> The Extropian is IMO dedicated to the advancement of humanity, that
> is to the idea of improvement. Pseudo-science is a serious diversion,
> in several ways. It's perfectly acceptable to invoke new physics,
> but you must do so explicitly. Otherwise, you are simply exploring
> an alternate universe that has no relationship to the improvement
> of humanity.
My first experience with transhuman technology came out of reading
science fiction. Naturally, when I finally encountered people who were
actively pursuing these technologies, I had no choice but to be excited.
Sometimes, when reading the posts of Carl Feynman, Anders Sandberg, and
the other highly credible scientific minds on this list, I still feel
like I'm reading SF -- future-things desirable and unfathomable at the
same time.
I have learned much from these people, even though I have no arsenal
from which to debate them.
However, at the same time, and for the same reason, the level of
intelligence on this list is so high that I am hardly surprised when one
references a pet theory for no other obvious extropian reason than to
merely pick the able minds that surface here. Accordingly, some of these
theories are pseudo-science and it is up to the knowledgeable to label
them such (with rational reasons, of course). I might add that a modicum
of restraint is generally necessary to end a public thread in this
manner. To avoid flame-wars, wouldn't a private e-mail be the best way
to discipline the offender of your sensibilities? Unless, as Perry
hinted, your aim is to insult them into unsubscribing, I would be apt to
say that enough private e-mail would be sufficient to shut most people
up.
I dunno, maybe I'm too dynamically optomistic :-)