Re: What is to be done?

Chris Hind (chind@juno.com)
Sat, 22 Mar 1997 22:19:05 -0800


>What is to be done?

Take a look at the masses following Wired magazine into the future proudly
proclaiming transhumanism. Get ready to add that list of quotes to that
"What the experts say..." list. Every major breakthrough has been fought at
the start just as they fought against vaccines when they first came out for
smallpox telling wild stories of how people were going to turn into cows
and other nonsense because they used fluid from the sores of a similar cow
disease. And then the classic "If people were meant to fly, God would've
given them wings." Today these both are entirely stupid and those quotes
you meantioned before will be also. Naturally any radical ideas will be
rejected by an established peer-based scientific social order system. The
best ideas *NEVER* come from official, established sources. Everyone is
afraid of the unknown but we rush out to greet it. We're on the cutting
edge of evolution. The pioneers. We are the dreamers and creators of the
future. Once society gets over future shock and all the media attention,
ideas will no longer sound alien and will become absorbed by society. I've
just seen a recent news story on TV about a woman who had identical
quadruplets and the media referred to the phenomenon as GET THIS: "Natures
version of cloning". The media appears to be already done with the initial
"shock value" mode and may now even creating acceptance for it through
subtle memes. Another aspect of the whole "negative outlook on the future"
meme is directly related to the approaching millenium. Get ready for all
the "hell, fire, and brimstone" people to come out en masse and proclaim
the end is near! This creates a uneasy memetic environment and puts a bad
taste in everyone's mouth by tainting their visions of a positive future
being constantly bombarded by negative outlooks.

"Risk: You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore."

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Chris Hind (chind@juno.com) Upward, Outward, ACTION!
Email attachments: (bholat@earthlink.net)
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Ethereal Outlook (Extropian)
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/6810/outlook.htm
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