[extropy-chat] Sasha is alive!

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

"Think big, act small" may work for both space and time.
I completely agree with what you say. The idea that they might be a
step on the road that eventually leads to the dead being restored may
be a powerful motivation (for some) to do their best at developing
today's molecular electronic computers.
G.


On 1/1/07, Russell Wallace <russell.wallace at gmail.com> wrote:
> Will it ever be possible to bring back people like Sasha? I don't know.
> There's nothing in our current understanding of physical law that would
> permit such a thing even in principle, but we don't know everything about
> how the universe works; maybe some future understanding will give a
> different verdict.
>
> But it's not something that merits argument. There's a distinction to be
> drawn between ultimate vision and current effort.
>
> Most people (myself included) need some sort of transcendent vision to
> inspire them to work towards a brighter future. Different visions work for
> different people; the idea that our dead might ultimately be restored is a
> beautiful one, and will be all the more so if it turns out to be true; let
> those of us who can't quite believe it acknowledge the unknowability and
> hold onto something that does work for us.
>
> The environmentalists have a saying: think globally, act locally. That's
> exactly what we need to do, except in time rather than space. Let's not
> confuse the ultimate and the imminent; rather let our transcendent visions
> inspire us to work on projects that can be realistically accomplished in the
> foreseeable future. Does it make sense to work today on a resurrection
> machine? No. Does it make sense to work today on, say, molecular electronic
> computers, with the idea that they might be a step on the road that
> eventually leads to the dead being restored - and will have a lot of other
> applications before then? Absolutely.
>
> "Think globally, act locally" - I wish I were that good at coining phrases!
> It would be nice if we did have an equally snappy temporal version - any
> ideas anyone?
>
> Happy 2007!
>
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