From David Wolsk (960531.2325 WT)
[From Bill Powers (960531.0600 MDT)]
I would also hope that there would be some support for a conference
that tried to get some exposure to the uncommitted and unwashed
while seeking a mass conversion ceremony at B.C. Place Stadium.We've never done that before, but I love it. I think I can arrange for a
helicopter for my entrance. But I can't decide what to wear. Do you
think a simple loincloth and shaven head, or should I get out my old
white jumpsuit with the gold and blue brocade? Or maybe a slightly
rumpled sport coat and chinos with penny loafers, and a plain stool in
the center of a bare stage? I rather like that -- the lonely figure,
tiny and isolated, sitting humbly with bowed head and waiting patiently
for the cries of adulation to die out to a breathless silence in the
vast stadium. Can you get someone to do the cries of adulation?
Bill
My wife, Ingrid, feels challenged by the task of advising on the choice of
costume for your blockbuster global event at BC Place Stadium. I've just
arranged a warmup appearance by the three tenors for New Year's Eve there.
What better than the human voice and musicians to illustrate control
theory? And, as a warmup to your appearance.
However, your image of the lonely isolated humble figure, waiting
patiently, is not going to fly in dynamic Vancouver. What I picture is a
contest, a fight to the finish, between yourself, an integrated set of
hierarchical control levels pitted against an AI robot gladiator, programed
and controlled by Marvin Minsky. But, after you defeat the Minsky
Millenial Millipede, there will be one more crucial challenger: a giant
pigeon shaped to peck holes in your control hierarchies. As I am confident
of your second triumphal victory, we can then crown you Theoretical TITAN,
the 1998 winner of the Cowbel Prize for Humanity's Humanness. Now, that's
Vancouver and that's what will finally settle, once and for all, where truth
lies.
David Wolsk, Victoria, the flower-power city (long live Timothy)