Re: language

Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
13 Jan 1999 22:08:38 +0100

"Max M" <maxm@maxmcorp.dk> writes:

> A second example:
>
> ---
> "Transhuman drinking song" by Max M ;-)
...
>
> Here the title is a contradiction in terms as transhumanism and drinking
> parties generally doesn't mix to well. I am thinking about all the focus on
> health, longivity and the functionality of the brain being seriously
> affected by liquor. At least I don't imagine transhumans at the local pub
> singing out loud while massively drunk. Could be wrong though.

Maybe we should ask the participants at TransVision 98 who went to Amsterdam on saturday evening :-)

(my personal view is that I'm too drunk if I can't count backwards from 16 in binary. No, I don't drink :-)

> Perhaps the receiver would even have to know me to know it is not
> meant to be taken too seriously.

This is likely why humor is so tricky; it relies on some shared context. If it isn't shared and has to be made explicit, the joke is not funny.

> The rest of the song is about uploading, and most transhumans will recognise
> this. Especially as the word Transhuman is in the title.

Where is the rest of the lyrics?

> My point? I find that often when somebody disagrees with me on a subject on
> this list, it is because I make my messages too short by using too much
> exformation. When I then later explains my views in more detail and with
> more precise information, generally we either agree or at least agree to
> disagree.

Sounds a bit like the occasional comments from newcomers about Eugene's denser posts - we oldtimers have learned to parse them and realize that there is a meaning in there.

> Furthermore we also need to invent more words to express the new memes
> resulting from this exformation. But then... we probably will. There is
> hardly a post on the list without a "" word. A so called "embryomeme".
>
> Remember who coined that one. ;-)

Recorded.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y