From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Aug 28 2003 - 04:02:37 MDT
Hmm, is it just my swedishness, or are the tone of these letters a bit
aggressive? Also, pointing out that cryonicists are technologically
sophisticated and using the Galileo card sounds downright cultish.
Especially in the US I have the distinct feeling that suggesting that
religion is a superstition is not on average going to predispose people
kindly. Could it be that we are reacting a bit too reflexively?
Maybe the core issue should be stated more calmly: yes, this is a
practice some people see as pseudoscience or yukky, but almost any
practice, be it cremation, the use of antibiotics for appendicitis or
acupuncture is viewed as pseudoscience or yukky by *someone* (or even
most people). That still does not mean it should be hindered unless it
actually hurts somebody. A society which cannot tolerate diversity and
unusual ideas is going to end up impoverished and intolerant.
I wonder if one could get some of Richard Florida's ideas about how the
creative class moves in here. Essentially, if a place like Michigan
shows that it does not tolerate the unusual (by banning cryonics and
tounge splitting) it sends a signal to many of the cultural creatives
that increasingly form the core of economic growth that this is not the
place to be. It does not matter that most never would even consider
getting a suspension or split tounge, they know that their own
particular interests or views might be circumscribed and that the area
is less likely to attract other interesting people - so they go
elsewhere. Is that a desired signal?
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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