[extropy-chat] [Bulk] Re: Forbes Magazine on Robotics

[Martin Striz]

On 8/21/06, Keith Henson <hkhenson at rogers.com> wrote:

> >There are lots of reasons why people go to war besides an evolved
> >mechanism for profiteering being triggered by a blight.
>
> Please name them.  I am not trying to be hard on you.  I am profoundly
> disturbed by the EP model and hope someone can come up with a way out of
> the dire future it predicts.

You seem to be confusing a few things.

1) I don't deny that the EP model of tribal warfare in the face of
predicted hardship is erroneous.  However, even if blights are very
likely to cause war, that doesn't mean all war is caused by blights.
People go to war for religious and other philiosophical reasons, or to
plunder other people's resources even if they are not facing a blight.
 Some tribes during the Middle Ages made it their profession.  That's
why I say that blights only account for a percentage of the variance.

2) I am calling into question the very premise of a future blight,
which is one argument that the "dire future" you predict won't happen.

> >Switching to renewable energy,
>
> Satellite solar power is renewable and offers the prospect that it will be
> *much* less expensive than current or projected sources.

Satellite solar is certainly one good solution.

> You might consider that I have been in this business for over 30 years
> now.  Had we done power sats starting back then, the US would be a major
> energy exporter and we have no reason to be concerned about oil producers.

> We didn't.  We are not likely to do anything useful about the energy
> problems unless someone can see huge profits to be made.

Alas, legislation is written by money, not reason.  However, the
cultural element can have an impact.

Martin