From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Sun Sep 05 1999 - 12:55:06 MDT
In a message dated 99-09-05 13:18:17 EDT, neosapient@geocities.com (den
Otter) wrote:
> -The Transhuman Beach Party- (a very short story)
>
> "Pass the dutchie on the left hand side..."
>
> "Aaah...I think I've found the meaning of life"...
>
> "Hey, wait a minute...what's that? Could it be...Yes!! It's...
> The Wave! Wow, look how big it is. And fast. Awesome man! Far
> out! Ok, surf's up, dudes!! Right! ... Oh shit man, we don't
> have any boards! Major bummer, man! Ah well, we wouldn't know
> how to use them anyway. Nevermind...Run, run!!! Oh shit. Oh
> shit. We're all going to die, I have calculations! Sweet Jesu
> & Mother of God, have mercy upon our souls!"
>
> <hideous screams and gurgling sounds, then...silence>
>
> End!
I appreciate the satire but I think you're being unfair. Now I know that
there are some scenarios explored here that do posit change so rapid that
just about any steps to deal with them would be ineffective, but I happen to
think that most of them have relatively low probability. To say that we have
no "surf boards" or "surfing expertise" relevant to other, more probable
scenarios isn't true, at least for many of the folks I know personally here
on the list. Perhaps most importantly, we're working on building personal
wealth and successful careers, which is perhaps the single most important
thing you can do now to be ready for the next two or three turbulent decades.
Through events like the EXTRO conferences and personal networking here and
in organizations like Foresight and new developments like the Kronos clinics,
we're networking with people who are building the surfboards. By staying
abreast of the latest developments in the key technologies, we're keeping
ourselves aware of the cool new rides that will show up on the beach.
And even though I don't know whether I'll personally be able to ride the Big
Kahuna when it hits, I'm going to try . . .
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Civilization is protest against nature;
progress requires us to take control of evolution."
-- Thomas Huxley
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