[ExI] the big question

[Robert Bradbury]

On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 11:31 PM, Alan Brooks <alaneugenebrooks52 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> The big question is how much is unspoken resentment of the status quo
> resentment of the cosmos itself when the cosmos is not obligated to us in
> any way, isn't even obliged to pay attention to us?
> Celebrity culture has trickled down to the grassroots so there is an
> insistent message of "you must pay attention to me, I deserve it, society
> owes something to me ". Those such as Tim McVeigh commit a crime to say "the
> world must notice insignificant little me, so I blow up a building.
> Notoriety is my due. Gimme". Charles Manson goes to trial to mug for the
> camera and say "Give me your attention, It's me. You must notice poor little
> suffering violent little me ". Gimme.
>

The "poor little suffering me" argument disappears with the advent of
nanotechnology.  That was the point of my "Sapphire Mansions" paper many
years ago.  The "you do not notice me" argument cannot easily be
eliminated.  We all want to be noticed because that allows for sexual
opportunities which allow for reproduction.  So from the level of the genome
up we have a need to be noticed.  To shift that you have to say one should
engineer genomes which do not crave acknowledgment [1].  That potentially
creates an entirely different set of problems which we have extremely
experience with (Most species on earth are defined by their ability to be
noticed as potential mates.)

You can eliminate "poor" from the equation, but not the "suffering" due to
the fact that it may be self-defined.

Robert

1. The term "sociopath" comes to mind...
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