Subject: Re: Ebola

From: Steve (steve@multisell.com)
Date: Tue Aug 08 2000 - 10:54:16 MDT


- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Future Bokov" <alexboko@umich.edu>

>Our individual power is increasingly at a rapid rate. As already noted, it
>won't be long before it is trivial for any one individual to get a hold of
>the tools necessary to do lots of damage to lots and lots of other people.

>I've thought about possible solutions, but they all point in relatively
>undesirable directions.

>For instance, the only way I can imagine preventing certain types of
>mega-nano-crimes is to predict the intention. But I don't really like the
>possible implications of this sort of mental 'eavesdropping.'

Interesting thread ..... I think there are many individuals, maybe even
governments (Serbia, Iraq) with a
grudge against the rest of the world ... not just eco-terrorists or
criminals who might try to blackmail
society.

By 'mental' do you mean telepathic eavesdropping, or plain old electronic
snooping?

>This why we need to spread to the stars - it's our only chance.

Hmmm ... escapist fantasy. What makes the problem go away if we colonise
another planet .. you will still get the same types of nutter populating it.
Under the sea seems a better bet? Or enclosed cities (domes) ....

Maybe the answer lies with MVT (solution to the mind-body problem) and
benign psychotherapy on a large scale? At least agreement on some central
questions (such as competing religio-supernaturalist systems) would remove
areas of conflict and argument.

As post-humans, don't we bear some responsibility to "dragging up" the
educational and evolutionary level of those who haven't even made it to
Bodhisattva state?

These new risks (hackers bringing down internet, Ebola &c) should make us
try *harder* to keep all the disaffected individuals on board and satisfied
with their lives.

www.steve-nichols.com



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