[extropy-chat] transhumanism=doomsday cult b.s?

[Jeyasankar Kottalam]

On 1/30/07, kevin.osborne <kevin.osborne at gmail.com> wrote:
> tell me if I'm wrong but:
>
> - is transhumanism just another refuge for norm-rejecting
> fringe-dwellers seeking yet another hippie/indie/alternative refuge
> from their non-conformity?
> - is it just another 'salvation' cult for ex-fundamental religious
> nutjobs who've found that atheism, too, might provide them with
> eternal life in the kingdom of (upload-)heaven?
[snip]

I don't have any data that I can point at to make a claim about
whether you're right or wrong, but the rationalists would be willing
to abandon any beliefs that they hold that are debunked. So if the
fanciful notions of strong AI, mind uploads, nanotechnology, etc etc
turn out to be impossible or shown to be extremely unlikely, I don't
think most people would have a problem abandoning the idea. These are
still data and fact based claims, even if combined with a good amount
of speculation.  Right now the trends and data doesn't exclude these
possibilities, and (in my opinion) a decent case has been made that
these or similar scenarios are plausible or likely.

Most of your list is pretty pessimist-oriented, I think
"singularitarians" and "extropians" are more like serious optimists.
:-)

-Jey Kottalam