Hello everyone,
Eliezer wrote:
>Furthermore, given the current probability spectrum for the future, >the
>consequences of going slow (in those futures for which we should >have gone
>fast) are much worse than going fast (in those futures for >which we should
>have gone slow).
Even in our present social environment we can all easily see how making the wrong choices in life can have severe consequences. An example of this would be someone who chooses not to attend and graduate from college or at least learn a technical trade. Even majoring in the wrong subject(if it does not maximize your talents) can be a severe mistake.
And these failures have a cascading effect that affects finding a quality mate, where you live, health care, social circle, and the general level that the powers that be listen to your concerns.
And I have left out a key matter which is how well you can care for your children's health, education and life opportunities based on your own educational level and financial status. And it can be very hard to regain lost ground when one already has the responsibilities of a family.
And so I can see how in the future things could be far more intense. Education and access to state of the art learning hardware, software, nootropics and just plain good teachers will be even more important. And with genetic engineering we will see the rich not only getting richer, but steadily healthier, longer lived and intelligent. And their offspring too will reap these benefits of course.
I have suffered from my own bad decision to not attend college when I first had the chance in my early twenties. I would be so much further along in my life had I started when I should have. I would already have the degrees, family and job that want. This in turn would give me more power over my ability to travel, eat healthy and live how I want.
I can see how in the mid to late 21st century things will be even more challenging. And yet I would like to think that with mature nanotechnology and artificial intelligence there will be more opportunity for all. But as with our present world, not everyone will try for the highest peaks due to the effort and self-discipline involved in getting there. Certainly for the "winners" of life there will be greater opportunities to enjoy the good things of life in the form of travel, material goods and social opportunities. The rich and powerful of today like to "smell the roses" occasionally and I don't expect that to change at all; just get much more interesting as technology transforms things.
To what extent humanity will break off into higher and lower transhumanist "tribes" and types I am not sure. I just hope there will be a more level playing field in the future. To what level we as extropians can attain is also unsure to me due to the fact we may spend a long time in cryonic suspension while key things are happening and new superior lifeforms are taking their place among society.
But I am sure we will as individuals and as a group still enjoy life and stop to just have fun at times. We have already discussed on this list many times the fun activities we would each like to do. So we just have to "pop out at the other end" and make our dreams come true.
Sincerely,
John Grigg