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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Okay I wrote up a response to the article that we
read about us. I would like you all to read it and especially Natasha, let me
know if it's stamped to go and I will send it to the newspaper and to her email
address. This was the best I could do considering my time constrants.
g`</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=5></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=5>Extropian trash</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=5></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=5><FONT size=2><FONT color=#800080>This
is my personal response to the article that appeared in the San Francisco Bay
Guardian <A
href="http://www.sfbg.com/38/50/x_techsploitation.html">http://www.sfbg.com/38/50/x_techsploitation.html</A> .
I wrote this article because I felt compelled to clarify some of the uninformed
statements made in this article. This response has not been written by the
Extropians, the opinions expressed are my own.</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>1.)I HATE THE </B>extropians.</DIV>
<P><FONT color=#800080>1.) "<EM>Hate"</EM> (capitalized non the less) is a
strong word from some one I have never met and has never met me. Even
though I strongly disagree with the author's opinions regarding my Extropian
friends, I do not <EM>hate</EM> the author and this dialog would not benefit
anyone, including myself, especially if I am trying to establish a rational
point.</FONT>
<P>2.) I just can't say enough bad things about their whole stupid, late
1980s-Los Angeles robot cult philosophy, which I'm convinced was inspired by a
combination of Christianity, transactional analysis, and (perhaps worst of all)
the science fiction of Robert Heinlein.
<P><FONT color=#800080>2.) I am not a roboticist nor a Christian, and Heinlein
did not influence me to be interested in anything or support anyone.</FONT>
<P>3.) Picture this: It's 1985, and a bunch of people, too young to have been
hippies, too old to understand yet that Massachusetts Institute of Technology's
Media Lab is doomed to be irrelevant, are still recovering from having grown up
during the 1960s "rocket age."
<P><FONT color=#800080>3.) I was not raised in the 1960's and in 1985 I was
still in school. In fact, I believe I was born the same year as the author of
this article. So this sociological analysis is a generalization, and an
unfounded one at that. I have met many Extropians of many ages, with
many diverse personalities, interests and belief systems, who do not fit
into the above described box. </FONT>
<P>4.) Now they're living in California
<P><FONT color=#800080>4.) We live all over America as well as over seas. I am
currently not living in California. However, I do understand the association
that is being drawn, technology and Silicon Valley are being married
together here, however a location does not dictate a state of mind. </FONT>
<P>5.) doing boring jobs or going to stupid private universities,
<P><FONT color=#800080>5.) First let me say that I am surprised that private
universities are described as <EM>"stupid"</EM>. I personally have not been to
enough private universities to study the curriculum or how well the system
functions, nor have I studied the statistics to determine or form an opinion on
the current bar of education at these facilities as compared to other
universities, but perhaps the author has done so, and has simply left the
evidence out of the article. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>I also do not know where the information of Extropians
have <EM>"boring jobs"</EM> or attending <EM>"private universities"</EM>
was received from. The word <EM>"boring"</EM> is highly subjective, so
what is boring for one is not boring for another, thus the statement itself is
speculative. I know many Extropians who do very exciting, intellectual and
productive work. I also am married to a Harvard PhD graduate, my best friend
attended M.I.T. and many of my Extropian friends have attended a myriad of
schools, and some have not attended any. Their jobs, are also just as
diverse, from artists to astronomers. </FONT>
<P> 6.) and the flying cars they were promised on <I>The Jetsons</I> are
nowhere to be seen. Plus, nobody has cured cancer,
<P><FONT color=#800080>6.) This is a very, very, crucial point that I am glad
the author has pointed out. In 1993 nanotechnology was introduced to me. When I
realized the potential benefits that future applications of this emerging
technology could have on society, I began my research (see <A
href="http://www.nanoindustries.com">www.nanoindustries.com</A>). In particular
one of the most intriguing </FONT><FONT color=#800080>is the impact it
will have on biotechnology. The theorized treatments and monitors could
change the face of medicine. It has been over a decade now and I have now been
happily married to a man for four years (married 2000), the love of my
life, who helped organize one of the first nanotechnology
conferences, wrote many articles and edited books on the topic, and is a
loving, caring person (see #12). It was our common interest in
nanotechnology that in fact, brought us together. In May, he was diagnosed
with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, and is currently undergoing
chemotherapy. Would I prefer that my husband could have the advantages of
nanotechnology or other advances as an alternative to the tiring and immune
suppressive chemotherapy that he is now undergoing, absolutely. Would I like the
same to be available for others, absolutely. We both would like to see the
continuation and aide of medical and other advances continue in a safe and
educated manner. Today when you are ill, you go to the hospital to receive
treatment, it's not considered selfish (see #11) we access technology to
help alleviate our pain and cure what ails us. We use technology to
communicate via website, like I have, like the author of this article has. Just
because technology is often scary when it is not here yet, we can not ignore
it's usefulness, even in today's world. This doesn't mean that we can not
contemplate the benefits and the risks either, that is exactly the sort of
debate that goes on within the Extropian community. How do we guide, how do we
prevent, etc.</FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>It was many years after my interest in nanotechnology
that I discovered the Extropians (I believe it was 1998?). I found a place where
I could address the big questions in life in an intelligent forum with
insightful people. There was not only discussion of my particular interest,
but also philosophical issues, art, science, language, psychology, music, space,
the universe, genetics, current events, history, biology, ethics, the
environment, the mind, the list could go on and on. The topics are not one
sided, opinions vary and these are expressed in healthy debate. This type of
dialog is an example of how communication is often education. </FONT>
<P>7.) the light-filled aliens haven't arrived to impart wisdom,
<P><FONT color=#800080>7.) Do I really have to express that I have never
expected such an arrival?</FONT>
<P>8.) and there still isn't an anti-aging drug they can take to preserve their
wrinkle-free,
<P>preternatural tans.
<P><FONT color=#800080>8.) I have no idea what she means by this? I don't even
tan, in fact, I glow in the dark.</FONT>
<P>9.) So they get into self-improvement, but with a high-tech twist. They call
their movement "extropy" – you know, like the opposite of "entropy," the process
of slowing down and descending into chaos. Extropy is supposedly a way of always
progressing, growing, and transforming oneself, particularly by using science.
And the extropians<B> </B>decide that science is going to save them from
everything, especially growing old and dying. It will be just like heaven, only
with a lot more tantric sex and smart drugs.
<P><FONT color=#800080>9.) I have never heard the term <EM>"heaven"</EM> used to
describe the future that we hope for. What I have heard is a need for resolution
of the problems that we currently face. Every day we watch the news and are all
somberly aware that there are things that we need to work on. We live in a world
of suffering, hunger, disease, pollution, why would we not try to investigate
and support solutions for these problems? </FONT>
<P>10.) Some of them start theorizing that in the future they'll be able to
upload their brains into computers. Others request that their bodies or heads be
cryogenically frozen after they die so they can be revived,
<I>Futurama</I>-style, in a far-distant future in which everything is perfect
and glorious and subject only to the laws of extropy.
<P><FONT color=#800080>10.) Cryonics suspension does not mean that those who are
revived will be revived in a "far-distant, <EM>Futurama-style</EM>" future,
but rather when the technology to revive them becomes available, <EM>when
ever</EM> that is. That could be five years from now or a hundred years from
now. The goal is not to wake up in a "perfect" futuristic world, but merely to
wake up! </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>Something else to note: not everyone who is an
Extropian is signed up for cryonics and not everyone signed up for
cryonics is an Extropian.</FONT>
<P>11.) You think I'm kidding, don't you? But I'm not. The extropian<B>
</B>thing only got more popular all through the 1990s, riding the wave of
dot-com psychosis into a mire of self-help delusions. Calling themselves
"transhumanists" or "posthumanists," the extropians<B> </B>continue to preach
longevity and techno-rapture and, occasionally, hedonism. Most of all, they
proselytize for rampant individualism: it's all about achieving your dreams,
making real life into science fiction so you can be whatever you want.
<P><FONT color=#800080>11.) This goes back to the answer above (#9),
the descriptions used here "self-help delusions", "occasionally,
hedonism" (#6), and "rampant individualism" are not at all applicable
descriptions when you look at the fact that our group is interested in
benefiting society as a whole. Of course if you imagine a world that is better
for all, you can also imagine a world that is better for the individual. There
are many benefits in the world today that can be seen as benefiting the whole
and the individual, much of the advances accomplished today do so. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>Supporting technology does not mean that we believe
anybody can do <EM>"whatever you want"</EM>, we are not envisioning anarchy. Our
moral fibre is intact. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>Our vision of the future is to utilize advancements to
achieve a healthy environment, healthy bodies, healthy minds, and general well
being. This is the same vision that we have for the majority used today in
bringing all of our advances into our daily lives, at the doctors, at work,
in our pockets and into our kitchens and living rooms. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>And to quote "<EM>it's all about achieving your
dreams"</EM>, when did that become a faux pas? Isn't that what our grandmothers
and mothers told us since we were small children? So isn't the alternative to
say, don't follow your dreams, be unhappy, that doesn't make any sense to
me.</FONT>
<P>12.) It's precisely the kind of pseudo-religion that would appeal to people
whose lifelong devotion to high-tech capitalism leaves them with no value system
other than personal accumulation.
<P><FONT color=#800080>12.) Extropy is not a</FONT><FONT
color=#800080> religious structure. My personal experience with fellow
members has not displayed the lack of "value system" that the author describes.
It's shocking that we are some how mis-interpreted as non-human and non-hearted
folk, just because we want to see technology continue to help
solve the worlds problems. Extropians are just as caring, family oriented
and generous as any of the most kind people anybody else knows in their own
lives. There have been times in my life where I turned to my Extropian friends
and they all came to my aide in my time of need (#11), and I am
referring emotional need (#14). </FONT><FONT color=#800080>We all have
families and friends, we all have compassion and there are those of us who are
not well enough off to invest in the "high-tech" companies or even to
"accumulate" things. If materialism was a requirement, I and others certainly
wouldn't be there.</FONT>
<P>13.) After all, extropian<B> </B>heaven is automatically within reach if you
can afford all the life-extending gadgets and pills that will supposedly hit the
marketplace any day now. I suppose that's why various stripes of extropianism
have flowered among professional geeks who want to believe there's something
more to existence than coding all day. Of course, that something is just more of
the very same life they're<B> </B>already leading – which means they'll outlive
their retirement on all that Google stock money.
<P><FONT color=#800080>13.) Again, I am speaking personally here, I have no
Google investment (money again?), and I do not take pills, except for
"Flintstones Complete".</FONT> <FONT color=#800080>But I do strongly disagree
with the idea that taking protein powders or life extension pills is wrong.
Why? Are vitamins wrong? Is medication wrong? Is healthy eating wrong? Is
exercise wrong? It's the same thing. It's a personal choice to care for your
body so you can live a long and healthy life for yourself and those around you.
</FONT>
<P>14.) Although not yet as powerful as other annoying cults like evangelical
Christianity and Scientology, transhumanism definitely has the potential to
catch on, big time. First of all, it's already fairly popular among members of
the nerd elite, who have money and control the blogosphere (I have a sudden urge
to invent extropian<B> </B>blog conspiracy theories!).
<P><FONT color=#800080>14.) Why is there this instance that we all have money, I
imagine some of us do, but if I do, please kindly send me the safe deposit key
so that I may access it. During this time with my husbands illness and our
insurance companies lack of ability to pay for the treatments, we sure could use
it.</FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>People who speculate on theories, discuss and
support the possibilities of technology or the future, do not need
money to do so. </FONT>
<P>15.) Maybe some of them can create an ExtroPAC that funds politicians who
agree to support foolish longevity research. Plus, the extropians are a perfect
fit for the U.S. political system because they appear to offer an alternative
way of thinking while actually reinforcing the status quo.
<P><FONT color=#800080>15.) Extropy is not associated with any political
party.</FONT>
<P>16.) Extropians, for all their future worship,
<P><FONT color=#800080>16.) We do not "worship" the future, as the future is yet
untold, we are only discussing and preparing for it to be a better future than
days gone by.</FONT>
<P>17.) are part of the same cultural bent toward superstition that has led
George W. Bush and other right-wingers to proclaim that stem cells are full of
little souls, abortion is murder, global warming isn't a threat, and
peer-to-peer networks are used primarily to disseminate child pornography. The
only difference between a Bush conservative and a transhumanist is that
conservatives project their fears onto technologies they don't understand, while
transhumanists project their hopes. Either way, you've got a magical
interpretation of science being advanced as a creepy political agenda.
<P><FONT color=#800080>17.) This analogy is somewhat confusing.</FONT> <FONT
color=#800080>While I agree with the insinuation the author has regarding George
W. Bush (and I am speaking for myself, not the Extropians), I am not clear on
how we are just like him except for <EM>"projecting hope"</EM>? This is a very
odd metaphor since the author almost seems to be agreeing with my ideologies so
the parallel is almost the proof!</FONT>
<P>18.) And let there be no doubt about it: the extropian<B> </B>agenda is
creepy. Who wants to live forever in a world where only the richest people in
developed countries will become immortal? It's not as if there's going to be a
special cryogenics fund for everybody in Kenya and Chile.
<P><FONT color=#800080>18.) Extropy is not just cryonic suspension (the term
cryogenics is a related procedural general term). Yes Extropians see the
advantages of future technological applications, much in the same we are
currently living with the benefits of modern medicine. However, not every single
Extropian is signed up for cryonic suspension. Since the Extropian movement does
not include only members who believe in "such and such technology" it is more
generally open since emerging technologies tend to relate to each other. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>Another point is, that it is not expensive to sign up for
cryonics, if you opt to pay by simply paying a standard insurance payment rather
than a flat fee.</FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080>Nanotechnology for example would give those who live in
poverty access to manufacture their own supplies for practically no cost due to
it's use of raw materials. </FONT>
<P>19.) In order for people to live forever in the transhumanist future, some
people will still have to live like trash. Sounds sort of like entropy to me.
<P><FONT color=#800080>19.) I'm not sure what the author means by "live like
trash". If I were to assume that she meant those who are not financially secure,
then I would also assume those who are not, might find the "trash" reference
objectionable. With that said, there are very wide distances between the rich
and the poor in the world we in live in today (#18). Many of the technologies we
as Extropians discuss, aim to shorten that distance. </FONT>
<P><FONT color=#800080></FONT>
<P><B>20.) Annalee Newitz (<A
href="mailto:lycanthropy@techsploitation.com">lycanthropy@techsploitation.com</A>)
is a surly media nerd and spazhumanist who would rather die than be an
extropian. Her column also appears in Metro, Silicon Valley's weekly
newspaper.</B> <!-- #EndEditable --></P></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT color=#800080>20.) I tried to look the word
"spazhumanist" up, but apparently it's not a real word.</FONT> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gina "Nanogirl" Miller<BR>Nanotechnology
Industries<BR><A
href="http://www.nanoindustries.com">http://www.nanoindustries.com</A><BR>Personal:
<A
href="http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html">http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html</A><BR>Foresight
Senior Associate <A
href="http://www.foresight.org">http://www.foresight.org</A><BR>Nanotechnology
Advisor Extropy Institute <A
href="http://www.extropy.org">http://www.extropy.org</A><BR>Tech-Aid Advisor <A
href="http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html">http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html</A><BR>Email:
<A
href="mailto:nanogirl@halcyon.com">nanogirl@halcyon.com</A><BR>"Nanotechnology:
Solutions for the future."<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>