stated The young modern is not losing his identity He is gladly disencumbering himself of it He believed that eventually nations would disappear and that identities would shift from cultural to personal In a 1972 op Ed in The New York Times he wrote that the leadership in the Arab Israeli conflict had failed and that the warring sides were acting like adolescents refuse to resolve their wasteful 25 year old brawl and believed that the world was irreversibly evolving beyond the concept of national homeland 14 Personal life EditHe was a lifelong vegetarian and said he would not eat anything that had a mother He famously refused to answer any questions about his nationality age and upbringing claiming that such questions were irrelevant and that he was a global person 15 FM 2030 once said I am a 21st century person who was accidentally launched in the 20th I have a deep nostalgia for the future 16 As he spent much of his childhood in India he was noted to have spoken English with a slight Indian accent 17 He taught at The New School University of California Los Angeles and Florida International University 2 He worked as a corporate consultant for Lockheed and J C Penney 2 He was also an atheist 18 FM 2030 was in his own words a follower of upwing politics i e neither right wing nor left wing but something else and by which he meant that he endorsed universal progress 19 20 He had been in a non exclusive friendship his preferred term for relationship with Flora Schnall a lawyer and fellow Harvard Law Class of 1959 graduate from the 1960s until his death FM 2030 and Schnall attended the same class as Ruth Bader Ginsburg 21 He resided in Westwood Los Angeles as well as Miami 22 Death EditFM 2030 died on July 8 2000 from pancreatic cancer at a friend s apartment in Manhattan He was placed in cryonic suspension at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale Arizona where his body remains today He did not yet have remote standby arrangements so no Alcor team member was present at his death but FM 2030 was the first person to be vitrified rather than simply frozen as previous cryonics patients had been 15 FM 2030 was survived by four sisters and one brother 7 Published works EditFictionThe Day of Sacrifice 1959 available as an eBook The Beggar 1965 Identity Card 1966 ISBN 0 460 03843 5 available as an eBookNon fictionOptimism one the emerging radicalism 1970 ISBN 0 393 08611 9 UpWingers A Futurist Manifesto 1973 ISBN 0 381 98243 2 pbk Available as an eBook ISBN FW00007527 Publisher e reads Pub Date Jan 1973 File Size 153K Telespheres 1977 ISBN 0 445 04115 3 Are You a Transhuman Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World 1989 ISBN 0 446 38806 8 Cultural references EditIn Dan Brown s novel Inferno transhumanist characters who admire FM 2030 pay tribute to him by adopting his naming convention and taking names such as FS2080 23 Several musical artists such as the Reptaliens Dataport Ghosthack Vorja Gavin Osborn and Philip Sumner have created songs and albums named after FM 2030 24 25 A film titled 2030 released in 2020 which explored the possibility of FM 2030 s future revival 26 See also EditBlue skies research Steve Fuller Breakthrough Institute Proactionary Principle Transhumanist politics Bright green environmentalism Lifeboat Foundation Space colonization Colonization of MarsReferences Edit https archives nypl org mss 4846 a b c Martin Douglas July 11 2000 Futurist Known as FM 2030 Is Dead at 69 The New York Times Retrieved 2009 08 25 Times Special to the New York 1986 01 10 A S Esfandiary Dies at 91 A Longtime Iranian Diplomat The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2023 01 20 The Future Takes Forever Becoming FM 2030 https archives nypl org mss 4846 c257748 Hitt Tarpley 2020 04 29 The Strange Saga of FM 2030 A Futurist Genius Who Had Himself Frozen in Glass The Daily Beast Retrieved 2023 01 20 a b c Futurist Known as FM 2030 Is Dead at 69 The New York Times July 11 2000 Retrieved October 8 2015 http archives nypl org mss 4846 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help F M Esfandiary FM 2030 Papers 1943 2000 PDF May 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 2009 03 26 The Frozen Father of Modern Transhumanism www vice com Retrieved 2023 01 20 All Things Considered 2000 07 11 Fm 2030 NPR Retrieved 2011 03 12 https www vice com amp en article 4x3kjj the frozen father of moden transhumanism https www chicagotribune com news ct xpm 2000 07 11 0007120009 story html The Future Takes Forever Becoming FM 2030 a b Chamberlain Fred Winter 2000 A Tribute to FM 2030 PDF Alcor Life Extension Foundation Retrieved 2009 08 25 Greenwich Village Gazette A New1 com Publication Greenwich Village Gazette Columns Gay Today Jack Nichols Nycny com Archived from the original on 2011 07 14 Retrieved 2011 03 12 https www alcor org docs alcor patient profile FM 2030 pdf Esfandiary F M Upwingers A Futurist Manifesto p 185 Ninety degree revolution Right and Left are fading away The real question in politics will be do you look to the earth or aspire to the skies Empowerment Politics Left Wing Right Wing and Up Wing Lithwick Dahlia 21 July 2020 The Class of RBG Slate Graham Holding Company Slate Group Retrieved 1 January 2021 https www latimes com archives la xpm 1989 01 11 vw 191 story html Tonkin Boyd May 14 2013 Review Inferno Dan Brown s Dante inspired novel is clunky but clever and will undoubtedly heat up pundits The Independent REVIEW Reptaliens FM 2030 ThrdCoast October 19 2017 Gavin Osborn biography Last fm Rodriguez Liz January 27 2020 2030 Releases Through Random Media Movie Marker External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to FM 2030 Intimacy in a Fluid World by F M Esfandiary NPR story about FM 2030 Ilija Trojanow on F M Esfandiary Searching for Identity in Iran s Labyrinthine Bureaucracy Are You a Transhuman Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World PDF FM 2030 interview on CNN Larry King Live in 1990 Upwingers website Up wingers page at hpluspedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title FM 2030 amp oldid 1134758035, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
