[ExI] Transhumanism from first principles

[spike]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-
> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Bryan Bishop
> Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 7:51 AM
> To: ExI chat list
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Transhumanism from first principles
> 
> On Sunday 04 November 2007 09:19, spike wrote:
> >  I see no down side of this philosophy becoming a playground of
> > ideas for shaping the future.
> 
> Signal-to-noise? But I also agree with you- we should encourage
> diversity, it is good, but how will we maintain the original signal?
> 
> - Bryan


Ja, I see your point.  

Here is one that I consider especially relevant to transhumanism.  Suppose a
technology comes along that gives humanity more and better of everything.
Now suppose one can roughly divide humanity in halves by how much stuff they
have.  Call them the haves and the have-nots.  

This new technology gives the have-nots twice as much and twice-as-better
than they had before (yaaaaa!).  But the haves get four times as much and
four times as better as before.  Now everyone has more and better than
before, some twice, the others four times.  But now the gap between the
haves and have-nots is twice what is was.  Did humanity progress?  Of
course.

This is exactly what has happened, ja?  Technology has given humanity more
and better, but those who already had more and better received more and
better still.  I can easily imagine this process accelerating dramatically.
Lesson: get in a position to take advantage of more and better technology.

spike