From: Alex Ramonsky (alex@ramonsky.com)
Date: Tue Apr 30 2002 - 02:39:32 MDT
-------Original Message-------
From: extropians@extropy.org
Date: 30 April 2002 04:22:00
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Luddites on the loose...
>There are two sorts of people we want: People willing to dedicate a
>significant portion of their time or a significant amount of money. We
>will be following a 'lead, follow, or get out of the way' attitude. If
>this announcement is met with a similar silence from the transhumanist
>community, I will thereby declare the surrender of the transhumanist
>movement to the forces of luddism and get the argument over with once
>and for all.
Noble sentiments from all, and I could dedicate large amounts of my time to
this, but would it do more for the transhumanist cause to keep my nose in my
research? We need to outline exactly what is to be done, by whom, where and
when, and then do it. Preventing misinformation, and countering luddite
attacks with a sane point of view, is vital to our future.But if we put
everybody in a 'shit or get off the pot' situation and all just go off and
do our own little thing, it will seem incoherent. We need someone with an
overview, who can plan an orchestrated response to anything dodgy, and
communication regularly with all others involved. A call to action is great
only if we decide what that action will be. If somebody gives me a good idea
to work with I'll start now. That's following. If I have enough information
to think of strategies myself, then I'll lead (up to, but not including the
point of, martyrdom). But I have no right to stand up and speak or act for
the entirity of transhumanism without the sanction of that community. Short
of setting up a 'rebel faction', one can't do that, because not everybody in
that community will agree with your words and your actions on their behalf.
However, as you say, something needs to be done and it needs to be done soon
What thinkest thou?
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