I really want to like what the Long Now project is doing, but I keep coming across things like this.

http://longnow.org/seminars/02006/mar/10/long-term-trends-in-the-scientific-method/

"“Science is the way we surprise God,” said Kelly. “That’s what we’re here for.” Our moral obligation is to generate possibilities, to discover the infinite ways, however complex and high-dimension, to play the infinite game. It will take all possible species of intelligence in order for the universe to understand itself. Science, in this way, is holy. It is a divine trip."

And it makes me want to throw up. Are Americans unable to discuss anything without invoking the sky god?

Dig a bit deeper and there's only two ideas here. Enough to generate a book and lecture tour though.
1) Exponential growth is awesome
2) The Shapers will beat the Mechs. So Bio-tech is where it's at.

The first is obviously true but there's a refusal to look at the implications as though 3% PA growth in global GDP is some kind of immutable and inevitable law of the universe. The second is just personal opinion treating one branch of science as more interesting than another.