Some of you may recognize my name from the Brain Tennis
exchange HotWired in August. I think it would be fair to
say, that all things considered, the extropian side
more than held its own - it rocked.
I might as well say where I'm going from. Some of my current
interests would include: Physics, Cosmology. Philosophy (Objectivist
premises/morality, Evolutionary/Popperian epistemology). Mathematics.
Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Complex/Chaotic Systems.
Molecular Nanotechnology. Free Market Economics. Jazz Fusion. Art by M.C.
Escher.
Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. History of Science & Technology.
3D-modelling, computer graphics, VRML, Java, Web development, crytography,
cryptoanarchy, electronics. Science Fiction (Faves include Vinge, Zindell,
RA Wilson, Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Greg Benford, Frank Herbert, Phillip K.
Dyck), some cyberpunk (Sterling and Stephenson).
I guess the scary part is the fact that I was pretty into most of this
stuff before I first read about Extropians in Wired 2.10, although the idea
of tying it all together with an optimistic,
future-minded, rational philosophy was new and compelling, as were some
ideas I weren't yet familiar with, such as The Singularity, uploading,
cryptoanarchy, and mature nanotech.
Some will wonder why this my first post on the list for
someone who has followed extropianism for the last two years.
I find myself in a bit of quandary. Since I find myself
in agreement with the fundamental premises of Extropianism,
I can't help but be in general accord with most of what is
said on the list. To improve significantly on any of it
would take rather a lot of thought. But original thought of course
takes time - I want to live Extropianism and not just
talk about it, so I've chosen to push on with my own studies and projects.
Currently, I have various essays relevant to extropians
at various stages of completion that I hope to finish up
by the new year for putting on a web page I'm preparing.
(I'm also working on a small molecular modelling program
that might be useful for the design of "nanowidgets")
In any event, that's my introduction. You'll probably hear
a lot more from me down the road; for now I've posted a couple
more messages dealing with some more specific topics.
- Wade Cherrington
(wade_c@uniserve.com)
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"The less one feels sheltered in light and in conciousness,
the more one flees into the darkness of the subconcious."
-Rustow, Freedom & Domination
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