[extropy-chat] Fwd: Robert Anton Wilson 1932 - 2007 (2)

[Jay Dugger]

Saturday, 13 January 2007

On 1/13/07, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 1/12/07, Jay Dugger wrote:

> >
> > <rant>
[snip]
> >
> > I ultimately decided I had no need for short-sighted hypocrites among
> > my friends. A painful decision indeed, but one worth making.
> >
> > </rant>
>
[snip]


> You could get far more than 1,000 out of 300 million to encourage you
> in almost any enterprise.  Magic, UFOs, crystal healing, psychics,
> astrology, etc.
> (You may claim that there are more than 1,000 who support cryonics but
> have not signed up yet. Possibly true, but it is a pretty polarizing
> subject).
>

Noted, but I don't understand what you argue here. The popularity of
an idea does not signify its truthfulness any more than the popularity
of a movie or music signifies its artistic merit.

[snip]

> sort of thing. You shouldn't be trying to make cryonics into an
> article of faith by banishing non-believers into the wilderness.

You calling the lack of my company "wilderness" flatters me too much. :)

I agree with you that cryonics shouldn't serve as an article of faith.
Humanity has quite enough blind belief, and could use a lot less of
that. I agree with the obvious: cryonics remains unproven. I really
don''t care whether anyone thinks it might someday lead to
resuscitation. I think there exists a small non-zero chance it will,
but my former friends never once asked me. Their refusal was based on
religious faith (by definition surpassing understanding) or a snap
judgment. Irrational in the first case and thoughtless in the second.
Not the kind of people I wanted for friends, and I couldn't keep
ignoring that.

-- 
Jay Dugger
http://jaydugger.suprglu.com
Sometimes the delete key serves best.