Biohackers Magazine Issue 16

Book excerpt: Progress. It’s a word with meanings of advancement, improvement, and a clear change towards a goal or objective. From the moment humans have inhabited this Earth, our whole existence as a species has experienced Progress, as well as Decay. Civilizations had flourished and progressed for many years, and then decayed slowly and rotted over time until there was little to nothing left. What is left however are usually things that we following civilizations have studied and learned from. The remnants of civilizations are usually the teachings, technologies, and tools that outlast them. History does love to repeat itself and leave the following generations wondering what their marks on the world and human progress will be. Going beyond the terminology and historical examples, one can ask some more insightful, profound questions. The first is, why is there progress or decay in the first place? There is of course no clear answer to this, but I suppose it can be best summed up with the phrase, ‘First there is time, And then there is what you do with it.’ By that I mean that there is a natural order to the way things are and that to accept that there is life given to each and every being, also means one’s acceptance of this law of progress and de- cay. We, as humans, are bound to grow, just as we’re bound to shrink into old age. Although we cannot change this supernatural law of the universe, we can in many cases choose how fast we progress or decay. We can use our rational human brain towards the consistent progression of ourselves, our community, and our world. We can do this through sustained faith and steady discipline. In turn, this decreases the decaying rate. On the other hand, through the coddled comfort of selfishness and endless pity, we can do just the opposite and plateau our progress while accelerating our rate of decay. One of the main reasons I like Biohacking is because of its communal camaraderie continually focusing on progress. In fact, many famed biohackers discovered and healed themselves through biohacking after finding themselves in a deathly sick cycle of decay and depression. Biohacking, when used safely, conservatively, and respectfully can help us determine what it is that we need to progress in, how we can do it, as well as how we can measure it, and why we should progress and become the best version of ourselves. We as individuals, families, and communities can learn a lot through our experiences with decay and use these dark fragments to build a brighter picture of progress overall. And while history may indeed repeat itself as it continually proves, we as individuals have the power to choose our rate of progression and decay. Choose wisely.