From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Sat Sep 15 2001 - 11:08:55 MDT
From: "Anders Sandberg" <asa@nada.kth.se>
> What I meant is that we now have to re-do the
> process of stopping Clipper again. This time it is likely an even
> nastier version of the Clipper proposal, supported by the current mood
> but also hampered by its last defeat.
Oh, I get it now. Please excuse my slowness in comprehending your analysis and
position, which is somewhat more complicated than at first it appears. Anyway,
you've clarified and summed it up eloquently in those two sentences, imo.
Thanks for taking the time.
> Aha, so do you think the ACLU or EFF would be allowed to sit in on the
> relevant boards? They are already well-known and have well-known views.
Are you and Max More members of the ACLU or EFF?
> Joking aside, what makes the US a democracy and not a dictatorship is
> that you actually hold your president accountable and demand that he
> justifies his major decisions. If he declares war on San Marino "because
> I say so" I doubt he will remain in office.
He probably wouldn't fare very well in San Marino either. Not to get too
serious about this, I think you're correct about the necessity of rational
debate. Nevertheless, when it comes to questions about that sensitive subject
_national security_, reason frequently takes a back seat to ideology. In the
end, democracies don't decide things on the basis of reason. No, they decide
things on the basis of votes (and even that is sometimes disputed). So, Judd
Gregg will support Clipper chips because he believes that doing so will get
him more votes than opposing Clipper chip technology. Whatever nominally
rational debate he offers in defense of his position (and presently that need
not be much), will be motivated by his desire to promote his personal agenda
and advance his career, because he is ultimately accountalble to his
constituents, and not to the extropic principle that "the ideal controller is
nobody." The sad political reality is that legislative bosses are less
accountable than are their private industry counterparts. Make a defective
product, and you can go to jail. Make a defective law, and taxpayers suffer
the consequences.
> Many have complained that we on this list never do
> anything, but that is not really true: those who act do it outside the
> list, getting their hands dirty and not having the time to constantly
> comment on it. Hmm, methinks I post too much :-)
OTOH, the more you post to the list, the more of a target you present. If
Kurzweil and Hawking would post directly to this list so that their minions
wouldn't have to misrepresent them and spin their own versions of the
digerati, we might find they're followers as much as leaders. Is it that they
don't have time to constantly comment, or is it that they don't want their
comments to be constantly subjected to scrutiny? Worse yet, they might
discover that their comments elicit no more response than those of spammers
and trolls. Or perhaps they post to their own private lists? Doesn't matter to
me. I approach mailing lists as an exercise in meditation. Sometimes it's as
entertaining to read the reactionary crackpots as to respond to those who
reaffirm the relevance of reason.
> Thanks, but you should see me play Alpha Centauri...
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri from Loki Games? Linux version?
Never get my hands dirty with that off-list stuff... hehehe
http://www.lokigames.com/products/smac/
Throughout the ages of humanity, the urge to explore new horizons has called
upon our deepest instincts. Yet Earth now lies open, its every corner
inhabited, every depth known like the lines of your hand. But time and
technology have given you the chance the reach out for new, completely
unexplored, uninhabited worlds to conquer, far from the bosom of old Mother
Earth. It is time for humanity to leave its cradle...
©¿©¬
Stay hungry,
--J. R.
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values
We won't move into a better future until we debunk religiosity, the most
regressive force now operating in society.
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