Shortly after seeing _Ghost in the Shell_ I would often fantasize about being one of that world's cyborgs. It's the easy road to perfection. I'd have body that never runs down... it just wears out... and when it does the parts can be replaced. I'd have access to every bit of information ever published and some that was not. I would have new metrics for my performance and hard data to test against them. I would have emotions that I could manage in useful ways. It's not as if I would really like to be such a being but it makes a damned pleasant idle daydream.
In a similar vein, I am powerfully drawn to the various religions and philosophies that espouse ideas of self-perfection but don't have the glass ceiling that is God. I suppose the martial arts represent a similar type of ideology.
A number of the books I most love appeal to me for similar reasons. Almost all science-fiction and fantasy are, by nature, about transcending the normal reality. In fact, the same seems to be true for much of the body of general fiction.
I suppose it's some kind of uber mensch complex. I find, however, that I don't want to be superior to mankind in general... how lonely that would be. I only wish to be superior to myself as I am now. I suppose in some way or another we all do. We have been raised in a society to that places the submersion of flaws amongst the cardinal values.
What an odd mode for a society. If you buy into the Christian mythos you believe that we are are imperfect reflections of God. If you are a dyed-in-the-wool evolutionist you accept that evolution is a continual process that is unlike to ever produce a "finished" product. If you are a buddhist you know that you are unlikely to reach satori in your lifetime. Why, then, are Americans (this may apply elsewhere as well) so dissatisfied with themselves?
Personally, I can only posit a few theories... and you've heard them all already. I'm sick of sounding like a crank. I guess I'm really just relating a personal vignette to the world at large. Psych101 types call this projection.
What would a society of lazy but dissatisfied individuals produce? (Answering "whining" is a cop-out)
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I can't say that I had a point with this. It's yet another mental Rubik's cube for your amusement. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter... or anything else.
Lurvig has a new project in the works. Go give textspace.org a peek. It's an implementation of something a lot of people I know, myself included, have talked about for a long time. Kudos to Lurvig for actually follwing through.
Work finally purchased a new computer for me to use. The coolest thing about it, though, is the monstrous 17" flat panel it shipped with. What an incredibly sweet monitor. It has actually made me _want_ to use winXP so I can have ClearType. Damn I love this combo. Reading on my computer has never before been such a pleasure.
The loopcam is back up sporadically. I don't remember the URL, though. I'll figure it out and relink it on the front page.
Maddawg, if you'd like some place to host Jumphead let me know. I can probably hook you up if you don't already have something lined up.
If you enjoy seeing naked women doing goofy things check out this month's Playboy. They have a very cheesy, very tongue-in-cheek Girls of Enron pictoral. Great stuff. ;)
I can't believe I almost left that out.