[extropy-chat] Religious fanatic? Blame it on 'god gene'

[Damien Broderick]

At 09:39 PM 11/15/2004 -0600, Kevin Freels wrote:

>how many would actually be left if such a virus were released?
>Let's say it is 6 genes. Is the trait well enough defined to have the virus
>kill off everyone who has just one of these 6, or do they need all 6?

1) Has nobody posting on this dire topic actually bothered to read the 
reasoned and extremely damaging SciAm review of Dr. Hamer's claims?

2) What Spike said, with bells on. Try to remember what happened when 
Robert Bradbury posted a series of apparently genocide-encouraging posts 
not long ago. This is the extropian list, not a hangout for wannabe death 
squads.

3) If anyone wishes to explore the idea of interfering with genes conducive 
to spiritual experiences and religious behavior, why not try positing a 
virus that *silences* the genes, rather than murdered their carriers? This 
is also pretty damned totalitarian as a notion, but markedly less vile.

4) Then you should go and read the great novel using this very idea, Jamil 
Nasir's DISTANCE HAZE (Bantam, 2000), where a reductionist scientist of 
considerable subtlety edits out such genes, in vitro, from his daughter's 
genome. The fictional outcome to this thought experiment might give even an 
ardent atheist pause.

In the meantime: let's keep the genocidal fits of excitement to a minimum, huh?

Damien Broderick
[not an extrope, however, and not an office-holder in the organization, so 
IMHO]