From: Reason (reason@exratio.com)
Date: Sun Mar 16 2003 - 22:07:59 MST
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.org
> [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]On Behalf Of alexboko@umich.edu
> At the risk of oversimplyfying, the challenge >H memes face is
> the opposite--
>
> Our memes are subtle, complicated, and lacking in populist
> appeal. Failure of
> these memes to spread rapidly enough means an increased risk of
> world culture
> falling into...
>
> 1) A temporary local minimum, which nevertheless outlasts the
> lifespans made
> possible to us by technology that is currently available or will become
> available within said lifespans.
>
> or
>
> 2) A permanent local minimum that is simply 1) that lasts long
> enough for us
> to exhaust our reserves (easily extractable resources, arable
> land, etc.) on
> maintenance tasks without acchieving a breakout event. Breakout
> events are any
> of the following three: self-sufficient non-terrestrial permanent
> settlement
> and/or seed AI and/or widely available general-purpose nanoassemblers.
>
> So, I ask the question I've been asking in one form or another on
> this forum over and over for years, but never as concisely as now:
>
> What do we do?
We assist in the process of making markets apparent. By this I mean we all
choose our desired technology (radical life extension in my case) and get
out there shouting. Markets are created from nothing by spreading
information, educating people to want the product, and cultivating
communities of these people. Then you guide, assist, broadcast and market
that mass-voiced desire such that investors and entrepreneurs hear it loud
and clear. Then you keep this up for a couple of decades, through the
inevitable false starts and dead ends.
Nothing new in other words. The scripts have long been written; we just have
to devote the time and energy to following them, to being persistent, to
keep at it.
Reason
http://www.exratio.com/
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