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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: fat at the recent L.A. Con II
Message-ID: <4723@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 19-Sep-84 14:21:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.4723
Posted: Wed Sep 19 14:21:55 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Sep-84 20:53:36 EDT
References: <208@gitpyr.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 32

The only valuable part of a human being is the brain. Your attitude toward
another human should be based ONLY on the quality of their brain, and how
it is used (since this is self-referential -- the brain determines its own
use -- it is really the same thing). We would all be much better off if
we could discard these loathsome caracsses which exist solely to support
our brains, and replace them with decent mechanical devices. Any physical
capability of our bodies can be exceeded by mechanical means; this means
that all sports activity and records are worthless, by the way, as replacing
the body with an appropriate mechanism will enable it to move faster, do
things more accurately, etc.

The corollary to this is of course that any non-brain attribute of a person
is meaningless, so that basing your ambition or effort on charateristics
like sexual attractiveness, physical strength, or simply appearance is
contemptible. 

(To those whose first reaction to the idea of moving from a biological to 
a mechanical housing for your brain is "I like sex too much to give it up"
(I saw exactly such a response some years back when this was discussed on
SF-Lovers), let me remind you that  you can feed ANY signals down the
nerves when in a mechanical contruct, and thereby can realize ANY fantasy
and apprehend ANY "reality" you may choose. You can have a lot more sex
in this situation than you can now!)

So, dammit, IGNORE THE BODY -- it doesn't matter if it is fat or thin,
white or black, male or female, whole or handicapped. Only the brain/mind
matters. (But, since you've eliminated all these other bases for
discrimination, you can apply severe standards to evaluating those
brain/minds. If the individual doesn't make it there, he/she is
worthless.)

Will Martin