Re: List dynamics

From: Brett Paatsch (paatschb@ocean.com.au)
Date: Mon Jan 20 2003 - 23:22:40 MST


Dossy writes:

> On 2003.01.20, Lee Corbin <lcorbin@tsoft.com> wrote:
> > > > > This choice, either to pursue "point scoring" or to
> > > > > pursue "deeper understanding" seems available to
> > > > > each of us each time we post.
> > > >
> > > > I wish I had a dollar for every time on this forum this
> > > > useless sentiment has been expressed.
> > >
> > > I see very little sentiment (useless or otherwise) in the
> > > statements at all.
> >
> > Okay; I used the wrong word *again*. Jeez. I should
> > have said "opinion". Gimme a break. Must I scrutinize
> > *every* word I use? Could you try harder to get the drift?
>
> I think someone must remind Brett that there's a reason you
> can't spell "mensa" no matter how many ways you mix up
> the letters "extropian".

Ok. If I needed reminding. I guess someone just did :-)

Two someones, in fact. As Robert Bradbury thinks so too.

>
> If extropians were really all about verbal volleyball and
> smarter-than-thou, instead of being all about simply
> deepening one's well of knowledge by pooling it with other
> like-minded individuals, then there would simply be no
> extropians -- we'd all just join an organization like MENSA
> and call it a day.

I'm a bit perplexed by this. I wonder if you read the original post
to this thread Dossy?

In any case, I don't think verbal volleyball and smarter-than-thou
is what extropians are all about at all. If I've given the
impression that I thought that I certainly didn't want too.
I thought I'd stated pretty much the opposite earlier in the thread.

In the opening post to this thread I was indicating a possible
area where the STRUCTURE of a list might be slowing down
the achievement of ExI objectives because the STRUCTURE
of a list is more conducive, more naturally facilitative to, a "point
scoring" mindset than to the pursuit of "deeper understanding"
mindset. The point is about mindsets not extropes per se.

I won't rehash the arguments for this thesis as they are all still
there in the opening post.

But I would like to be clear that I don't doubt that extropes
are after "deep understanding" and for the best and most
practical of purposes.

Personally, I can't see much point in MENSA unless its as a
social club. Intelligence is for applying to objectives imo. So
is language. I'm interested in making good use of the tools,
is all, in pursuit of what I understand are shared objectives.

I pretty much agree with *all* the standard ExI objectives
as far as I can tell.

Brett



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