From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Mon Jan 20 2003 - 21:27:33 MST
On Mon, 20 Jan 2003, Dossy wrote:
> I think someone must remind Brett that there's a reason you can't spell
> "mensa" no matter how many ways you mix up the letters "extropian".
This observation is *excellent* Dossy!
> If extropians were really all about verbal volleyball and
> smarter-than-thou, instead of being all about simply deepening one's
> well of knowledge by pooling it with other like-minded individuals,
> then there would simply be no extropians -- we'd all just join an
> organization like MENSA and call it a day.
Yes. And this may be a very critical distinction. With MENSA one is
just concerned with pointing out how one is XYZZY smart (at least
to my knowledge of the organization).
With ExI one is concerned with "How do we go beyond that?".
Be it AI, economics, biotech, law, politics, etc. -- it is always
a question of "How can we push that (damn) envelope?". The universe
is decaying all around us -- how can *I/We* turn back those tides?
(One of the interesting questions about extropianism is how many
partners does one really have...?)
That (the decay pushback) is to me is what it is all about to be
an extropian. It is not about "transhumanism" which while I think
is very important and valuable -- because it is about what we may
evolve into -- it is still not "it" for me. At the core of my
being I reject chaos. We have not come this far to let it all
slide back into oblivion.
Extropianism (for me) is about drawing a line in the sand. It
about looking the forces of the universe straight in the face
and saying "this line ye shall not cross". (It is also about
being pragmatic with respect to when you can make such statements
and get away with them and when they are more likely to be foolish
meanderings -- as the saying goes "Discretion is the better part of
valour".
But Dossy's observations raise the question of when or how are we
optimizing our "pooling" meme-sharing perspectives with others.
How do we create a "shared/group" intelligence that dares to stand
in the onslaught of the force of entropy?
Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote a very beautiful song in two
variants about Maralyn Monroe and Princess Diana. Now-a-days
I generally cry whenever I hear either of the variants of
"A candle in the wind" played. The question becomes whether
there are extropians willing to be the candles? The interesting
part is that one never knows when one steps up for the lighting
ceremony whether or not one may or may not be blown out. The
longevity of candles is a very difficult question indeed.
Robert
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