From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Mon Aug 10 1998 - 07:36:21 MDT
Let me throw my somewhat belated $.02 in here with a few thoughts and
comments:
1. PLEASE remember before you post that this list is archived on the web.
Curious and potentially valuable new members of the transhumanist community
often browse the web archive before making a decision to become more actively
involved in transhumanist and extropian discussions and activities. Because
of our evolved sexuality (more about which below), any thread title containing
the character string "hot babes" is likely to attract disproportionate
attention. Imagine the impact that such a title has on the perceptions of the
people who may be inclined to CRITICIZE transhumanism and extropianism. And
for you young men at the entry level of the mating market, consider the impact
that such a thread title might have on the very women you would like to
attract into extropianism...
2. Related to the above is the observation that this list is "open", in the
sense that all are welcome to come have a seat in our cyberspace salon, listen
and contribute. However, PLEASE bear in mind that a text list such as this
offers extremely low bandwidth for assessing the social sensibilities of other
participants. We primates are first and foremost social beings and we are
fundamentally visual and auditory beings, exquisitely evolved to send and
receive signals about social receptivity and rejection. Before posting about
a subject as delicate as sexuality, consider that you may well not know your
audience very well. Would you say whatever you are about to post in a room
full of strangers? If not, it may not be appropriate.
3. We've had similar discussions before. The relatively low number of women
in our ranks is lamentable, but can be remedied. We are a very young cultural
milieu, still very much in the process of synthesizing a world-view from the
best of what has gone before and the best of our vision of what is and should
come in the future. In the spirit of dynamic optimism, let us work together
to include as many people as can profitably contribute to the transhumanist
agenda. In this endeavor, consider that one of our most powerful tools is
DIPLOMACY. Diplomatic skills take time to develop. Consider this list as a
place to hone those skills in a positive environment.
4. For you young men who may be frustrated by the paucity of feminine company
in the hard sciences, I highly recommend a book by Howard Buss called "The
Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating" which contains a remarkable
empirical analysis of human sexuality in the context of evolutionary
psychology. This is one of the three or four most recommended books in my
library.
Greg Burch <Gburch1@aol.com>----<burchg@liddellsapp.com>
Attorney ::: Director, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must
be driven into practice with courageous impatience."
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