Re: An Interesting Poll

Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
16 Jun 1999 18:56:42 +0200

"Chris Fedeli" <fedeli@email.msn.com> writes:

> Extropic smoker here, pack a day at least. For explanation,
> I'll affiliate myself with the evocative comments made
> earlier by Rob Harris about life-span length vis-a-vis
> orgasm vs. nuts getting thrashed in an electric flail. And
> I share Gina Miller's lazy attitude too - nanobots can clean
> up my lungs down the road.

Look out for too much optimism here - you better get mature nanotechnology (or good medicine) before you get lung cancer. It is a race against time.

Overall, we want to maximise the integral of happiness across our lives. This can be done in many ways, and it is not easy to say which ones work best.

> A nicotine patch is no replacement for the interaction with
> fire and heat that form a central part of the smoking
> experience.

Sure. I was seeing it as mainly a source of nicotine, rather than as the icon of pleasure you seem to see in the cigarette :-)

> Extropianism has a lot to do with rejecting mainstream
> values, so it doesn't surprise me in the least to see the
> number of list members who admit to partaking in the joy of
> demon tobacco. Of course there are other, less physically
> risky ways of demonstrating antagonism, but few of them
> carry that distinctly civilized brand of rebelliousness that
> has always been associated with smoking. So let's all light
> up for the singularity :)

Of course, it would be nice if we could find a way of reducing the damage done by tobacco smoke to the lungs at least. Or would that reduce the plasure?

-- 
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Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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