ahab as luddite

[Otto]

My problem is that I think that both Kai and David are right.

Kai is right because I believe that once started the show will go on and on
and nobody is going to stop it if the economy runs well on it.

David is right because it has started already so the chances for stopping it
are over for good.

"(...) most of the rest of us poor sheep have always been stuck with simple,
standard fear. I think we all have tried to deal with this slow escalation
or our helplessness and terror in the few ways open to us, from not thinking
about about it to going crazy from it." (Slow Learner Intro, 18)

"If our world survives, the next great challenge to watch out for will
come - you heard it here first - when the curves of research and development
in artificial intelligence, molecular biology and robotics all converge.
Oboy."
(Is it OK to be a Luddite?)

Otto

----- Original Message -----
From: Terrance <lycidas2 at earthlink.net>
To: Otto <o.sell at telda.net>
Cc: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 3:54 PM
Subject: Re: ahab as luddite


>
>
> Otto wrote:
> >
> > Then I would like a math chip and some additional megabytes of ram in my
> > brain.
> >
> > Otto
>
> Additional? This is silly really, think of how the metaphor for the
> brain and the body has changed over the years, but the human brain is
> nothing like a computer or a clock. Surely Plato was closer when he said
> the brain is a womb. the brain works more like the stomach or the skin
> or an earthworm than a computer.