[extropy-chat] Boredom in old age

Barbara Lamar barbara_lamar at earthlink.net
Wed Dec 3 19:31:30 UTC 2003



> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
> [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org]On Behalf Of Harvey
> Newstrom
> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 11:37 AM
> To: 'ExI chat list'
> Subject: RE: [extropy-chat] Boredom in old age
>
>
> Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote,
> > I wish I knew what I was doing right that everyone else seems
> > to be doing so wrong.  The problem is that trying to follow
> > my lead doesn't seem to > help people, either - or helps only
> > insofar as they are moved to study tractable interesting subjects.
>
> You're young and naive.  Wait until you are middle-aged,
> pot-bellied and
> balding, and there is still no singularity or general AI.
> How will you feel
> then?

Boredom vs. excitement isn't a matter of chronological age. I know people
who think they've seen and done it all by the age of 30 and others who still
find life exhilarating in their 90's (I've never known anyone older than
this, but I'd guess that such people would still be going strong in their
100's). The people who never get bored are those who continue to be curious
and open to new learning into adulthood. Most people seem to close down
after they grow up, and although they have pleasant moments from time to
time, life is no longer exciting for them. Curious people never grow
mentally old, always find life fresh and interesting.

The people who retain curiosity aren't just curious about major things such
as the meaning of life and making their next million bucks and the nature of
the universe. They're interested in seemingly trivial things as well, such
as what's around the next corner when they're walking, and how a mechanical
vegetable peeler works, and which kind of plants grows in cracks in the
sidewalk.

People have an abundance of curiosity when they're babies and small
children. Most of them lose it by the time they're 30. Those who retain it
past that age seem to keep it forever, or until their bodies completely give
out on them, and it makes all the difference in the way they approach life.
Eliezer comments that following his lead doesn't seem to help people. Maybe
curious people are not followers. I almost wrote that curiosity can't be
taught, but I'm not sure about this.

It's fun to imagine what the world would be like if someone found a way to
teach curiosity, or to reactivate whatever neural processes make children
curious in the first place. If a curiosity training course or treatment were
offered for sale, I wonder how many people would want to buy it.

Barbara











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