[extropy-chat] The Immortal Class: Admissions Criteria

[Robert Bradbury]

On 5/15/06, Metavalent Stigmergy <metavalent at gmail.com> wrote:

On 5/15/06, spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:
> > What bothered me far more was Bill McKibben's talk.  Since I haven't the
> > exact quote, I will need to approximate or paraphrase.  McKibben thought
> we
> > need to cut the libertarian notions and acknowledge the propriety of
> > subjugating our wildest transhuman ambitions to the greater human
> community.


The  *only* "ambition" [1] which is problematic (IMO) is one where a single
entity ends up with a significant fraction, or all, of the marbles [2] .

I'm right with Hal in terms of finding ways to make a profit off of
> observed tendencies and I think that *some* kind of market should
> decide, but I wonder if the same market that moves everything from eye
> bolts to iPods is the right kind of market for the Immortality Commodity.


Traditional markets are irrelevent because they are about "stuff", where
"stuff" is usually related to either (a) survival; or (b) perceived quality
of life.  Since we have enough matter and energy to allow extremely extended
survival (trillions of years for an order of at least a trillion copies per
individual currently alive).  There is *no* need to make a "profit" in such
an environment as individuals / organizations can survive indefinitely.  If
anything there is an inversion of current market dynamics (where available
resources limits consumption of ones "product") to one that is similar to
that starting to develop now in the media environment where the abundance of
"channels" (TV, Radio, Blogs, etc.) leads to an increasing fragmentation of
markets.  It is a limit on the availability of near term "attention" or
"focus" (as one can always pay attention in a few million years or someday
get around to creating an additional copy to pay attention) which becomes
the "critical"(?) currency.

It leads to an interesting situation with respect to *what* do people do if
all that they produce is destined for an audience of one -- themselves?

Now the next 10-100 years is interesting/tricky because there are still
choices to be made that determine how quickly we get to Neverland and how
many existing humans are brought along (and perhaps whether they should be
dragged there in spite of their beliefs in false gods) [3].

Robert

1. It should be noted that this is *not* a "transhuman" ambition.  It is an
instinct or drive which is an aspect of the fundamental need to survive (and
reproduce).  Having more marbles increases ones chances of survival and
fecundity.  The problem is that few people are successful in flipping from
"optimal marble accumulation mode" to "optimal marble sharing mode".  It
requires a conscious decision to transcend a fundamental instinct.
2. "Single" in this case could be a "class" which seeks to collect and
retain all the marbles -- where "marbles" are most of the energy & matter in
the solar system.)
3. Lord, please forgive them.  They know not what they do.
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