From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Sat Jan 25 2003 - 15:52:55 MST
From: Robert J. Bradbury [mailto:bradbury@aeiveos.com]
> As I've explained to some people off-list recently I'm
> always *forcing* myself to face extropic priorities.
> How can I call myself an "extropian" or consider myself
> to be a responsible board member if I do not do that
> as often as I can look at myself in the mirror?
This is a great post, Robert. I think that in virtually any area of
human interest, it's easier to "talk the talk" than "walk the walk".
Nor is there a clean distinction between talkers vs. doers. We all
talk to some extent and we all do to some extent.
For me, the last 7 years of lurking on the extropy list have been
quite beneficial. I believe they've increased global extropy in the
present. I also believe they constitute a great investment that will
pay back extropic dividends in the future as I increase my sphere of
personal influence and can put the extropic learning I've done to
greater use.
This list has provided me with a steady stream of news, facts,
arguments, and insights that have been invaluable. Every time I find
myself in an offlist conversation touching on one of these topics,
global extropy increases because I'm more able to spread extropic
memes. If I'm able to finish my book and publish it, global extropy
will again increase, and again partially do to this list.
Stepping back from myself I see three ways that extropians can
significantly increase global extropy:
1) Contribute directly through the scientific research or technical
work that you do. (I think quite a number of the people on this list
hit this one.)
2) Contribute to the spread of extropic memes and the public adoption
of extropic policy. There are lots of ways to accomplish this -
conversations with non-extropians, voting your philosophy, writing
op-ed pieces, publishing ideas on the web, writing magazine articles
and books, activism for extropic political causes, and more.
The above is really all about "talk". Rather than talk amongst
ourselves though, it's about talking to the wider world and helping
plant and nourish extropian memes there. The extropians list may give
us ammunition that is useful in spreading extropian memes, but it's up
to us to actually use that ammunition.
3) Increase the extropy of your own life by continually improving your
intelligence, your knowledge base, your health, and your optimism.
Frankly, the application of extropy to one's personal life is the area
where I'm most skeptical of extropians. Perhaps this is unjust, but
my perception is that quite a number of us are willing and able to
talk about extropian concepts until we're blue, and may contribute
professionally or academically to the increase in global extropy, but
neglect our own personal extropian sphere. How many people here
exercise daily? How many meditate? How many use nootropics or can
give an informed opinion as to they're not worthwhile? How many are
engaged in continuing education of ourselves in more than an ad-hoc
way?
I'm no paragon of personal extropy myself. I go through spurts of
personal growth followed by fallow periods. Perhaps a better question
is: how can we support each other in increasing our own personal
extropy? I've experimented with various mechanisms for this in my
offlist social circle. Is there something we can do on a larger scale
for all interested extropians?
cheers,
mez
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