[ExI] Where are they? was Re: 2^57885161-1

[The Avantguardian]

----- Original Message -----
> From: Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>
> To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> Cc: 
> Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 4:35 PM
> Subject: [ExI] Where are they? was Re: 2^57885161-1
 
> 
> What is the one thing an intelligent species would value most?  I
> think intelligence itself would be the common trait.

Hmm. Not by my reckoning. Intelligence is largely the ability to process information. Therefore there is no benefit to being able to process more information than is available in ones environment. This might be a matter of personal taste, but I would rather be a humble australopithecus roaming the Serengeti than Einstein locked in a sensory deprivation chamber. As many classical philosophers noted, boredom curses even the gods.
 
> That's not entirely obvious.  Though I put no stock a in the idea of
> this being a simulation, I can't rule it out.
 
Indeed. Considering how common UFO sightings are relative to purported sightings of their extraterrestrial pilots, one has to wonder if UFOs might be more like mouse pointers controlled by the simulator(s) than any kind of actual spacecraft. Especially in light of relativity theory.
 
 
Stuart LaForge
 
"Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven." - William Shakespeare