Oh, hell. I though you were going to say that Eliezer S. Yudkowsky's small ... er ... list could be "defined" and wasn't zenlike at all. Damn.
     
>     A man hasn't been feeling well, so he goes to his doctor for a 
>     complete checkup.  Afterward the doctor comes out with the results.
>     
>     "I'm afraid I have some very bad news," the doctor says.  "You're 
>     dying and you don't have much time left."
>     
>     "Oh, that's terrible!" says the man.  "How long have I got?"
>     
>     "Ten," the doctor says sadly.
>     
>     "Ten?" the man asks. "Ten what?  Months?  Weeks?  What?"
>     
>     "Nine..."
Bingo! Specialist, not a gaussian.
Natasha Vita-More: http://www.natasha.cc Transhumanist Art Centre - Home of Extropic Art: http://www.extropic-art.com **NEW** Transhuman Culture InfoMark: http://www.transhuman.org PRESS RELEASE: "We are transhumans ..." Meme Orbits Saturn in 2004!
"The best defense is an aesthetic offense."