[extropy-chat] Purpose of the Extropian Institute

Harvey Newstrom mail at HarveyNewstrom.com
Fri Dec 12 23:01:04 UTC 2003


Adrian Tymes wrote,
> Now...if ExI could start tapping into ways of funding research to 
> accomplish our aims, and direct said funding, would that be closer to 
> what you imagine we should do?  Or did you have some other specific
> solution in mind?

Believe it or not, solutions are easy.  Our problem is goals.  The problem
is not that we put all our efforts into a clearly defined goal and then
failed.  I doubt that would happen.  Our problem is that we don't have
clearly defined goals, we don't have specific steps toward each goal, and
nobody really knows what we should be doing beyond just talking about how
great this stuff will be someday.

If we want to be a think tank, we need brainstorming sessions.
If we want to lobby congress, we need legally rigorous position papers.
If we want to develop technology, we need people to actually do research.
If we want to be a news source, we need a editorial staff and better
publication channels.
If we want to be an educational organization, we need teachers and authors
developing curriculae and textbooks.  
If we want to advice industry, we need a team of recognized persons with
credentials.
If we want to get funding, we need project plans with milestones and
results.
If we want publicity, we need advertising, PR and publicity stunts.
If we want to do more than one of these, we need to establish separate
working groups in each area.

I am sure that we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to.  We just
haven't chosen specific goals for our specific organizations yet.  Once we
do that, we can easily become the best at whatever it is we choose to do.
There is no lack of skill, intelligence and creativity among us.

So this is decision time.  What do we want to do, and how much effort are we
willing to put into it?

-- 
Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, CISA, CISM, IAM, IBMCP, GSEC
Certified IS Security Pro, Certified IS Auditor, Certified InfoSec Manager,
NSA Certified Assessor, IBM Certified Consultant, SANS Certified GIAC
<HarveyNewstrom.com> <Newstaff.com> 





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