From: Steve Witham (sw@tiac.net)
Date: Mon Dec 09 1996 - 23:40:07 MST
>I leave the truth of these visions for others to debate. In many ways, when
>and how we will be extinguished is not the point. What is important about
>them is that they reflect the fears of their times. They are encoded
>markers of transition, movement and imbalance.
If Vinge's predictions (which are of a *choice* between extinction and
transformation) were clearly false, or about a remote future rather than
an immediate one, then exploring the related fears and cultural resonances
would make sense.
If he were plausibly right, then of course people would be afraid, and of
course people would have related concerns, but these subjective reactions
would be only minor aspects of an urgent real situation.
So when you say you leave the debate for others, I take it you mean you have
made up your own mind, that Vinge's predictions are false?
--Steve
-- sw@tiac.net http://www.tiac.net/users/sw "It just keeps going and going and therefore you yourself have to keep going and going." --Energizer Bunny researcher
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