[extropy-chat] Death is irreversible v.1.0

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Hi Russell,
   
  I think Russell makes a good point. Perhaps this discussion could best be conducted off-list, so that more pro-actionary things can be discussed here. That's just my 2 cents.
   
  Best Wishes,
   
  Jeffrey Herrlich
   
  P.S. I still certainly hope that everyone here makes Cryonics arrangements, if they are able and interested.

Russell Wallace <russell.wallace at gmail.com> wrote:
  On 5/8/06, Heartland <velvet977 at hotmail.com> wrote:     Russell, if the argument seems clear, and yet it failed to convince you, then it
should be clear to you what is wrong with it. If you know what that is, please
don't hesitate to point that out.  
Sure: you said intelligence is more like a brick than a symphony. It's not; it's more like a symphony ^.^

(I'm not proposing to join this debate - more than enough electrons have been spilled on it already; I'm happy to leave naming the pattern, thread and substrate views as my contribution. But I've answered the question you asked.)


  You mean more productive than writing arguments like these? Perhaps arguments like 
these will someday help further the progress of biological life extension by
steering that progress in the right direction. One can only hope.  
Let's be honest here: we all know that anyone who's going to be persuaded by this argument to change their actions, has been persuaded already. If one finds it fun to continue such arguments anyway, then by all means; but let's call things entertainment when they are entertainment, and productive when they are productive, and not deceive ourselves about which is which.


  I don't think I like the idea of altering my behavior to appease the ghost of
economics of time management with its goal to maximize productivity in shortest
amount of time. This subgoal may not serve well the goal of maximizing the quality
of my subjective experience (whatever remains of it, that is). I don't know. 


Your time is of course yours to dispose of as you choose, but I figure it's worth making this point (in general, not addressed only to you):

We are evolved to want to spend a lot of time debating politics, religion and philosophy with our neighbors, to believe it's an important thing to do - because it _was_ important when our world consisted primarily of a tribe of 200 people and our chance of finding a mate and producing healthy offspring depended heavily on our social status within that tribe. This situation no longer holds, but we still have the instincts that evolved therein; it takes conscious thought to realize they are maladaptive and an effort of will to override them.

What's important now is to bring about a better future (and preferably quickly enough that we - as many as possible of the six billion of us - live to see it). To bring it about not only as a plausible sounding argument, but a state of affairs that actually exists in the physical world. Arguing with fellow subscribers to extropy-chat can contribute to that goal when it helps bring about better understanding, but once each side is clear on the other's views and the reasoning behind them, once there's nothing new being said on the topic, the expected utility of further argument is low. Sitting down in the laboratory and doing the actual work; contributing money and time to support those who are doing so; marketing for better public appreciation and campaigning for more resources for those who are doing the work - those are the things that retain their value.
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