From: Alex Future Bokov (alexboko@umich.edu)
Date: Wed Aug 13 2003 - 19:35:11 MDT
Maybe now we can more about AI, cryonics, crypto, networking, space travel,
and life extension. And less about gun control, patriotism, and emotional
attachment to one economic system versus another.
Conformity? You damn well bet... localized, consensual, emergent
conformity. Also known as consensus. Also known as having a platform. Without
that, any forum or organization lacks meaning and focus. Luddites are not
welcome on this list, nor are Flat Earthers, nor are Scientologists. Maybe
left-wingers and right-wingers shouldn't be welcome either. After all, we
don't subscribe to NRA or GOP mailing lists and rant about nanouploads, do we?
Maybe they should go off and found their own Extropian Gun-Nut or Extropian
Single-Payer Health Care or Extropian Europe Sux America Rulez lists... maybe
that will even memetically benefit Extropy overall by playing good cop/bad cop
with the public's perception of us (which one is the good one and which one is
the bad one depends of course on your frame of reference).
But IMHO the list is better off without the constant Samantha/Mike
flamewars. Of course if Mikes absence doesn't solve the problem then by the
process of elimination we'll know where the problem lies.
That being said, I actually agree with Mike on a lot of topics, particularly
free markets, gun rights, property rights, and individual responsibility. But
it's embarassing to have these views presented in a propagandistic,
confrontational, irrational manner. Decentralized systems work because they
work, not because they're the "American Way" nor because they have some sort
of privileged moral status. It's game theory and information theory, people,
not some kind of religion!
---- This message was posted by Alex Future Bokov to the Extropians 2003 board on ExI BBS. <http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=67;action=display;threadid=56759>
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