The Struldbrug Fallacy : An essay by Extropia DaSilva

This essay published at the Transumanar-website explains the principles of extropianism from the mainstream-transhumanist principles of life extension to the high shock-level principles of disassembling the planets in our solar system to turn them into giant solar power collectors (and thus the reaching of mankind of a Kardashev scale type II civiliation .

Just a matter of drawing the line.

Extropy means seeking more intelligence, wisdom, and effectiveness…perpetually overcoming constraints on our progress and possibilities as individuals, as organizations, and as a species.

When I first read these words in 1997, written down by Max More in the “Extropian principles” I knew I was with my people. 

Of course (and this is why the title of the essay refers to the race of immortal people in Swift’s novel “Gulliver’s Travels”) there are always questions about how boring eternal life would be (as if eternal death would be more interesting…) and our duty to make room for future generations, a question that was asked me this month for an interview in the Dutch magazine “Quest” (and my answer was: “I have no objection if someone is willing to make room for future generations, but I for one am determined to play the game of life as long as possible”).

The question of fun has been answered a few years ago by Eliezer Yudkowski in his great speech “A Theory of Fun“. He explains why intelligent people have more fun – they simply have more options for fun.

So I think it is our duty to overcome our limits and fight entropy.

This is what we should live for, Danlo: the heightening of our sensibilities, the rarefying of our desire, the deepening of our purpose, the vastening of our selves. The power to overcome ourselves. To be more. Or rather, to become more. 

Who hasn’t dreamed of such becoming?

David Zindell – The Broken God.

This quote is from David Zindell’s “Requiem for Homo Sapiens”. The character who said this to Danlo – Hanuman – tried to disassemble the moon of Neverness to use the silicon to remake himself into a planetary intelligence. He fails, because Danlo, the main character of the story, stops him.

 

Should we stop? Is it better to watch ourselves slowly become extinct? I think not: as stated above I want to play the Game of Life as long as possible. So we have to move on and getting better all the time. Or, to end with another quote:

The future is for those who prepare for it.

(Robert Freitas in “Nanomedicine”)