virus: RE:We got a Malthusian crisis here

David Leeper (DLEEPER@sybase.com)
Fri, 27 Oct 95 18:07:00 PDT


>>We are at
>>a point in history where a new kind of thinking is going to be required to
>>ensure our survival on this planet and beyond. Perhaps THAT is a
motivation
>>for bringing Virus to the masses.

I know I'm new to this list, and I _don't_ mean this to be insulting, but
GIVE ME A BREAK. The world is not going to be saved by a few dozen folks
posting strange stuff on the net. Besides, the world doesn't need to be
saved. Our genes have everything under control. Our memes will be hard
pressed to overthrow that control.

Dave Leeper
dleeper@sybase.com
"The power of Reason is that it frees us from the blinders of Religion." -
Dave Leeper
----------
From: virus-owner
To: virus
Subject: virus: We got a Malthusian crisis here
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 6:58PM

Deron Stewart wrote:

> ...two worlds: One, with 3 billion humans pursuing
>technology, science, and the arts along with vast unspoiled wilderness and
>endless natural beauty; The other with 15 billion people in which a small
>fraction are advancing human knowledge and many are living in misery, and
>nature has been obliterated.
>
>Few of us would choose the second path but collectively that is exactly
>what's happening. The root of the explanation for this lies in Game Theory,
>with each person maximizing their local "pleasure" at the expense of the
>global maximum. I would hope that a rational philosophy would attempt to
>transcend this kind of limitation.

I could not agree more. I think that this is one of the driving forces
behind both Extropianism and Virus, whether consciously or not. We are at
a point in history where a new kind of thinking is going to be required to
ensure our survival on this planet and beyond. Perhaps THAT is a motivation
for bringing Virus to the masses.

-Tyson