The discussion on mysticism, spirituality, numerology, astrology, and so on
has led to some differing views regarding what's appropriate discussion on
this List. First, let me quote the start of the Welcome Message:
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Welcome to the Extropians List! This List has hosted innovative discussions
on the Internet continuously since 1991. We welcome innovative discussions
pertaining to scientific, technological, philosophical, artistic, economic,
and social perspectives on the future.
If you are not familiar with extropian thinking, I suggest you read the
posts for a while before you begin to post. You will gain an idea of how
the list works, and see how the range of topics varies from week to week
and month to month. If you read only one document to get an idea of the
attitudes and values shared by extropians despite all their diversity,
please read The Extropian Principles 3.0. You can find this at:
http://www.extropy.org/extprn3.htm
-----------------------------
While I agree with Eliezer that discussions of clear pseudoscience such as
astrology and numerology are out of place here, I think his view of what's
appropriate is overly narrow. Even some discussions of mysticism may be
useful given that the term covers a lot of ground from utterly irrational
wishful thinking to arguably useful practices such as meditation, yogic
exercises, and non-rational (but *not* irrational) means of understanding.
This list also is not limited to science. To re-quote, it welcomes
"innovative discussions pertaining to scientific, technological,
philosophical, artistic, economic, and social perspectives on the future."
Personally, while I enjoy the continued theoretical discussions, I would
like to see more discussion of practical possibilities that we are actually
working on now. That's one reason I jumped in with some exercise
suggestions. The forthcoming Retreat will definitely have a practical
orientation. You'll see what I mean when I post some information about the
Retreat in the next few days.
Onward!
Max
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Max More,
max@maxmore.com or more@extropy.org
www.maxmore.com
President, Extropy Institute. www.extropy.org
Senior Content Architect, ManyWorlds Consulting: www.manyworlds.com
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