Extropianism stems from the word extropy, which means "the opposite of entropy". Its followers believe that an ever-accelerating progression to higher intelligence (due to processes like evolution and technological progress) will happen. Whether this leads to a so-called technological singularity or just continues in an exponential-growth fashion is the subject of debate amongst them. In general, they tend to have an optimistic view of the future, expecting big advances in computational power, life expectancy, nanotechnology and the like; possibly culminating in the eventual perfection of humanity, including immortality and resurrection, by technological means.
An extropian is the follower of the philosophy of the Extropian Institute, which is a form of transhumanism, with a strong emphasis on libertarian politics. Extropianism was founded by Max More, who founded the institute and coined the word.
See also Immortality Institute
