On Tuesday, June 22, 1999 6:44 pm, Hal <hal@finney.org> wrote:
> There was an interesting article in the L.A. Times this morning about a
> dustup in Illinois over whether Abraham Lincoln may have been homosexual.
This is old news to someone who grew up in "The Land of Lincoln." It is commonly quoted as being so, and commonly denied by historians. The only new information is whether there now is proof.
> I would expect that a considerable number of extropians and proto-
> extropians would be homosexual. Gay men and lesbian women already have to
> have the mental flexibility to escape the mindset of the majority culture,
> and this might make them more open to the novelty of extropian ideas.
Thinkers, artists, mystics, scientists, explorers down through the ages have often been gay. I think this often released them from the typical life of raising a family, and left them with more disposable income and no one to pass the inheritance to. They often build labs, founded schools, started research projects, etc. Gays also need to leave their mark on the work through other means than descendants.
> It would be interesting to know whether any of the various writers
> who have influenced our beliefs are thought to have been homosexual.
> Homosexuals have played a disproportionate part in creating modern
> culture,
Alan M. Turing, who laid the groundwork for computer in a 1937 paper, defined artificial intelligence in 1952, and gave us the "Turing Test" that is often mentioned on this list.
Statistically speaking, a disproportionately high number of computer scientists are gay. Same for hackers.
-- Harvey Newstrom <mailto://newstrom@newstaffinc.com> <http://newstaffinc.com> Author, Consultant, Engineer, Legal Hacker, Researcher, Scientist.