[extropy-chat] Oxford ( Was: Desirability of Singularity )

[Anders Sandberg]

spike wrote:
>> Anders Sandberg,
>> Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
>> Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University
>
> It's great to have you back Anders.  Your sig line has the word Oxford in
> there twice.  Is this an intentional redundancy?

It is probably an echo of the era when I had a double .sig :-)

Redundancy is the essence of the Oxford academic experience. I had never
realized how informal and flexible Sweden was till I got here. I enjoy the
university bureaucracy as a kind of cultural heritage not unlike the
gothic buildings in the city - impractical, but interesting if you have
the time.

To clear out where I am: I work for the EU ENHANCE project, which is
shared between several groups (in Bristol, Maastricht, Milan and
Stockholm). My part is under the Uehiro Centre, which in turn is a part of
the Philosophy Faculty. So far so good. Here is the complicating factor:
part of the Uehiro Centre is also part of the James Martin 21st Century
School as the Programme on Ethics of the New Biosciences. The School is a
cluster of projects in the university funded by a big donation. Another
part of it is the Future of Humanity Institute, Nick Bostrom's place (also
under the philosophy faculty). It is physically located on the next floor,
and in practice working together with the Uehiro centre. I'm associate
there too. To further complicate things, the Uehiro centre is part of
*another* big project, the OXCSOM (Oxford Centre for Science of the Mind)
that includes the departments of Anatomy, Pharmacology, Philosophy,
Physiology and Theology (!). I'm actually not a part of it formally, but
in practice I work for the Pharmacology department off-hours.

Have you drawn your Venn diagrams yet? :-)

In the end, it is all a big bundle (katamari?) of confusing project and
institute loyalties. I love it here.

Did I mention that redundancy is the essence of the Oxford academic
experience?

-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University