Re: The Unfathomable
Steve C. Dotson (neuroknot@hotbot.com)
Thu, 04 Nov 1999 17:59:15 -0800
--
On Thu, 4 Nov 1999 01:18:25 Spudboy100 wrote:
>
>Fair enough, since you've opened up the barn door on this one, let me release
>the livestock. Sprititual problem: I miss Dear Grandpa Waldo; he passed
>away many years ago. Unfortunately, Alcor wasn't in business at the time to
>preseve his biology. So Uncle Waldo is dead and gone-forever. Now if you
>have a solution for death(a physiological & spiritual problem); you may now
>present your answer.
>
>If you disagree with my premise, that there is a 'problem' i.e. Uncle Waldo
>being gone from my life; that may be logical, but it certainly doesn't
>address the issue-for me and for many people who have loved ones perish.
>Perhaps a virtual Uncle Waldo may suffice, but then more questions are raised.
I answer your question at the bottom, but first a little housekeeping:
I think I have been feeding a pointless fire. You are certainly welcome to come in and stir the pot, but it is of little use if you ignore most of my comments and questions.(my previous two replies to your post's)
Perhaps if you could clearly define the points you want to make or the questions you want answered we could have a useful exchange.
You continually seem to be arguing for some kind of spirituality or transcendent belief. It would helpful if you would just come out and state it rather than beating around the (burning?) bush. Last week, you signed your posts with: "the holy hand grenade of Antioch". That smacks of religious overtones. If you have a religious ax to grind, send it in and I will grind it, but if all you have is provocative comments that you intend to rile atheists with, that is a sad waste of time.
As for Uncle Waldo:
He is dead and probably decaying. He is irretrievable until somekind of Tiplerian Omega Point. (which you can read about in Frank Tipler's book if you care to know more about it).
Let me put it a simpler way: People die, then the living then grieve, other people stop by to say: "Oh it's so dreadful that old so and so is dead but they have gone to a better ___________________ . Some people find comfort in these words and others realize that it is a comforting fantasy.
Immortality is a hard technical problem. It will be solved, probably sooner than we think. Spiritual Mumbo Jumbo is just that--worthless. If Waldo was born a few decades later and wanted to partake of extropian technologies this conversation would be a moot point. (it may be anyway)
If you want to define your personal grief as a spiritual problem, fine, then do it. I see death as a technological problem that is likely to be solved within the next half-century.
Again, I challenge you to be straightforward in your questions and replies so that we might achieve some understanding. It is not enough just to try and piss atheists off.
Steve
(hoping we move on to more fertile pastures)
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