Today I got into a discussion with one of my coworkers about the idea of humans becoming immortal (a la Aubrey de Grey). I realized, not for the first time, that I am instinctively horrified by the idea of immortality and by the more general proposition that man can and should become perfect.
Later he sent me a link to The Venus Project, oriented to the perfection of man and society. Just looking at the drawings on the front page made me feel queasy, but here's something from the FAQ to muse on:
The Venus Project presents an alternative vision for a sustainable world civilization unlike any political, economic or social system that has gone before. It envisions a time in the near future when money, politics, self and national-interest have been phased out.
What is strange for me is that I simultaneously reject this kind of utopian ideal and cling to the ideals of American democracy and social progress. I do believe the world can be a better place; I've been working my ass off to that end for almost three years now and plan at it. Not to mention my love of fantastical and utopian science fiction. So why do these sorts of projects rile me up so much that I immediately dismiss them? What am I clinging to that is so offended by this kind of idea? Is it just that this kind of utopia would undermind the one that I believe in?
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(8)
01:11:39 AM,
Thursday 11 June 2009
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I just taught my mom how to attach a document to an email, and like always wondered whether my children will be any more patient when I call them up complaining about problems with my neural implants. Then Sumana pointed me to this strip from Penny Arcade.
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(3)
10:46:46 PM,
Monday 9 March 2009
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So I have this new job where I stand on the street and ask people for money. (I have a clipboard. That means I'm official.) Anyway, sometimes when we're doing this in a neighborhood I get to see amazing little moments in people's lives. Today I saw a boy in an elephant costume playing with a girl dressed like a leprechaun outside a cafe. They chased each other around with rolled-up newspaper "swords" for about an hour.
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(2)
01:30:05 AM,
Wednesday 4 March 2009
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I just googled the name of a friend and saw blog entries from other people who have met and appreciated her. Seeing this somehow compounds my own gratitude for her friendship. Sometimes the world is a wonderful place.
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(1)
11:58:40 PM,
Friday 27 February 2009
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Not long ago I realized that I must be having some difficulties with cultural readjustment, because my relationship with the iGoogle Teahouse Fox had taken on an unusually deep (and presumably one-sided) emotional aspect.
We're cool now, by the way.
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(2)
06:00:39 PM,
Sunday 22 February 2009
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Five Years by David Bowie. Check it out.
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03:09:06 PM,
Sunday 22 February 2009
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Overheard: A woman in the street outside, yelling, "See! Veganism did this to you!"
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12:27:55 AM,
Saturday 21 February 2009
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From last year (hey, I was in Africa!): Steven Stoll on the ecological limits of economic growth. Anybody remember what Adam Smith said about the economy in, what was it, Calcutta? With the New Great Depression we have a forcible reprieve, but it seems to me like we should be prodding the economy in a more sustainable direction. Sadly, we're not.
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01:18:32 PM,
Thursday 5 February 2009
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Thinking about financial matters (who isn't these days) reminded me of something I heard recently. I was unlocking my bike outside the post office when a pandhandler asked me for some change. I apologized, saying I didn't have any, and we got into a brief conversation. "When I was your age," he said, "I never thought things would turn out this way. I went to college, you know. You wouldn't think it..." He complained about the people who ignored him as they passed by, and continued, "They just work and work and all they care about is money. They don't know that no matter how much you have, it's never enough. It's never enough."
"I disagree," I said. "I think we can have enough."
What do you think?
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(8)
04:35:48 AM,
Wednesday 4 February 2009
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The Mormon church reported $190,000 in expenses for promoting Prop. 8, the narrowly-passed ballot intiative that amended the California State Constitution to invalidate gay marriage. Do you think this invalidates their tax-exempt status?
My inclination is to say yes, but then I'm biased for gay marriage (and against the Mormon church, although considerably less so). So I'm trying to think of a parallel situation where my sympathies would support the church. Quaker abolitionists?
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(6)
04:47:44 PM,
Monday 2 February 2009
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