curse you, Karza!

[aethyrflux]

x-posted from a discussion in a private forum, concerning the necromantic aspects of regenerative &/or medical technology, (continuing in a similar theme to the "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" post on 2004-08-11 @ 05:57:00

Comments

[lassiter]

i'm thinking that we need to avoid creating the scenario in which the Shoggoths revolted against their masters, destroying The Elder Things' civilization, y'know? it seems that we've got to develop more mature ethics to keep pace with our technologies. not some kind of dogmatic moralism; but perhaps reason & responsibility can provide the inspiration?

That appears to be our only hope (at least as humans - the cockroaches will still probably survive). I think that's what R.A. Wilson was talking about when he advocated a "stupidity vaccine." How do we keep our serpent and monkey brains from abusing the potential of all the wonderful toys our frontal lobes have created? And we have to do this without losing the important functions and wisdom that our serpent and monkey brains contain.

It appears that this is a major test for this particular branch of evolutionary development, and the time alloted to successfully complete the exam is finite.
Fortunately, it's an open-book exam. Grab those Bucky Fuller volumes quickly. ;)

[aethyrflux]

yeah, i suppose that's another reason why i have respect for the coleopterans...

y'know, we sure could use your input @ the mojo meetings!

your wisdom and sense of humor would also make for good comics, have you ever considered doing a comic strip? (ahem, you know what i mean... in the funny papers?)

[lassiter]

I've actually been plotting to attend the mojo meetings for a few weeks now, but last-minute things keep coming up. Hopefully soon.

[aethyrflux]

this week's mojo meeting would be ideal to conduct a psychodrama experiment!

Hmmm.....

[buddhalotus]

For some reason all of this so reminds me of the WWII when we got a little to happy with atomic weapons. There was this delicate period of time when we could have blown ourselves and this whole planet up. I suppose we still could. But when humans get such great powers in our hands we don't always quit understand what we are dealing with nor do we always understand the full consequences of our actions. In the wrong hands almost anything can be abused.

Re: Hmmm.....

[aethyrflux]

atomic weapons

hey, that's exactly what i was referring to with the quote, "i have become death, destroyer of worlds" in the previous post in this vein!

...with great power comes great responsibility.

Re: Hmmm.....

[buddhalotus]

Go Spider Man....(:

EXCELSIOR!

[aethyrflux]

this does seem to be the defining aspect of heroism...

scroll down to the bottom of this hyperlinked page
to see the original panel where this phrase appeared,
in which the exact quote is:

"And a lean, silent figure
slowly fades into the
gathering darkness, aware
at last that in this world,
with great power there
must also come -- great
responsibility!"

- from Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962),
the first appearance of Spider-Man,
created by Stan "The Man" Lee
& Steve "Didn't have a nickname" Ditko

[anonymous]

This reminds me of what Wilber refers to as the conflict of Ascending and Descending Paths. Both paths tend to extremes, and what would ultimately benefit humans on the path of Spiritual Enrichment. Krishna Consciousness refers to this as walking the razors edge.
Neither Left or Right Hand but balance between the two. I have also Been trying to develop an economic theory along these lines. Somewhere between Unbridaled Capitalism and Gift Economy.
Balance through Chaos.

[earthmonkey23]

that previous post was me