On Sat, 28 Aug 1999, Kathryn Aegis wrote:
> Have I missed any?
To quote Anders:
> If there is anything that really
> worries me it is uneducated transhumanists. Not in the sense of not
> having academic degrees, but in the sense of people making claims
> without any support, loudly assering various notions and claiming them
> to be transhumanism without exploring how well they fit with reality,
> transhumanist thinking and other known information. That kind of
> behavior weakens transhumanism, and provides something that is easy
> for opponents to attack ("Mr X, the transhumanist, said that the goal
> of transhumanism was to wipe out anybody who won't become
> superintelligent").
My one word description of this problem is "flakiness". Precisely worded claims that honestly admit to ignorance are the best remedy. Label speculation as such, and be aware of the distinction between wishful thinking and reality.
Michael Nielsen
Ph: 626 395 8431 Email: mnielsen@theory.caltech.edu
Fax: 626 793 9506 Web: http://www.theory.caltech.edu/~mnielsen/index.html