[ExI] taxonomy for fermi paradox fans:

[spike]

From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Anders Sandberg



 

>…Could drug addiction be the first signs of that very dangerous positive feedback loop? During most of human existence it was a nonissue, but then about 8000 BC alcoholic beverages were invented, but they were so dilute you'd really have to work at it to get into trouble. Then about 500 years ago distilled alcoholic beverages were invented and it became much easier to become a alcoholic. Today we have many drugs that are far more powerful than alcohol. What happens if this trend continues exponentially?  …It might be that nearly every civilization struggles with its own version of obesity...) Anders Sandberg

 

 

Ja.  There is plenty of evidence that addiction is a huge challenge to any tech-enabled society or species.  Consider how food has evolved in just the last century.  We have learned to make food which is so good and is so tuned to our evolved appetites, it gets ever harder to resist.  Furthermore it is a one-way street: food evolves.  There is little chance we can return as a species to the specialty diets like paleo for instance.  Some will choose that, most will not; we see the results.

 

It is easy to just say no to drugs (and I do recommend that.)  But with food, JSN is not an option.

 

spike

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