Where is Mecca? On Tue, 12 Jul 1994, Timothy C. May wrote:
Wormholes, reversible computation, the 7,000-Cray NSA computer, the problems with nanotech, the problems with AI, the Tines and the Powers, the Extropians group (Vernor was curious), the Singularity, and the implications of the OJ Simpson case were a few of the topics. (Yes, several of us had "wasted" our time watching this case. Me, I think it's drama of truly Shakespearean proportions, and should not be "dissed" just becuase it's getting more attention than the Rhwandans and Haitians are getting...not to mention the boring Bosnians.)
Did Vinge have anything of interest to the list to say that you could pass on?
Wes thu hal, Al Billings
Al is not the only person to ask.
I mentioned the topics we talked about. But he did not speak in Zarathustra-like aphorisms. Nothing specific to quote, as he wasn't giving a lecture and we weren't taking notes.
He's working on a sequel to "A Fire Upon the Deep," is writing a story set deep in the Slow Zone (the Oprah Zone?), and is getting a lot of publisher attention.
He had some funny things to say about San Diego State, where he teaches in the CS department. Ironically, there was a "cyberpunk" conference held there, and VV was not invited (or was overlooked) So Bear and Brin, friends of his, kept asking pointedly, "Where's Vernor?"
On the Singularity, I've already said a fair amount.
He was very interested to hear about the Cypherpunks--he said he'd gotten some articles forwarded to him. He may attend the September meeting by M-BONE...Eric Hughes plans to contact Phil Karn to see if a San Diego hookup is possible for that meeting. (The September meeting, as we discussed at the CP meeting on Saturday, will be a special recap of progress, the Second Anniversary meeting.)
This is all I can write for now. Oh, I made it clear to him on several occasions just how important "True Names" was to the formation of my own ideas about crypto anarchy (I first discovered it in a passed-around Xerox samizdat in 1986).
--Tim May
-- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."