There is no one who values rational action and
substantive debate over the shallows of thought
that pass for discourse in our present culture,
but I think your aiming at the wrong target here.
The most "cultish" and irrational meme I've
seen in your discussion is your idea that the
esthetics of Extropianism are somehow less
worthy, less valuable, or even at odds with
more scientific parts. Nothing could be
further from the truth; Philosophy /requires/
esthetics, and implies culture.
If these important aspect of Extropian thought
are seen as irrational (and frankly, I doubt
not only your impression of them but also your
impression of the public's impression), then
it becomes our goal to change the perception,
not our own values. The values are the center;
all the technology is just a means to achieve
the values.
/Why/ do we want to live forever? Because
life contains art: food, music, sex, fashion,
literature, mathematics, philosophy, and arts
as yet undiscovered and unimagined. Let us
not be so preoccupied with our fancy vehicles,
the road, even our destination that we forget
to examine the most important questions of
/why/ we have chosen this journey.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC