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<DIV><FONT size=2>On your aircraft taking off metaphor: neat, and that would
depend on the length of the runway, no? :) It might prove
interesting to examine "crash and burn" outcomes. (I reckon there are more
than grey goo or SkyNet -- or various permutations of civilization-destroying
wars.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Regarding cryonics, the harm would be lost effort put into
cryonics. Admittedly, that would be very small for almost all people, but
it's still a cost -- or, in your terms, a "harm." It's not zero, though it
might be tiny.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Dan</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://uweb1.superlink.net/~neptune/MyWorksBySubject.html">http://uweb1.superlink.net/~neptune/MyWorksBySubject.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=russell.wallace@gmail.com
href="mailto:russell.wallace@gmail.com">Russell Wallace</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org
href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">ExI chat list</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 19, 2006 2:39
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [extropy-chat] "The
Singularity Myth"</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>On 3/17/06, <A
href="mailto:starman2100@cableone.net">starman2100@cableone.net</A>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote><B class=gmail_sendername></B><<A
href="mailto:starman2100@cableone.net">starman2100@cableone.net</A>> wrote:
</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">Is
everyone here still a true believer when it comes to the
Singularity? I recall the past threads we have had here
<BR>regarding "hard" and "soft" take-off Singularities. And I can
remember when people said it would happen around 2025<BR>but the date seems
to keep on getting pushed back. lol</BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT><BR>Yes; soft takeoff variety; I don't know when, but
I'd guess late 21st century is more likely than early.<BR><BR>Someone in a
gaming group I was in back in the 90s told me that when an aircraft is taking
off, there are two critical points:<BR><BR>"V0" - when the plane is going too
fast to stop before it hits the end of the runway.<BR><BR>"V1" - when the
plane is going fast enough to get into the air.<BR><BR>Somewhat awkwardly, V0
comes before V1.<BR><BR>My character in that game used this as a metaphor: the
world is past V0. We either reach V1 or we crash and burn. I don't know what
the probability of success is, but it doesn't matter; what matters is what we
can do to improve it.</DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">Will
the "Techno-Rapture" still save us or must we look to cryonics? I
realize being driven over by a bus or getting <BR>terminal cancer could make
the Singularity a moot point anyway for an individual, and give great
impetus to being<BR>signed up for cryonics.<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>*shrug*
Nobody can foretell the future that accurately. It might come when you're
alive, it might not. If it does, being signed up for cryonics won't do any
harm. If not, it just might save your life. If continued life is a high
priority for you, this would suggest signing up for cryonics as the best
course of action.</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>