Fairy of Doubt
2002-12-12 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
archershipsTeach Kids that the "Fairy of Doubt" Doesn't Exist, Transhumanists Urge
Parents this Newtonmas
ATLANTA -- While children around the world hope for gifts from an old, fat
fashion-challenged elf this holiday season, Transhumanists urge parents to
teach their kids about a mysterious creature that brings gifts to those
who don't believe it exists.
"This year, tell your little children about the Fairy of Doubt, who brings
presents only to those children who don't believe in him," says Eliezer
Yudkowsky, director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial
Intelligence. "Be sure to relate the heartwarming story of little Sally,
who almost started believing in the Fairy of Doubt, but was saved from an
unhappy Newtonmas by the Competing Hypothesis."
Known for lacking a sense of humour, Transhumanists are deadly serious
about the Fairy of Doubt. "We truly believe that it doesn't exist," didn't
say Nick Bostrom, president of the World Transhumanist Association. "The
evidence is overwhelming. There is simply no reason to not believe that
the Fairy of Doubt is fictional."
It has been proposed that hundreds of years ago fairies went through a
singularity and that the Fairy of Doubt is a post-fairy now existing as
pure mind. Some believe that this is why humans aren't able to perceive
its existence.
If humans can't test its existence, however, then it's unclear how the
Fairy of Doubt could even influence the physical world to bring gifts to
children. And, besides, there's no evidence to support the theory. "In all
experiments to test whether the Fairy of Doubt exists, including those
involving ingestion of psychoactive substances and sensory deprivation,
we've found not a shred of proof to support the Pure Mind hypothesis,"
didn't say George Dvorsky, president of the newly formed Fairy of Doubt
Research Council. "We did learn, however, that plants can talk."
While the Fairy of Doubt seems as cold as a cryonic suspension, ripping
away childhood innocence, Transhumanists see it differently: By teaching
kids to demand proof and be skeptical, parents are giving the gift of
scientific inquiry.
ABOUT THE FAIRY OF DOUBT RESEARCH COUNCIL
The Fairy of Doubt Research Council is an independent organization
dedicated to proving a negative: That the Fairy of Doubt Doesn't Exist.
This is impossible, so the FDRC is really dedicated to funneling large
amounts of money into a fruitless pursuit while gaining access to various
banned psychoactive substances. To learn more, visit
http://www.fairyofdoubtresearch.org.
Simon Smith
Editor-in-chief
Betterhumans
E: simon@betterhumans.com
::::
BETTERHUMANS | Create the Future
http://www.betterhumans.com
::::
Subscribe to the Betterhumans newsletter at
http://www.betterhumans.com/newsletter/index.aspx?action=Subscribe
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Parents this Newtonmas
ATLANTA -- While children around the world hope for gifts from an old, fat
fashion-challenged elf this holiday season, Transhumanists urge parents to
teach their kids about a mysterious creature that brings gifts to those
who don't believe it exists.
"This year, tell your little children about the Fairy of Doubt, who brings
presents only to those children who don't believe in him," says Eliezer
Yudkowsky, director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial
Intelligence. "Be sure to relate the heartwarming story of little Sally,
who almost started believing in the Fairy of Doubt, but was saved from an
unhappy Newtonmas by the Competing Hypothesis."
Known for lacking a sense of humour, Transhumanists are deadly serious
about the Fairy of Doubt. "We truly believe that it doesn't exist," didn't
say Nick Bostrom, president of the World Transhumanist Association. "The
evidence is overwhelming. There is simply no reason to not believe that
the Fairy of Doubt is fictional."
It has been proposed that hundreds of years ago fairies went through a
singularity and that the Fairy of Doubt is a post-fairy now existing as
pure mind. Some believe that this is why humans aren't able to perceive
its existence.
If humans can't test its existence, however, then it's unclear how the
Fairy of Doubt could even influence the physical world to bring gifts to
children. And, besides, there's no evidence to support the theory. "In all
experiments to test whether the Fairy of Doubt exists, including those
involving ingestion of psychoactive substances and sensory deprivation,
we've found not a shred of proof to support the Pure Mind hypothesis,"
didn't say George Dvorsky, president of the newly formed Fairy of Doubt
Research Council. "We did learn, however, that plants can talk."
While the Fairy of Doubt seems as cold as a cryonic suspension, ripping
away childhood innocence, Transhumanists see it differently: By teaching
kids to demand proof and be skeptical, parents are giving the gift of
scientific inquiry.
ABOUT THE FAIRY OF DOUBT RESEARCH COUNCIL
The Fairy of Doubt Research Council is an independent organization
dedicated to proving a negative: That the Fairy of Doubt Doesn't Exist.
This is impossible, so the FDRC is really dedicated to funneling large
amounts of money into a fruitless pursuit while gaining access to various
banned psychoactive substances. To learn more, visit
http://www.fairyofdoubtresearch.org.
Simon Smith
Editor-in-chief
Betterhumans
E: simon@betterhumans.com
::::
BETTERHUMANS | Create the Future
http://www.betterhumans.com
::::
Subscribe to the Betterhumans newsletter at
http://www.betterhumans.com/newsletter/index.aspx?action=Subscribe
::::
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wta-talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Date: 2002-12-13 07:24 am (UTC)