Re: Nanotechnologist lung

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Sat May 10 2003 - 15:42:06 MDT

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    On Sat, May 10, 2003 at 01:44:23PM -0700, Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
    >
    > > RAFI published a report on it, which despite its luddite aims, had
    > > plenty of good information. This is stuff that needs to be clearly
    > > answered.
    >
    > Anders -- for *shame* -- I've finally gotten through reading
    > "The Big Down" (http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/TheBigDown.pdf).
    > Really really boring. I have to disagree with Anders with respect
    > to "plenty of good information" unless he is talking about some
    > other report.

    I think so, the one I was refering to was specifically about health
    issues of nanoparticles.

    That their aims are fundamentally antithetical to ours and that
    they bias information was never in question.

    > There is little "value added" in The Big Down
    > that would not be known by anyone following the ExI/THT or other
    > similar lists. There *are* however various "assertions" of
    > positions without any evidence cited to back up those positions.
    > [Classic "position claimed without facts in evidence" -- a classic
    > luddite ploy.]

    Yes. And they are quite insidious - I shudder whenever I hear
    somebody use the word 'erosion' in their sense, they have been
    quite successful in spreading it and adjoint memes.

    They are important because they are in many ways a leading
    group in anti-transhumanism, and hence we better read what they
    write and respond to it. Or even better, write our own attacks
    on their core assumptions. Dealing with the loonies and
    mediocre is a waste of energy.
     
    > It is worth observing that the ETCGroup may be giving some kind
    > of seminar before/with the European Parliament on June 11th.
    > Cite: http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=390
    >
    > I'm giving some strong consideration to attending just so I can stand
    > up and disrupt the presentations when they make claims similar
    > to those found in "The Big Down".

    :-) I'll see what I can learn about the seminar.

    -- 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
    asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
    GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
    


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