From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Fri Mar 07 2003 - 03:00:36 MST
Eliezer writes
> Lee Corbin wrote:
>
> > But the pressing question is still, what *can* be
> > done in cases of famine? Are we to just turn our
> > backs?
>
> While all of this fun discussion is going on, I'd like to say a few words
> about simplicity. Sometimes the correct answer is simple, obvious, and
> straightforward...
>
> As far as leveraged altruism goes, nothing is within the same league
> of the Singularity, for either efficiency or efficacy, by N orders of
> magnitude.
Oh, quite true! Say that there is even a 1% chance of a singularity
in the next ten years. That still totally dwarfs everything else,
when the weighted average is reckoned.
> I really don't see why rational discussion would tend to
> linger anywhere else.
;-) I notice that this discussion is not about "Rulers and Famine
in Poor Countries" any more. So, even though it's quite contrary
to custom, I will actually change the name of this thread! I
should change it to "Obesity", of course, since that thread is
about everything. /end mini-rant
You want to know why rational discussion is about other things?
Okay, so what are the reasons that we post thoughts?
Please, anyone, order the following in terms of priority
for the most people:
We discuss things in order
1. to express ourselves on ideas we find intriguing
2. to be entertained
3. to provoke people into giving us desired criticism
4. to help solve the world's problems through memetic evolution
5. to show off (how much we know or how smart we are)
6. to expose folly, untruths, and mistaken opinions
7. to obtain a social outlet
8. to hear about new ideas
9. to address the most important questions facing us as individuals
10. to seek the truth
See if you can get the right answer, that is, the right order!
Win a prize!
Lee Corbin
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