100 subscribers & divergent thinking
Thank you everyone for your support, help, and great ideas so far.
We've just hit 100 subscribers, so I thought it would be a good time to point out a few things. This message is really just a jumble or random thoughts that didn't really seem to fit anywhere else... so I put them all together here.
You can view the stats for this subreddit here. As well as at redditmetrics.com. If you're wondering about the subscription spikes, you can look at this page.
It's been made clear that one of our goals is to advocate for digital immortality/indefinite life as well as encouraging young people to go into science (especially cognitive sciences and computer sciences). I think we should also advocate for divergent/outside the box thinking as well, since those are especially the kinds of people we want to attract to this organization, and I also believe in making the world a better place by increasing peoples' knowledge, awareness, objectivity, and divergent thinking. To me, stagnation is not the way to go (in our thinking, our cultures, our systems, ...). I was talking with MemeticParadigm about this stuff, and my idea is that we should create an environment here that enables creativity and outside the box thinking as much as possibly, as well as attracting those kind of people. This can partially be accomplished by trying to help the world be a place where divergent thinkers don't have to think they are crazy for being unconventional.
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” -Albert Einstein
Becoming a big player in this industry will require constant innovation, and that requires a certain type of innovative culture. As an organization, I feel we have the great opportunity to bring together, enable, and foster divergent thinkers (because of the nature of this organization as well as our visions). I believe that I can help to guide this organization to be such a vehicle, but really, we are all part of this, and all we have to do is make sure not to limit ourselves by creating the right systems and culture.
Some of you may be aware that I have referenced the Mars One project a few times. I had been following them ever since they went public over mid 2012, and I applied for the one way mission to Mars back in April 2013. At the end of 2013 they sent messages out to all the applicants, and I did not make it to the second round of astronaut selection. To be honest, I had already decided that I wanted to do this more than go to Mars by October 2013. To me, nothing could conceibable be more important this this project, but Mars One gave me a lot of motivation, and made me want to start really doing things with my life. It was the fact that they wanted the right kind of people over people with credentials that really inspired me, and is something I seek to emulate in this organization. I feel that anyone and everone that wants to help dream up new futures should have the opportunity to do so on some level, no matter what circumstances they were born into or what opportunities they have been given.
Also, here are some Coursea Courses people might be interested in (I know I'm going to try to take one or two if I find the time):