[MURG] Re: MURG digest, Vol 1 #151 - 2 msgs

[cat13 at illrepute.org]

sivanand murugesan <sivanand_m at yahoo.com> writes:

> Hi all,
> 
> I 've been very quiet for a long time.. I am keen to
> jump into this research effort full-time. I also
> support the 3rd idea. To achieve that we clearly need
> a bi-directional interface with the brain.
> 
> I also agree that we need some sort of income to
> support ourselves while doing this research. This had
> been my main struggle for the past 2 years. To be able
> to guarantee some money while we work on the project 
> we must find sponsors.
> 
> To be able to find sponsors, we must have a list of
> deliverables. The it will helpful if the deliverables
> could be used elsewhere apart from just
> mind-uploading. 
> 
> The following may sound bit crazy, but it may work:
> 
> How about producing some concrete project proposal and
> approach the celebrities who have lots of money and
> crazy about staying young..

Problem: anyone who's known to have lots of money is approached
all the time about all sorts of things.   They've developed an
immunity or shell to hearing proposals from strangers; sometimes
this shell includes barriers of people.  Becoming established
and attaining recognition are prerequisite.

Because of all the talk on the issue of jumping into active duty,
the idea has wormed into my brain.  I don't have any final plans
yet; here are some vague, loose concepts:
-were we (or a subset of us) to work actively on some metaproject
(i. e. not researching/experimenting on a specific small issue
but trying to organize something that applies to MURG-related
issues in general), which is what those who want to jump into
something seem to want to do, we would need to agree on a reasonable
scope and clearly defined goals for such a metaproject.
-in order to agree on a scope and goals, perhaps we should come
up with another roadmap for mind uploading; the thought is that,
with a whole picture in front of us, we'll be better suited to
identifying useful metaproject ideas
-I remember Randall was thinking about forming a non-profit at one
time; Randall, what was the intent behind that?
-all of my initial ideas for metaprojects require continual upkeep,
and I think that's inherent in the concept of metaproject here.
Can we commit to open-ended work?  Maybe, if we can maintain a
level of growth, which incorporation and funding would help.  All
this is very ambitious, though; it would be more reassuring to
start with a smaller attempt, but we've tried and failed at smaller
attempts - not enough critical mass to get those attempts to be
self-sustaining?
-some ideas: talk to researchers who, we believe, are helping the
field approach MU, and find out what their biggest needs are;
establish a free, online library of scientific materials; develop
educational materials for the general public, refuting common
objections to MU, and for increasing "mindshare" (making more people
aware of, and in favor of, MU)

If I were to become involved in any of this, I would like (if it's
even still possible) to finish the worm project first.  If we can't
finish what we've already started, what's the point of trying
something new, just because we're excited at its newness?