[extropy-chat] Re: Life in Biosphere 1

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Brett Paatsch <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> Lifespan Pharma Inc wrote:
> 
> > That [below] probably sums up why many people ignore most
> > everything except what their neighbours and friends and family
> > tell them by experience works.
> >
> > They assume that 99% is bullshit and watch for others to sift
> through the 
> > shit to findthe shinola.
> > In the past when change came slowly this worked well.
> > Now as change accelerates the risk is that the shinola to shit
> ratio is 
> > increasing and the old patterns are
> > reducing the public acceptance and utilization of the benefits of
> change.
> 
> I'm not sure that the ratio is changing. I'm not confident that its
> 99 : 1 but I don't think its substantially changing. 

Thanks for the support. Part of the problem is the instant
gratification reflex, the "I want it now" that is a reflex to effective
advertising. I doubt anyone has ever been permanently immune to it,
because we all have needs or wants that have been searching for a
solution for a while, so when we see a product that claims to be the
solution, we jump at it, particularly if the need is great and the
ability to pay is there (and the ad is good). This is the power of QVC,
Amazon.com, etc. in not having to lift one's big butt off the couch,
away from the tv/pc to gratify ones needs.

Instant gratification generally occurs before one engages in comparison
or value shopping. Some people who are not so instinctively wired are
able to resist the urge and investigate. When one is at the grocery
store, one can compare brands for ingredients, nutritional value, and
quantity per dollar, among other factors.

Comparison shopping capabilities abound on the internet: shopzilla,
smartshopper, mysimon, etc. all offer these services. Intelligent
agents for such functions were one thing that Sasha was working on
before he died, we used to discuss them on occasion (I still recall the
wave of enlightenment across the faces of the Bostropians when I
explained what SKU stood for... good times). I put high odds against
those who complain most about getting shafted on internet purchases
have ever used a comparison shopping website.

> I think technology has made
> it easier to educate the average person to a level where the average
> person today is genuinely more knowledgeable about science and
> about other people than the average person of previous generations.

Quite so. At the very least, the availability of the information freely
online clearly speaks to the empirical fact that ignorance is the
intent of the ignorant, leading the ignorant to knowledge is usually a
waste of energy (how many list members have read the Geneva Conventions
since the last time we discussed the issue, for instance???? ;)) if the
intended recipient is not inclined to pursue the information.

> 
> The base is going up I think, but the median is holding the lead back
> through the social constructions that are democratic government, and
> that may not be a bad thing, for the mean. And it is a problem for
> the lead that can be addressed in different ways.
> 
> > This especially applies to the rural communities as opposed to the
> > urban ones disproportionately.
> 
> You might be right here. Rural communities in Australia and the US
> are likely to be somewhat less hooked in to the sort of technology
> that helps speed the process of education - such as broadband
> internet connections etc.
> 
> And if you look to the developing world that would certainly be
> the case.

It is to be expected that as more people get on the net, the
'democranetization' that so many have pined for, the lowest common
denominator will drop precipitously. Those who thought
democranetization would result in PBS quality programming were out to
lunch. World Wrestling Federation and Ginsu Knife commercial spam was
always the more likely result. As it spreads to the non-anglosphere,
expect cock-fights, bear baiting, Sendero Luminoso propaganda as well
as local cultural repeats of passe cultural viruses that have long been
prevalent in anglo culture (chain letters, snake oil, pyramid schemes,
etc)


Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com


		
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