Voder-Vocoder

I propose that Jimi Hendrix's “1983…” be adopted as a transhumanist anthem.

Caribbean Islanders are odd people. They always want to talk religion, even if you met thirty seconds ago.

Last friday: “You look like a priest. Are you a Jew?”

“No”

“You must be a Jew. Are you a Jew?”

I started ignoring him at that point.

And a few months ago, an islander woman started asking me about my religion. When I wouldn’t admit to one, she looked at me like I was the most evil person she had met.

Jesus knew viral marketing.

In the Gospel of Mark, the disciple John complains that nondisciples are selling bootlegged copies of Jesus’ miraculous powers. “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

Jesus tells John to quit obsessing about the intellectual property and to focus on getting the brand out. “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.” Jesus adds, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

–Robert Wright in todays NYTimes (source)

“Flood Geology won’t find oil.” —Ken MacLeod

From my personal diary, 2004-09-12 Sunday 23:24:02:

“What is science?” This question is my answer to the questions posed to me recently and independently by two people. They mention “supernatural” things and dare me to refute them. I will not.

Science is a methodology.

• Repeatability.
• Mathematical Modeling.
• Least Hypothesis.
• More?

What if there are aspects of nature that are not tractable by the methods of science? Would science be able to say anything at all about them?

What we do know is that the vast majority of nature is aproachable with the methods of science. I would have to invoke “least hypothesis” to say that all of nature is like that. Bit of a liar’s paradox, there?

from Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Worship:

Transitive Verb:
    To respect; to honor; to treat with civil reverence. (1)

    To pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect
    and veneration; to perform religious exercises in honor
    of; to adore; to venerate. (2)

    To honor with extravagant love and extreme submission, as
    a lover; to adore; to idolize. (3)

Noun:
    Excellence of character; dignity; worth; worthiness.
    Obs. (4)

    Honor; respect; civil deference. Obs. (5)

    Hence, a title of honor, used in addresses to certain
    magistrates and others of rank or station. (6)

    The act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being;
    religious reverence and homage; adoration, or acts of
    reverence, paid to God, or a being viewed as God.  (7)

    Obsequious or submissive respect; extravagant admiration;
    adoration. (8)

    An object of worship. (9)

Intransitive Verb:
    To perform acts of homage or adoration; esp., to perform
    religious service. (10)

Mark uses the term worship to refer to any religious gathering. I say it is limited to religious veneration, submission, adoration, or reverence of a diety (2,7,10) or as a metaphor (1,3,5,6,8). I need to discuss this further with him. I don’t remember exactly what he said.

The point is: if I was a diety, I would not want to be worshipped. This is why I don’t like the term.