Rational Optimism

A new term that I have started tracking is "Rational Optimism".  I am currently reading The Case for Rational Optimism by Frank S. Robinson. Please see my review of his earlier book subtitled The Optimist Manifesto.

Robinson references the essay Dynamic Optimism by Dr. Max More in which More refers to the "rational optimist". I am a fan of Dr. More's Extropian Principles in which "extropian thinking places strong emphasis on rational thinking and practical optimism" [Wikipedia].

Another book that I have on my reading list is The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley. You can listen to an NPR radio interview with the author. He also has a Rational Optimist website with links to videos, his other books, and his blog.

Oral Arguments Audio

Yesterday I watched my attorney Dean Cook present oral arguments to a three judge panel in New Orleans. This is the second time he has argued a church-state separation case on our behalf before the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit. Previously it was for the Moment of Silence case. This time it was for the State Pledge case challenging the constitutionality of a new law adding "under God" to our Texas state pledge and mandating daily recitation by public school children. You can listen to the audio recording.

Pledge Appeal Oral Argument

Recently the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against Dr. Newdow et al. in their case questioning the constitutionality of inserting "under God" into the national Pledge of Allegiance. Our attorney Dean Cook called my attention to this paragraph from the dissenting opinion of District Judge Reinhardt:

Today’s majority opinion will undoubtedly be celebrated by a large number of Americans as a repudiation of activist, liberal, Godless judging. That is its great appeal; it reaches the result favored by a substantial majority of our fellow countrymen and thereby avoids the political outcry that would follow were we to reach the constitutionally required result. Nevertheless, by reaching the result the majority does, we have failed in our constitutional duty as a court. Jan Roe and her child turned to the federal judiciary in the hope that we would vindicate their constitutional rights. There was a time when their faith in us might have been well placed. I can only hope that such a time will return someday.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has scheduled an oral argument hearing to take place in a month for our similar case regarding the constitutionality of the insertion of "under God" into the Texas state pledge. Recently our state Attorney General boasted at a Christian award ceremony of his defense of the mandatory Moment of Silence law against our First Amendment challenge in this same court.

Zombie Apocalypse

I am a big fan of the zombie apocalypse genre, probably because it usually features lone individuals finding each other and joining forces to survive in a hostile environment filled with mindless infected masses.  I love playing the computer game Left 4 Dead 2 and I enjoy watching zombedies such as Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead.

I experienced something novel recently when a friend loaned me his autographed copy of World War Z by Max Brooks, the author of The Zombie Survival Guide.  Brooks presents an alternate history in which a zombie plague destroys most of civilization.  Presented as a series of interviews recounted by the survivors, each stand-alone story provides a snapshot of the epic struggle to survive, fight back, and rebuild.  Brooks presents each interview with the respect of a wartime journalist while weaving some contemporary social commentary into the context.

I recommend this book and I would love to see a television series based on this theme.

Optihumanist Movies

Previously I have posted a list of Optihumanist Books.  Today I posted a list of Optihumanist Movies.

Rainbows End

I just finished reading Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge and I recommend it. It is science fiction in the style of Gibson's Neuromancer series or Stephenson's Diamond Age but less cyberpunk. In Rainbows End, Vinge describes a near-future which includes augmented reality and life-changing medical advances.

Vinge published this novel recently in 2006 and makes reasonable predictions for a setting of 2025. I think this is futurism done right as educational entertainment. I do not read much fiction these days but when I do I like it to be a bit speculative as to what we might look forward to in our shared reality.

Optihumanist Principles 2009

I posted the 2009 revision to my Optihumanist Principles. I reordered the sections to put the "Democracy first" section first and I inserted the following: "When we defend the rights of others, we defend our own".

Democracy Day

November 3rd Tuesday is one of my favorite Optihumanist Holidays. On this day I am planning to exercise my right to vote in celebration of Democracy Day. In this off-year election, there are a number of amendments to the state constitution that are up for the approval of the voters here in Texas. My thanks to the League of Women Voters for publication of their Voters Guide explaining the pros and cons of each item on the ballot.

Pledge Appeal

Our attorney Dean Cook has filed his appeal brief for the Texas pledge case.

I will upload and link the brief and the previous ruling soon.

Camp Quest Texas

Our children participated in the first Camp Quest Texas. Television news gave it good coverage. You can spot our eldest three children and children from other families that we know from the Dallas Brights Family Meetup in the videos. Here are the links:

• CBS 11
• Dallas News

Two New Dallas Meetups

UT Dallas student Matthew Fuller and I have launched the Dallas Transhumanists Meetup group for discussing books and videos on topics related to Transhumanism, Extropianism, H+, Cryonics, Life Extension, and the Singularity. For our first meeting on August 21st, we will discuss the first half of the book Youniverse: Toward a Self-Centered Philosophy of Immortalism and Cryonics by R.C.W. Ettinger.

Recently my wife Shannon started the Dallas Brights Family Meetup. It already has 55 parent members who are interested in bringing their children to the playgroup meetings and family-friendly outings. One of the topics we discuss is separation of church and school. See Shannon's recent blog entry on the Power Team as an example of what our children are exposed to as captive audience in our local public elementary.

Mambo Chicken

The day before my trip to Alcor in Phoenix a week or so ago, I spotted Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition at Half-Price Books. It turned out to be an appropriate choice for reading on the flight as it documents the early history of Cryonics in an entertaining style. I had the chance to say hello to Hugh Hixon and Mike Perry, both mentioned in the book, while I was there touring Alcor.

I also finished up Rapture: How Biotech Became the New Religion. Although written by a different author, it could be the sequel to the Great Mambo Chicken book, picking up the story of the progress of the Immortalists some thirteen years later. I was pleased to see that it included an interview of my friend from the Humanist Fellowship Randy Wicker. I recommend both of these books to anyone interested in Cryonics, Extropianism, Transhumanism, and, of course, Optihumanism.