From: Hermit (hidden@lucifer.com)
Date: Fri May 10 2002 - 18:28:44 MDT
[.:bricoleur:.] **My first post to the list - so hi everyone and thanks for the excellent brain exercise material at the CoV site and here**
[Hermit] Hi to you too.
[Hermit] Nice, careful thought stimulating first post. Thanks.
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[.:bricoleur:.] I was wondering what peoples thoughts on the following? - below is an extract. [from url=http://www.nick2211.yage.net/chips.htm]
<snip>
[Hermit] While I disagree very fundamentally with the methodology (indulging in fantasy as a means of reaching a conclusion is IMO unhelpful - although it can assist in viewing problems from multiple perspectives, any conclusions reached are despite, not because of such thinking) and many of the purported arguments in the article (particularly the economic which are not supported by history or fact), I think we have reached not dissimilar conclusions about mankind and its future.
[Hermit] In particular, I liked most of the ending (Refer also Darwin's Radio, by Greg Bear (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345435249/thechurchofvirusA) (A must read for all Virians IMO)):
Evolution of the Species
Increasing numbers of people believe that humanity is on the edge of a major evolutionary leap. And there is mounting evidence that many children born now are more developed than those before them. This may be the reason for the near epidemic in cases of hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder now being diagnosed in the West.
Those familiar with chaos theory and how living systems evolve will be aware that evolution does not proceed in a smooth and linear fashion. What typically happens is that a few members of a species evolve, followed by a major rearguard action thrown up by nature. Eventually the pressure builds up to such a level that nothing can stop the inevitable and the whole species rapidly rises to a new level of coherence and order. In the ancient writings of the East whence the elite derive their esoteric knowledge, it is believed that the ego, the sense of self, is ultimately just a defensive response we develop to block the experience of primordial fear. And thus it may be that the centuries of the elite's culture, the culture of the ego, is merely a natural rearguard action waiting to be swept away. Reach up and the future is ours.
[Hermit] Whether or not we are developing, we have to evolve or we will become irrelevant to the future. Of course, the claim that "the East" has developed "esoteric knowledge" is unsupported and unsupportable by anything published or even a brief glimpse at its turbulent and painful history, and its dependence on the West. In brief, the evidence of life in the East proves that even if "esoteric knowledge" exists, it is no more helpful than any other kind of knowledge, and indeed, a great deal inferior to occidental technologies and agricultural practices*.
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[.:bricoleur:.] Especially in view of the recent news that 8 people are to be implanted with ID chips; http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=959&m=4399 in "Blueprint for a Prison Planet" (http://www.nick2211.yage.net/chips.htm) there is a paragraph "The Future - Chips with Everything?" which paints the typical nightmare scenario (last paragraph of Part One).
[.:bricoleur:.] What do virians think about this issue?
[Hermit] Virians are encouraged to think - and reach conclusions - for themselves, but for what it is worth, I suspect that identity chips are a purely temporary necessity (DNA typing can prove identity far more reliably). Eventually we will have have more intelligent systems able to do a lot more for us than simply remember things (although if an implant offered a really large self-accesible memory and perhaps enhanced reasoning capabilities that in itself would be an irresistable reason for installing them), but, as an example I anticipate implants evolving quite rapidly to the point where they perform health monitoring (and probably damage minimization and repair).
[Hermit] For now, I see identity implants as being a useful but not compellingly so idea - you can't misplace information stored in one. I would be somewhat reluctant to see the technology adopted widely without appropriate volitional cryptological safeguards in place to control access and use.
[Hermit] More on this story at [url=http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=25477].
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Welcome again
Hermit
*[Hermit] And herein lies the weakness of all "conspiracy theory." Neither fact nor human nature suggests that any "secret" can be both useful and maintained, and the fact that fortunes rise and fall of nations, familiers and individuals gives the lie to assertions of continuous manipulation of society (except possibly by the Vatican, and even its power has varied greatly through the centuries - and as an institution it is now undoubtedly becoming obsolete).
---- This message was posted by Hermit to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25476>
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