From: Kai Becker (kmb@kai-m-becker.de)
Date: Thu Jan 30 2003 - 01:34:59 MST
Am Mittwoch, 29. Januar 2003 22:28 schrieb Lee Daniel Crocker:
> Rational people realize that /all/ speech is biased, and all speech
> should be judged against the credibility of the speaker.
(1) And what do you think will the other 96+% do?
(2) Since when is "credibility" a rationally measurable unit?
Imagine the following scenario: A (probably religious) group with good
connections to government and or media starts a campaign against
extropianism. Extropians are no good patriots, they deny god, plan to
overthrow the government, have no ethics, follow nazi eugenics, will kill
children for their own longevity, etc.pp. Oh, and they're responsible for
the anthrax attacks. That surely was an extropic experiment to kill the
inferior... If someone could spread this propaganda with enough force,
including names and addresses, you'll probably feel, how many "rational"
persons really live around you - and how "rational" the authorities are.
So, in my opinion, replacing free speech with unlimited lying is not a
rational thing in a not really rational environment. The same applies,
btw, for planning politics in foreign countries without considering their
specific cultural background, mentality and other irrational memes.
Kai
-- == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany == "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
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