From: Entropyfoe@aol.com
Date: Fri Oct 02 1998 - 20:43:35 MDT
>>Natasha Vita More (fka Nancie Clark) wrote:...
>>...> This year I missed the Persig Showers .
>>Correction: Persid Showers. (A zen in the art of typo maintenance.)
>Natasha
;-}
Ha ! very nice,
Pirsigs ideas on Quality have been useful in Extropian epistemology. [mine at
least] Even if in the final analysis you counter Pirsig's arguments, you need
to consider his critique. It strikes to the heart of strong AI, the question,
can the Quality of human consiousness can be completly contained by
mechanical computations? Or can the quantative calculation simulate the
brain, or is the Quality of consciousness, beyond material, not capable of
computation. As for the Zen, I think Buddhism is the most Extropian
religion. I know that not many Extropians adhere to conventional religions,
but Buddhism's idea that one can transcend the human suffering, and reach
enlightenment by mental effort and self development is Extropian. The
Bohdisattva ideal is an excellent example of a trans/post human. Affirmation
methods are a tool in personality development, like the Tibetan practice of
repeating a mantra 100,000 times.
Om a hung, benza guru padme siddhi hum.
-Jay
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