From: Nathanael Allison (jubungalord@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Jan 14 2003 - 21:59:25 MST
Actually I find the hording of information by the super powers and thier
middle and upperclasses a hundred times more selfish than one person
stealing copies of books. It ensures thier dominance over other countries
and other people. Isn't that the definition of a selfish act, to put
yourself before others. Of course it's not practical to get everyone on the
same page but it couldn't hurt to make the information accessable in some
form or another.
What possible disadvantages could there be by allowing non-fiction books to
be free on the internet. What, you have to have a commitee to determine what
is non-fiction. If people want to make money they shouldn't be trying to
reflect objective Truth in a scientific way like you say we are trying to
do. Trying to make money will create a more non-scientific text because
people will write to sell, not write the truth.
At a certain piont extropians have to worship a religion called causation.
They have to believe thier is nothing random and undeterminable. They must
believe that what they think pertains in some way to reality. If they do not
than what's the piont of any of this? Why not worship any religion?
Some person writes
Ah, another chance to combat misperceptions, disinformation, and
ignorance...
--- Nathanael Allison <jubungalord@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Nathanael(jubungalord@hotmail.com)
>I know this idea is going to be attacked since many of the people on
>this list are authors. I'm not purposefully trying to make enemies.
>I know it seems that way.
>
>Why aren't these books available on programs like napster. There are
>a ton af them, kazaa, imesh, bearshare ect.... I'm searched and found
>nothing. We could make all the books under a special search like
>"extrotrans3456".
>
>I mean i haven't bought a CD in like 5 years. Why shouldn't we be
>able to download books as well. I know it's illegal, but no one is
>doing anything about the free music.
Just because you don't get a ticket every time you speed doesn't mean
you aren't breaking the law. While there are many laws on the books
(including speed limits) which in my opinion do nothing but promote
disrespect for the Law in general, to give in to that seed of
disrespect is the road not to Anarchy, but chaos, which is an entirely
undesirable thing for anybody.
There is a place for civil disobedience, for sure. But don't mask pure
greedy looting as anything more noble than what it really is, and not
wanting to pay for someone else's hard work is far more greedy and
selfish than the creator wanting to get paid for their work.
>
>Really though shouldn't these books be available to anyone for free.
>For transhumanistic ideas to gain a greater base shouldn't it be free
>like the bible.
The Bible was a world wide best seller long before free copies of it
were available. In fact, for more than a thousand years of history,
copies of the bible were so expensive that they cost several years
salary to obtain one. Churches were so ubiquitous in communities
because of the huge community investment needed to house that one book,
and to have someone who was literate to read it to the rest of the
community, to protect that one book from damage by hands soiled in the
fields, or callused from the plow or the smithy.
For a good chunk of human history, the Bible has been the equivalent of
the computer: a rather expensive device, even in it's most inexpensive
versions, and never found for free, though one might be borrowed for a
time, as at a library.
>
>What it comes down to is where is the money going that is generated
>by these books. If most of it is just going into someone's pocket tham I'm
>sorry that seems very unextropian to me.
Then you don't know the first thing about extropy.
>I know people have to make a living but beyond that there main concern
>should be to make as big an impact as they
>can.
Extropy is not a religion. It doesn't need to evangelize, it simply is,
and becomes, as a result of it reflecting Objective Truth in a more
accurate, scientific way, not superstitious guesswork and flim
flammery.
__________________________________________________
--- Nathanael Allison <jubungalord@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Nathanael(jubungalord@hotmail.com)
>I know this idea is going to be attacked since many of the people on
>this list are authors. I'm not purposefully trying to make enemies.
>I know it seems that way.
>
>Why aren't these books available on programs like napster. There are
>a ton af them, kazaa, imesh, bearshare ect.... I'm searched and found
>nothing. We could make all the books under a special search like
>"extrotrans3456".
>
>I mean i haven't bought a CD in like 5 years. Why shouldn't we be
>able to download books as well. I know it's illegal, but no one is
>doing anything about the free music.
Just because you don't get a ticket every time you speed doesn't mean
you aren't breaking the law. While there are many laws on the books
(including speed limits) which in my opinion do nothing but promote
disrespect for the Law in general, to give in to that seed of
disrespect is the road not to Anarchy, but chaos, which is an entirely
undesirable thing for anybody.
There is a place for civil disobedience, for sure. But don't mask pure
greedy looting as anything more noble than what it really is, and not
wanting to pay for someone else's hard work is far more greedy and
selfish than the creator wanting to get paid for their work.
>
>Really though shouldn't these books be available to anyone for free.
>For transhumanistic ideas to gain a greater base shouldn't it be free
>like the bible.
The Bible was a world wide best seller long before free copies of it
were available. In fact, for more than a thousand years of history,
copies of the bible were so expensive that they cost several years
salary to obtain one. Churches were so ubiquitous in communities
because of the huge community investment needed to house that one book,
and to have someone who was literate to read it to the rest of the
community, to protect that one book from damage by hands soiled in the
fields, or callused from the plow or the smithy.
For a good chunk of human history, the Bible has been the equivalent of
the computer: a rather expensive device, even in it's most inexpensive
versions, and never found for free, though one might be borrowed for a
time, as at a library.
>
>What it comes down to is where is the money going that is generated
>by these books. If most of it is just going into someone's pocket tham I'm
>sorry that seems very unextropian to me.
Then you don't know the first thing about extropy.
>I know people have to make a living but beyond that there main concern
>should be to make as big an impact as they
>can.
Extropy is not a religion. It doesn't need to evangelize, it simply is,
and becomes, as a result of it reflecting Objective Truth in a more
accurate, scientific way, not superstitious guesswork and flim
flammery.
__________________________________________________
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