137, Calling something stupid before you figure out what to do with it.

From: Scott Painter (man_immortal@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Nov 15 2000 - 09:00:31 MST


Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 15:14:05 -0500
From: "Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" <sentience@pobox.com>
Subject: 137: Sheer blank-minded stupidity

Okay, I'm sorry, but Gematria is not Extropic, it is drooling, empty-headed
rationalization. Gematria is on the same level of sheer blank-minded
stupidity as astrology.

____
I find being blank-minded very refreshing sometimes.
Have you ever been to Nirvana?

Redefine astrology into something you can comprehend.
Time affects life.
Solar flares come every 11 years and you can bet people will be cranky.
Day and night and their amounts of light
have effects on neurotransmitter production.
Gravity affects life.
Low tide makes me lazy as it requires more strength.
People of different races
are more likely to be born at different times of year.
I was concieved during the winter and have many biological traits
associated with winter survivablity: thin lips, light skin, etc.
Bio traits affect mental traits: Neurotransmitter sensitivity, etc.
Astrology is real.

Gematria teaches people to think on many levels.
It connects neurons that may otherwise never come into contact
thus allowing for novel thought.
It is also a method of encoding secrets.
Jibberish is not jibberish if you know what it means.
Anything can be extropic if you know how to use it.
____

If you start trying to be tolerant of it, it
indicates that you have become too open-minded and your brains are now
starting to fall out.

There is a place for mysticism in embryo Extropians. I myself dabbled in
mysticism up until the age of fourteen or fifteen or so. However, I expect
mysticism in Those For Whom There Is Still Hope to take the form of
fascination with psychic powers, the teleology of the Universe, exotic
physical theories, mystical interpretations of qualia, reconciliation of
ultratech futures in terms of religious prophecies, and so on. Taking
astrology or Gematria seriously indicates that you are a flat-out idiot.

___
I take everything with a grain of salt.
Most people are idiots and so are most astrologers,
but please, don't throw insults.
___

Respecting people who take astrology seriously does not impress others with
your tolerance. It simply indicates that you do not understand what
tolerance
is *for*, and that you are trying to impress others by adherence to the
letter
of an ethic whose spirit you do not understand.

Furthermore, please note that the Committee on Un-Extropian Activities will
be
investigating all participants in this thread for possible connections to
the
Green Party.

___
I quit and became republican before the election,
but continued to supply intelligence.
I support all parties.

PS: Thanks Eliezer.
___

- -- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

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