> It does occur for me that amongst the many contributors to this
> list, there is a preference for those things most proveable,
> tangible and material rather than anything etherial, supposed, or
> otherwise imagined. I think there is validity in both arenas and
> one should be neither entirely material and pragmatic or lost in
> the clouds and a naive nudnick for any slick story/meaning of life
> that comes along.
I agree with you. But one has to play on the safe side, especially
when dealing with subjects which have a huge potential for flakiness
(uploading, nanotechnology, transcending the human condition, the
singularity, life extension etc). There is mountains of imagined,
supposed and ethereal stuff out there, but very little practically
useful stuff in the areas this list deals with. So we need to keep an
eye on what can and cannot be done, and avoid being swept away by our
hopes.
Of course, you are right that many here are a bit sensitive about
certain "spiritual" issues (even my blood pressure rises
involuntarily when I encounter what I perceive as "new age fluff"),
something which suggests the presence of sacred cows (and we all know
what to do with them! :-). Still, I think we all have to learn to
deal with each other and try to make something very practical out of
our grand visions.
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Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
nv91-asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~nv91-asa/main.html
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y