Owen Nicholas
Owen Nicholas
was born and raised in Hong Kong. He speaks Cantonese and has often
enjoyed exploring the differences between European and Chinese attitudes
towards the adoption of new technologies. He is widely travelled having
lived for some time in Australia, Cyprus and now the UK. After recently
graduating from Nottingham University, where he majored in History and
Political Science, he has become involved in numerous charities aiding
the elderly and ethnic minorities in areas such as arranging adequate
housing and finding employment.
He holds several qualifications in computing and teaching English as a
foreign language, and has taught foreign student groups in the UK and
HK. Since encountering the academic strain of Transhumanism he has
sought to expand awareness of the possibilities and surrounding issues
into the public sphere by organizing and mediating student debates on
human enhancement.
Owen authored
Make Me Superhuman — the Top 10 Enhancements I Crave,
Elite Sports and the Enhancement Debate,
Sex Work — Demeaning Practice or Basic Human Right?,
The Top Ten Best Science Fiction Movies,
Sci Fi Anime: Dark Visions of an Ambiguous Future,
Piracetam — is it the smartest of the smart drugs?, and
UK Euthanasia Activism is alive and kicking.
Owen is an avid SF fan and a zealous advocate of existential Japanese
anime, which he argues has far more evocative power and realism than the
great majority of western animation and Hollywood blockbusters. He is
active on blogs and websites fighting to keep the Internet open and
free, and also strongly advocates issues such as bodily autonomy, the
legalization of drugs, sex work, euthanasia, and the right to direct
democracy. He is a Linux enthusiast and enjoys building small scale
replicas of 20th century battleships when no one’s around.