From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Sat Aug 16 2003 - 03:37:33 MDT
On Friday 15 August 2003 14:08, Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
> The NY Times has an interesting article by Kristof regarding
> how America may be becoming more religious (in a state that
> pioneered the idea of separation between church and state).
>
> Believe It, or Not
> Nicholas D. Kristof, NY Times, 15 August 2003
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/opinion/15KRIS.html?pagewanted=print
>
> It would be interesting to speculate how much the "run-up" to
> the singularity might be driving people into a "haven" of
> ancient ideas because they fear the unknown of the future.
>
My opinion about the cause is fundamentally that the mind abhors a vaccuum.
American culture has become pretty devoid of much real sense of purpose or
values beyond consumerism and "making it". The lack of substance is very
palpable to many. Anything that seems to fill the void is an attractor.
Religions are good at filling or seeming to fill this void. Add to this
increasingly rapid change and economic uncertainty and new post 9/11 levels
of fear and you have a very potent brew.
Now, transhumanist values and goals could also fill some of this void quite
nicely. But they are a bit more work to understand and embrace, and frankly,
we are not anywhere near as good at selling.
Another factor I am very sorry to have to acknowledge is that America has
been dumbed down on purpose. With a non-black illteracy rate of 14% and
black illteracy rate as high as 40% the problem begins to show itself.
Polls of the lack of knowledge about the world among Americans, even very
simply knowledge your average 6th grader would know, are commonplace.
Another poll reports that over 50% of college graduates report that they did
not read another book after they graduated no matter how many years ago that
was.
Massive sense of meaningless, lack of training in reasoning and logic, large
doses of subjectivism and cultural relativism among the educated, uncertanty
about the future - it all adds up to high vulnerability for comforting
comprehensive memes. And yes, it also tends toward distrust of and anger
toward the intellect as much of the imbibed intellectual fashion of the day
taught fundamental meaninglessness and subjectivity and arbitrariness of all
values and value systems. The distrust of the intellect is because of what
the intellectuals tell them and because using the intellect would seriously
threaten the new found comfort memes.
- samantha
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