Superhuman: Superhuman Is A Term That Describes Qualities or Characteristics That Exceed Those Found in

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Superhuman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Superhuman (disambiguation).
"Superhumans" redirects here. For the documentary television series, see Stan Lee's
Superhumans.
"Homo superior" redirects here. For the Marvel Comics species, see Mutant (Marvel Comics).
Superhuman is a term that describes qualities or characteristics that exceed those found in
humans.
It is used to describe abilities found in some fictional characters, such as superheroes. Fictional
characters have been portrayed as having psychic/psionic abilities, flying abilities, impossible
strength or exceptional proficiency beyond human capability. Superhuman can also mean
something that is not human, but considered to be "superior" to humans in some way, e.g. a tiger
may be described as having "superhuman strength".
Superhuman can describe future theoretical changes to current human abilities from human
enhancement, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, nanotechnology, or
from human evolution in the distant future.
Contents
1 Artificial superhumans
o 1.1 Human enhancement and advancement
2 In fiction
o 2.1 Science fiction
o 2.2 Classification in fiction
3 See also
4 References
Artificial superhumans
Further information: Artificial intelligence and Multi-agent system
Super-human is one of the stages in classification of progress in artificial intelligence and denotes
where an entity of artificial intelligence performs better than most humans do in a specific task.
Examples of where computers currently are super-human include backgammon,[1] bridge,[2] chess,
[3]
reversi[4] scrabble,[5] and even Jeopardy!.[6]
Human enhancement and advancement

Further information: Human enhancement, Transhumanism and Posthuman
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Any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body
through natural or artificial means may be referred to as human enhancement. The term is
sometimes applied to the use of technological means to select or alter human characteristics and
capacities, whether or not the alteration results in characteristics and capacities that lie beyond the
existing human range. Here, the test is whether the technology is used for non-therapeutic
purposes. Some bioethicists restrict the term to the non-therapeutic application of specific
technologies neuro-, cyber-, gene-, and nano-technologies to human biology.[7][8]
According to transhumanist thinkers, a posthuman is a hypothetical future being "whose basic
capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human
by our current standards."[9]
In fiction
Speculation about human nature and the possibilities of both human enhancement and future
human evolution have made superhumans a popular subject of science fiction.
Beings with supernatural abilities are also common in fantasy fiction, but are very rarely referred
to as superhumans in that genre.
Science fiction
See also: List of superhuman features and abilities in fiction
The concept of the superhuman is quite popular in science fiction, where superhumans are often
cyborgs, mutants, aliens, telepaths, the product of ongoing human evolution or genetically
engineered. The greatest publicity for the concept are comic book superheroes, such as Superman
(an alien). The term is often used in discussions of comic book characters because of the
considerable overlap between superheroes and superhumans is such that the archetypical comic
book revolves around superhuman characters who become super heroes or super villains.
However, many comic books outside of DC and Marvel rely on alternative terminology for both
because the terms Superman and "Super Hero" (not the generic "superhero") are registered as
trademarks. Superhuman characters in various comics, role-playing games and other
entertainment media have also been referred to as a metahuman, mutant, evolved human or
superhuman, or posthuman.
One type of superhuman described in science fiction stories, particularly during the Atomic Age,
derives from the concept of mutation or further human evolution. In such tales, a human would
evolve into or give birth to a being that either has powers not yet exhibited by 'baseline' humans,
or else motivations entirely different from those humans, or both. In some stories, these humans
are either unable to get along with "normal" humanity, or will ultimately supersede them entirely,
causing the eventual extinction of the descendants of contemporary baseline humanity.
These metahumans are designated as a "new species" (or "successor species") of humanity. In
some fictional franchises, such as those of The Tomorrow People, Babylon 5 or the X-Men, they
refer to themselves through use of the binomial nomenclature Homo superior, to distinguish them
from Homo sapiens. Progress is inherently built into this science fiction subgenre, as it is
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assumed that they are the natural product of ongoing evolutionary adaptation to a new
environment.
However, other stories turn this notion on its head, showing the disadvantages of a supposedly
superior ability or quality; for example, the mutants of the X-Men are depicted as being unable to
control their own powers, resulting in significant damage and catastrophe when their powers first
activate. They must undergo rigorous training to make practical use of their powers and to coexist
among others. In Briar Patch by Dean Ing, a group of ancient hominids were portrayed as a
largely pacifistic, telepathic and highly empathic species who could not stand to inflict pain, even
while hunting; they were eventually overwhelmed and exterminated by the less sensitive but
more ruthless Homo sapiens.
Indeed, fear, persecution and interspecies 'racism' from non-metahuman humanity is a problem in
the fictional universes of The Tomorrow People, X-Men and Babylon 5 alike. Military
exploitation and abuse of telepaths, anti-mutant Sentinel technology and the repressive tolerance
of Psi Corps in the latter universe parallels real-world versions of prejudice and discrimination.
Many other types of superhumans are also portrayed in science fiction. For example, the Dune
series contains several varieties of superhumans, ranging from those produced by selective
breeding to chemical enhancement or lifelong training in as yet uninvented mental and physical
disciplines, a nearly-immortal human-sandworm hybrid, and artificial lifeforms such as the Face
Dancers. The Dune prequels also describe nearly-immortal brain-in-a-jar cyborgs called Cymeks
and advanced artificial intelligence.
The CoDominium universe has superhumans produced by artificial and natural selection and by
genetic engineering; for example, the alien Moties have been bred for thousands of generations to
be far better than humans at their caste's specific job, such as Engineer or Mediator. Many other
fictional aliens, such as Vulcans, Kzinti and Mork from Ork have greater than human abilities or
powers, sometimes simply for the purpose of making them seem more advanced or more "alien",
other times simply for dramatic reasons (particularly if they are the antagonists of the story).
Classification in fiction
In Marvel Comics the term superhuman is part of a "power classification system" and applies to
aptitude (usually physical) far beyond the range attainable by normal humans. An athlete is a
normal human in extraordinary physical condition, such as a weight lifter or boxer. Peak human
is applied to physical abilities that are nearly, but not quite, beyond the limits of the best of
humans, such as an olympic-grade athlete. Enhanced human refers to superhuman abilities
some distance beyond the limits of humans, such as being able to lift a small car but not a tank,
and is a term for "light" superhuman abilities. Then comes the level of the "superhuman."
Characters with a superhuman attribute are far beyond normal human abilities.
These categories are very rarely referenced in the actual stories themselves.

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Human enhancement and advancement

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