[extropy-chat] Purpose of the Extropian Institute

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

Harvey, we as the whole transhumanist community have as many goals as you
with and then some. For example I consider all the things that you list as
important goals. Also there is no lack of effort and no shortage of
individual initiatives, must very interesting and creative, but doomed to
failure if they remain forever below critical mass.
IMO what we need is a strategy, a set of agreed specific tactics to deal
with this and that, and some organization. I know organization is boring,
but without organization you don't get anywhere.
The concept of critical mass is important, sorry if I repeat myself. If we
consolidate many things below critical mass into few things just above
critical mass, and manage them well, the transhumanist movement will take
off like a rocket.

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org]On Behalf Of Harvey
Newstrom
Sent: 13 December 2003 00:01
To: 'ExI chat list'
Subject: RE: [extropy-chat] Purpose of the Extropian Institute


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>