[ExI] Anti-transhumanist crap on Kuro5hin and related.

[Harvey Newstrom]

Keith Henson wrote,
> Genes build brains with particular motivations. These
> genes were selected during the millions of years our
> ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers that built brains
> with inclinations to do things that improved the genes
> chances of being present in the next generation.

This is really a nit hardly worth mentioning.  (But for some reason, here I
go....)

It is a personal pet peeve of mine that people anthropomorphize "evolution"
into trying to propagate genes to the next generation.  Evolution has no
such goals.  In reality, the cause and effect are reversed.  Creatures
undergo random mutations or pursue random acts with no clear goal toward
propagation.  It is by sheer statistics that those changes less likely to
survive tend to die out while those changes more likely to survive increase
in number.  But this should imply no motivation to the creatures involved to
actually reproduce.  They are usually just rutting beasts that are focused
on their short-term goals rather than long-term goals.

> High on the list was gaining higher social status.  In
> that environment, high status led to improved reproductive
> success.  In short form, successful hunters got more nooky.
> Status was and is (to a first approximation) the integral
> of the amount of attention the person received.

I would disagree.  I would state the reverse was true.  I do not believe
that competitive individuals chose to compete so they will get laid.  I
would state that some individuals are more competitive than others by random
variation.  And those that pursue social climbing tend to reproduce more.
But the competitive pursuit of social climbing could really be a root goal
and not merely a means to an end.  Getting laid for such people is more
likely to be a side-effect of their competitiveness rather than their
competitiveness being a side-effect of their sex drive.

--
Harvey Newstrom 
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