Re: Nanotech

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Wed Dec 20 2000 - 19:43:27 MST


Nick Bostrom <nick@nickbostrom.com> writes:

> Zeb Haradon wrote:
>
> >Slightly off topic, but it's useless to major in something like philosophy
> >and/or psychology. I'm not talking about the tired (but true) argument
> >that they are not profitable later in life.
>
> At the London School of Economics, where I was before, the faculty was fond
> of pointing out to profit-oriented masters students that George Soros once
> studied there for Karl Popper. So now you know why he became a billionaire!
> Behind every rich man, there's gotta be a philosopher lurking somewhere.
> You see, it's not that we don't know how to make tons of money; we just
> can't be bothered. ;-)

Except for Thales of Miletos, who got so annoyed by everybody asking
him "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" so he used his
philosophy to make a correct prediction about an upcoming bumper crop
of olives, bought up all available olive presses and thus cornered the
market. :-)

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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