At 09:22 AM 1/6/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Michael Wiik wrote:
> >
> > I'm not a psychologist, but it strikes me as possible that the recent
> > mainstreaming of certain extropian topics (like uploading) on prime time
> > television sort of takes the edge of extropianism, as it were. We're no
> > longer cutting-edge. We're not all that 'different' anymore.
>
>Quite right. Join the Singularitarians. It should be, oh, at least
>another five years, maybe forever, before we lose *our* edge.
This overlooks the fact that many Extropians are and long have been
singularitarians. If you lable yourself a "Singularitarian", then believing
in a Singularity (however that is defined) must be a core belief.
Extropians *may* expect a Singularity, but need not.
I'm encouraged to see ideas long discussed by Extropians finding their way
into mass-market publications. This means that *some* of our ideas are
becoming at least heard in the mainstream. But our bag of ideas is very
full, with plenty not yet heard.
In addition, just because more people are hearing about things like
uploading, superlongevity,etc., does not mean we are no longer cutting
edge. Staying on the cutting edge means not just thinking up possible new
technologies but carefully analyzing their social, psychological, and
philosophical impact. W. French Anderson raises the possibility of genetic
engineering for enhancement purposes in Newsweek, but he's drastically far
behind in understanding the positive potentials of this.
I find it really bizarre that some are sounding sorry that we are "losing
our edge". Would they prefer that these ideas remain forever ignored? Or
should we now restrict ourselves only to the most far-out speculations? I
think we should celebrate where we are, and work on accelerating acceptance
of these technologies and improving understanding of them, while continuing
to look further ahead than anyone else.
Onward!
Max
Max More, Ph.D.
President, Extropy Institute. www.extropy.org
CEO, MoreLogic Consulting. www.maxmore.com
max@maxmore.com or more@extropy.org
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