Re: My Fears

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Mon Jun 02 2003 - 14:57:56 MDT

  • Next message: Michael M. Butler: "Re: Rationality of Disagreement (Was: Status of Superrationality)"

    On Mon, Jun 02, 2003 at 01:53:34PM -0400, Robin Hanson wrote:
    > On 6/2/2003, Harvey Newstrom wrote:
    > >My biggest concern right now is that, in general, most Extropians lack the
    > >scientific expertise or understanding to support the evaluations and
    > >predictions we make. I fear that we are more like salespeople and
    > >advertisers who make unfounded claims for their product with no support.
    > >...
    >
    > I've been away from this list for a while, so this leads me to ask if there
    > *are* any non-trivial central claims/evaluations/predictions that "we make"?
    > Sure each person with a post may make some particular claim, but is there
    > much in common behind these disparate claims?

    I would say this list is a bit like the intellectual salons of the 18th
    century. A place where people with shared interests meet, discuss, drink
    virtual coffee and come up with ideas - most of which never lead
    anywhere. People attending the same salon would tend to share some basic
    views or assumptions due to self-selection and the normal social
    pressures limiting too great disagreements, but the remaining spread of
    knowledge, specialisations and views are rich enough to produce a
    creative environment. The salons never did anything, really. But the
    people attending them did, inspired by ideas they got there. Some
    projects didn't pan out at all. Others succeeded or at least became big
    - we live in some of them today.

    I think the extropians list is much in the same vein. The best it can
    aspire to is to be a great salon. There is a elitistic vision ghosting
    around in transhumanism that somehow we, we who get it, will be cruicial
    and lead the great transcension. According to this thought we are
    essential, so we must all act as one with high quality at the great
    project, whatever it is (a human pyramid to orbit? ExtroCorp? The
    million transhuman march?) - it is all about the movement and all its
    members. But I think this is a mistake; if transhumanism ever leads
    anywhere it will do it by acting as a source of important ideas and a
    meeting place of people that later will act together. No need to turn it
    into the Fifth International.

    Hence we should guard the politeness and intellectual rigor of this
    salon, make sure the best in us all feels welcome and always seek to
    contribute great thoughts - or go out and do great deeds based on the
    thoughts we have overheard.

    [ ... adjusts his wig and turns to Lady Natasha de Vita-More with a
    witticism he just overheard from Count von Spike... ]

    -- 
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    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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