From: Evan Reese (evansreese@directvinternet.com)
Date: Sun Apr 14 2002 - 07:58:47 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Goertzel" <ben@goertzel.org>
To: <sl4@sysopmind.com>
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 6:49 AM
Subject: RE: Why bother (was Re: Introducing myself)
> > >
> > > So I would advise people to work toward Singularity and toward a
> > > state of psychology and sociology geared toward abundance and .
> > > producing an unlimited future. I would advise everyone to work
> > > toward it as if your life and the life and destiny of the entire
> > > human race depends on it. Because it does.
> > >
> > No, it doesn't
>
>
> I really think the responsible, mature statement is: It MIGHT.
>
When I first heard Vinge's prediction of the Singularity, in '86, he used
the phrase 'falling into a technological singularity.'. That statement was
made before anyone began working consciously toward it. Everything I have
observed indicates to me that his prediction is basically correct in terms
of the image of falling. So when people say such things as: 'We must work
toward this thing because our survival depends on it.', or some such, it
just doesn't make any sense to me.
> Isn't there something to be said for accepting the ambiguity of life, and
> the difficulty of predicting the future?
>
Sure, but when you have 14 billion years of accelerating change behind you,
a prediction that that acceleration will continue without some really major
obstruction is not all that ambiguous. And I haven't heard any real
evidence as to the existence of any major obstructions put forth here. Just
a lot of half-baked paranoia, mostly based on fear of the unknown.
>
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