Re: ExI: Cognitive Extropians

Michael Lorrey (retroman@tpk.net)
Tue, 14 Jan 1997 11:54:11 -0500


Natasha V. More(f/k/a/Nancie Clark) wrote:
>
> At 09:22 PM 1/13/97 -0600, Eliezer wrote:
>
> >>and *occasionally* you will run into an Extropian who wants to
> >>improve their minds.
>
> Well, what the hell have I been working on for so many years if not my mind
> which is encapsulated in my brain!
>
> >>The point being, oh James Rogers, oh Max More, that you two are, as I
> >>said, the few Extropians who think about IA.
>
> This assumption is inaccurate.
>
> >>The rest are talking about
> >>rockets, cryonics, nanotechnology, thinking faster (but not better), and
> >>uploading... only to download into a physically omnipotent body and
> >>explore the Universe.
>
> This is in part accurate, but narrow in scope.
>
> >>The Extropians as a group still retain that
> >>old-fashioned worldview that says that the Universe is out there, that
> >>we must go and subdue it, and that we do this with lightsails and Von
> >>Neumann machines and the accouterments of physical power.
>
> Where did you ever get this idea?
>

Funny. Eliezer, in his quest to become BRAIN, seems to be seeking a
return to the womb, IMHO. Entropic if you ask me......

If each of use has different specific interest, it is because we are
different individuals. We all know that all of the things on your list
are important, but if we each only do a little of each, we will each get
nowhere fast. Great advances are not made by people who do a little of
this and a little of that, but by those whos focus on one thing becomes
so great that they break through the barriers that held back previous
devlopment.

If we all focus on one same thing, who decides what that one thing is?
You? Me? Sorry, I don't work that way. We each have our own special
interests and can report to the others on the progress we each are
making in our own fields that are of importance to all. If you are so
fired up on your thing, get off your butt and get to it man! Don't
insist that everyone else follow, as those that want to will if you
start the journey, and those that don't wont.

Also, from my own perspective, I recommend you not mock the efforts of
those who are seeking to expand our resource base to space. The economic
and resource costs of making everyone megabrains will be so high that we
will accelerate a Malthusian crisis before the goal is attained, if we
do not seek expanded resources off planet. If we start cloning ourselves
and making duplicate uploaded minds indiscriminately we will exacerbate
the process...

-- 
TANSTAAFL!!!

Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ President retroman@tpk.net Northstar Technologies Agent Lorrey@ThePentagon.com Inventor of the Lorrey Drive Silo_1013@ThePentagon.com

Website: http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/ Now Featuring: Mikey's Animatronic Factory http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/animations.htm My Own Nuclear Espionage Agency (MONEA) MIKEYMAS(tm): The New Internet Holiday Transhumans of New Hampshire (>HNH) ------------------------------------------------------------ Transhumanist, Inventor, Webmaster, Ski Guide, Entrepreneur, Artist, Outdoorsman, Libertarian, Arms Exporter-see below. ------------------------------------------------------------ #!/usr/local/bin/perl-0777---export-a-crypto-system-sig-RC4-3-lines-PERL @k=unpack('C*',pack('H*',shift));for(@t=@s=0..255){$y=($k[$_%@k]+$s[$x=$_ ]+$y)%256;&S}$x=$y=0;for(unpack('C*',<>)){$x++;$y=($s[$x%=256]+$y)%256; &S;print pack(C,$_^=$s[($s[$x]+$s[$y])%256])}sub S{@s[$x,$y]=@s[$y,$x]}