Re: heads-up for Aussie viewers of AFTERSHOCK

From: Alejandro Dubrovsky (s328940@student.uq.edu.au)
Date: Thu Jul 26 2001 - 10:57:30 MDT


* Damien Broderick <d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au> [010727 02:39]:
> It went moderately well, I thought, although a lot of the more vigorous and
> inventive discussion between us guests was chopped out for lack of time.
> Robert will be entertained to know that I described Matrioshka Brains with
> lip-smacking relish, to the revulsion and distress of the token woman
> humanist (the lovely Dr Gael Jennings). The on-line forum after (with
> appearances by Miriam and Russell Blackford [in French disguise]) was what
> I've come to expect: all manner of technoids sitting at their fucking
> computers telling us how much Gaia loathes technology and how we should
> give our all to the Third World, although I didn't see them rushing to the
> second hand store to sell their filthy machines and mail the proceeds to
> Medicine Without Frontiers. One `Diana' informed us that `WE ARE HUMAN...
> WE DIE'. I provided suitable directions. This was uncouth of me, I know,
> but one grows so weary of this drivel...

i think it went remarkably well, and i missed the first half of the show. In the
15 minutes i watched they managed to show two separate 'bits' of Nick Bostrom
talking, mention transhumanism about twenty times, show a bit of j. lanier,
and mention posthumanism, uploads, utility fog, matrioshka brains (last couple by
damien) and lots and lots of nanotech phrase throwing. the forum was also much
more supportive than i expected, with lots of people seeming very enthusiastic
and just a couple of very verbose antitechs (one being the Diana mentioned
before). (My main problem with the forum was with the interface, useless for a
heavy use forum like that one) My congratulations go to Damien for keeping
himself under control while Dr Jennings spilt all the typical lose-our-humanity
drivel.

Alejandro



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