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From arkuat@netcom.com Wed Aug 10 04:14:59 1994
Date: Tue, 02 Aug 94 00:51:51 -0700
From: Eric Watt Forste 
Reply to: extropians@extropy.org
To: Extropians@extropy.org
Subject: FAQ: Request For Comments, version 0.02

FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT EXTROPIANS -- version 0.02

Q1: What's an extropian?
Q2: Why do so many extropians oppose the government on nearly every issue?
Q3: Why do so many extropians oppose environmentalism?
Q4: Are extropians elitist? (Why are extropians so elitist?)
Q5: Do extropians live differently, or is it all theory?

Additional questions which have yet to be "answered" may be found at the
end of this document.

	#

Q1: What's an extropian?

A1: When most people come across extropians, a few things stand out in 
the image they form. These are not necessarily the most important or 
defining characteristics of extropians, but for what it's worth, here 
are two things that you will probably notice the most at first. 

(1) Extropians tend to advocate technologies that seem a little weird to
many nonextropians, or technological solutions to problems that many
people don't even think of as problems. Just a few examples are space
development, cryonics, life extension, artificial intelligence, and
smart drugs.

(2) You will find that politically, extropians are close kin to the
libertarians, including some anarchists, some classical liberals, and
even a political neoconservative or two. But keep in mind, too, that
many extropians have no interest in politics at all, and many are
actively anti-political.

An extropian is an optimist, a neophile, an explorer. An extropian is
curious, critical, courageous. An extropian takes responsibility for his
or her own actions and explorations, and appreciates it when others do
the same. An extropian wants growth, increase, and a better life. An
extropian wants to understand things. An extropian finds more value in
living people than in dead ones. An extropian questions and experiments.
An extropian does not rely on authorities as the final word. An
extropian wants to improve.

My apologies to those who are beginning to notice the similarity to the
Boy Scout Law. The most important rule of all, though, which is rigidly
enforced and to which no exceptions are allowed, is this: extropians are
never, ever dogmatic. (Also, extropians have no sense of humor.)

For a more thorough explanation of what an extropian is, read "The
Extropian Principles 2.5" by Max More, in EXTROPY #11. This document is
also available on the World-Wide Web at
http://www.c2.org/~arkuat/princip.html, and by FTP from 
***insert ftp spec here***

	#

Q2: Why do so many extropians oppose the government on nearly every issue?

A2: There are many reasons for this, and different reasons will be most
important to different extropians. One of the extropian principles is
the idea of spontaneous order, which is seen in systems as diverse as
ecosystems, artificial neural networks, agoric computer systems, the
human brain, biological evolution, and market economic systems. Many of
the things that the government tries to do from good intentions could be
better handled by spontaneous voluntary systems, and often governments'
attempts to impose involuntary "solutions" to problems do more harm than
good. Although the principle of spontaneous order is applicable to much
more than just social organization, it is this aspect that many
extropians like to emphasize.

Another reason why many extropians oppose government mandates and
prohibitions is that extropians generally wish to experiment toward
improving their capabilities. Mandates and prohibitions invariably limit
the allowable range of experimentation. Regulation of mind-altering and
nootropic drugs is one example; rigid regulations which forestall
experimentation with other forms of economic organization is another.

One good book (of many) which explains some of the reasons why many
extropians disapprove of governmental action is THE MACHINERY OF
FREEDOM, by David D. Friedman.

	#

Q3: Why do so many extropians oppose environmentalism?

A3: Many extropians consider themselves environmentalists. Many other
extropians are actively opposed to "the environmentalist movement".
There are several things about the environmentalist movement as a whole
that individual extropians may find annoying. The environmentalist
movement has a history of deliberate exaggeration of threats, with the
attitude that the end ("saving the earth") justifies the means (lying).
In particular, most public discussion of "global warming" is rife with
disinformation, and public discussion of the ozone hole in the southern
hemisphere is generally ignorant of the actual numbers involved and the
assumptions behind the usual presumption of catastrophe.

Many radical environmentalists would also like to freeze or reverse all
development and change, thinking that nature as it exists now is the
best we can do, and that *all* changes are bad. This flies directly in
the face of many extropian values. Most extropians are agreed that the
benefits of measures to protect the environment should be weighed
against the costs of those measures, but in contrast to this, some
radical environmentalists demand that we "save the earth at any cost".
For some extropians, the issue is that the environment is not the only
thing that we place value on, and we do not want to see all the other
things we value sacrificed at the altar of the environment: in the long
run, preserving the environment unaltered may prove to be of lesser
value than some of things we are asked to sacrifice to that end.

For other extropians, the issue is simply that in the long-run
accelerating technological progress will solve the very problems that
environmentalists are so fearful of: genetic technology will enable the
archiving and future revival of species whose environments are
threatened right now, future technologies will be less polluting than
current ones (this has been the historical pattern to date), advances in
agricultural technology and changes in social attitudes toward large
families will roll back much of the expansion of agricultural societies
into currently threatened ecosystems (again, this has been the
historical pattern we have seen in North America, for instance).

One good book (of many) which explains some of the fundamental
disagreements between extropians and the mainstream environmentalist
movement is THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE, by Julian Simon.

	#

Q4: Are extropians elitist? (Why are extropians so elitist?)

A4: Extropians may be elitist in one sense, but they are not at all
exclusive. Being an extropian doesn't mean you have to be any better
at anything than anyone else; it simply means you like the idea of
steadily increasing your own abilities beyond their *current*
levels. If the extropians are an elite, they are an elite which
everyone is invited to join, and the only barriers to membership are
those imposed by your own force of habit and whatever tendency you may
now have to think self-deprecatingly, in terms of insurmountable
limitations rather than possibilities for development.

	#

Q5: Do extropians live differently, or is it all theory?

A5: Some people who espouse extropian ideas do live indistinguishably
from their neighbors, but here are some of the things that extropians
are doing right now or have done already. Many extropians are
deliberately designing and pursuing their own life extension programs
relying on dietary changes, nutrient supplementation, exercise, use of
pharmaceuticals with demonstrated life-extending effects, and regular
laboratory tests of biomarkers of aging. Many extropians have arranged
legally and financially for cryonic biostasis in the event of their
accidental deanimation. Extropians have made career choices based on
their extropian ideas; many are software engineers, neuroscientists,
aerospace engineers, cryptologists, privacy consultants, designers of
institutions, mathematicians, philosophers, and medical doctors
researching life-extension techniques. Some extropians are very active
in libertarian politics, and in legal challenges to abuse of
government power. What most extropians do consistently and often is
think hard about, and discuss, the changes the future will bring,
thereby immunizing themselves against future shock and helping to
prepare themselves to take advantage of the opportunities (and protect
against the dangers) that future developments will bring.

Romana Machado has written an essay addressing this question, entitled
"Five Things You Can Do To Fight Entropy Now". In this essay, she
discusses techniques extropians have used to advance their physical
health, mental health, self-defense, financial security, and preparation
for accidental deanimation. ***insert WWW or FTP reference here***

	#

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE YET TO RECEIVE STANDARD ANSWERS:
(most of these were suggested by Max More in private mail)

Is "extropy" the opposite of "entropy"?

What is uploading? (Pull material from Merkle's article or from JoSH's 
sidebar in #13.)

What do "transhuman" and "posthuman" mean?

If you call yourself an Extropian, is it expected that you believe in 
particular technologies?

What do Extropians think of cryonics/biostasis?

Do Extropians organize to achieve shared goals?

How do I subscribe to Extropy: The Journal of Transhumanist Thought? 
How can I become a member of Extropy Institute? 

What do Extropians think of religion?

What are typical Extropians' attitudes towards women, minority racial
groups, and people of nonstandard sexual preferences?

What does [arbitrary term] mean? Add Extropicon.

	#

Eric Watt Forste || finger arkuat@c2.org || http://www.c2.org/~arkuat