From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Sat Nov 02 2002 - 18:40:02 MST
Eugene noted:
<<Notice that this observation could only have arisen within about half a
century. Before we simply didn't have the concepts. We have no reason to
believe we are privileged observers, save that we're within touching
distance of Big Things. (Unfortunately, I do not expect to see the Big
Things in person, the beginnings of them, maybe).>>
Or is it just the vanity of people always, who believe we live in "special
times"? Or even their beginning? More importantly, the skeptics of transhuman
philiosophy tend not to be frightend believers like Bill Joy, but bench
academicians; who may toil with the fields of cosmology, and never give a
thought to what it means to people. This may explain why physicists have a
problem getting funded for acceleratotr programs, or space exploration.
Because they choose not to see a "connect" between the cosmos and ourselves,
that cannot convince others of it.
"Ok so you want a big antenna array, or ya want to see if squarks exist? So
what good wuill it do?" If the proponent has no vision thing, he or she
cannot possibly convince others. It begins to make these scientist sound
like they are lookong for a means to make a living rather then some
over-arching goal. Over-arching goals are the most compelling.
Tipler's views (correct or not) have that compelling vision.
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