From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Tue Nov 14 2000 - 17:56:28 MST
Nicq MacDonald wrote:
>
> > Okay, I'm sorry, but Gematria is not Extropic, it is drooling,
> empty-headed
> > rationalization. Gematria is on the same level of sheer blank-minded
> > stupidity as astrology. If you start trying to be tolerant of it, it
> > indicates that you have become too open-minded and your brains are now
> > starting to fall out.
>
> If I met someone who based important life decisions on it, I would give them
> the swift kick in an unnamed place that they deserve. But I do find that itcan be a fun and interesting diversion during those times in which I just
> want to throw reason to the dogs (gods?) and dine with the wizards.
So you're not completely hopeless. ;-)
> > Respecting people who take astrology seriously does not impress others
> with
> > your tolerance. It simply indicates that you do not understand what
> tolerance
> > is *for*, and that you are trying to impress others by adherence to the
> letter
> > of an ethic whose spirit you do not understand.
>
> I'd disagree with that- to what end does the individual in question take
> astrology seriously? For what purpose? What practice? What do they do
> with it? I would never trust a doctor who made treatment assumptions based
> upon my sun sign, but an artist who uses it for inspiration is another
> matter entirely.
Well, sure, but you can get the same inspiration by pouring different color
paint in your toilet bowl and pulling the lever. Such is not a matter of
believing it as valid fact.
>
> > Furthermore, please note that the Committee on Un-Extropian Activities
> will be
> > investigating all participants in this thread for possible connections to
> the
> > Green Party.
>
> As a Liberal Democrat who is going to see Ralph Nader speak this evening, I
> fall awfully close to the line ;)
Anyone who claims to be a green in any sense ought to be taken out in the
wilderness and dropped there naked. If they walk out after 6 months, I may begin
to take them seriously. 99% of them I doubt would make it. When you are freezin
your butt off, the motto no longer is 'you pack it in, you pack it out', it
becomes 'fuck it, burn it'. When your processed grain trailmix with exotic dried
fruits from four different continents runs out and you are reduced to eating
wild onions, asparagus, and acorns, you'll track down, jump, strangle, gut, cook
and eat any animal you come across, no questions asked.
>
> (I tried, for six months, to embrace Libertarianism. I just couldn't do it-
> I'm far too compassionate (and I have too little faith in human nature) for
> it)
Oddly, the worst atrocities on mankind were committed by people who had too
little faith in human nature. Trusting someone beyond reason is the only way to
achieve results beyond hope. Most people tend to live up to the standards you
expect of them. Think about it.
Mike Lorrey
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