Question:
What meet-ups/conferences in 2016 would be most informative for a newb like myself re: transhumanism? Also a chance to network?
I’m on state benefits, so could probably only make two or three at most.
Any suggestions?
Gareth
A quick Google searched showed me 1 interesting conference in early 2016: “Transhuman Strategies” conference March 21 in Silicon Valley. It seems to be reasonable good.
Personally, I haven’t been to any general transhumanist conferences at all. My income is really low, so I really can’t afford travelling very far. Also, I’m not convinced that such conferences are very much worth it. If you value networking highly and are really good at that, conferences are probably quite useful, but I think there are sufficient alternative ways to get in contact with people. Also, most information available at conferences is available in more detail from sources like books, websites, articles, and so on.
And don’t forget that video-conferencing is a thing that kinda works, too. 
David Wood often hosts video conferences with lots of transhumanists. You should get in touch with him, if you haven’t already. He’s one of the most “rounded” and insightful transhumanists I know.
I think Silicon Valley is a little too deep for my pockets also!
David and I have communicated with each other - it was he who posted my paper on Transpolitica: ‘Is the Transhumanist-Technoprogressive Distinction Meaningful in Political Debate?’ - http://goo.gl/joXb1J - early December.
You may have seen my disclaimer on Twitter, but I have never used Google Hangouts or the like due to fear on my part that I’ll look like an idiot when surrounded by people who actually know what they’re talking about - I just tend to blag it. Perhaps another New Year’s resolution?