From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Tue Sep 25 2001 - 19:20:21 MDT
"J. R. Molloy" <jr@shasta.com> writes:
It is damn hard to convince the populace at large as to the
benefits of accelerating technology and what you consider
reason and objectivity if it truly does lead to such a least
of "useless hypotheses" as you continually claim. Most people
are not interested in finding that consciousnes, philosophy, mind,
free wll, qualia, individual uniqueness, ego and human value are
are useless and irrelevant. Nor are they very interested in
anyone or any way of thought who says this.
It would be a very good idea to take a different tack.
- samantha
> From: "Robert Coyote" <coyyote@hotmail.com> > > This list, altho
interesting, seems to have a dearth of practical > > applications in
extropy > > things one can do right now is my main interest
> >
> > comments?
>
> A real and present danger is that the practical aspects of extropy exceed the
> capacity of human social order to adjust to it and to compensate for the
> accompanying changes. Therefore a helpful enterprise would be to educate and
> inform the general public about the benefits of accelerating technology, and
> to assuage fears that spontaneous order in autonomous complex adaptive systems
> (intelligent robots) threatens human life. For example, recent alarmist
> comments by Stephen Hawking to the effect that the human race is in danger of
> being "taken over" by machine intelligence should prompt responsible
> extropians to formulate more reasonable perspectives on this issue.
> An obvious threat to extropic progress is the religious fanatic terrorism such
> as that of September 11, 2001. If you want to apply some practical extropy
> right now, help to spread the memes of scientific reason and objectivity so
> that humanity is not drowned in a sea of religious dementia and tribalism.
>
> --- --- --- --- ---
>
> Useless hypotheses, etc.:
> consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
> analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
> uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment
>
> We won't move into a better future until we debunk religiosity, the most
> regressive force now operating in society.
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