[ExI] Gene drift and Atlantic article

[SR Ballard]

As a member of the age group this article is talking about, I 100% agree with it. I hear stories about how married couples have met, for example my parents or aunts and uncles and family friends and so on, and I’m... shocked? You know? Because what they describe in their stories is now socially unacceptable. 

It’s uh... an interesting time to be alive. 

> On Nov 15, 2018, at 3:54 PM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Tara Maya <tara at taramayastales.com> wrote:
> 
>> Smart people without children are a danger to the planet.
> 
> If you mean the human race, you should say so.   Humans are a long way
> from being a danger to "the planet."  Although that may not always be
> the case. Accelerando by Charles Stross (an early participant of this
> list) has the "vile offspring" of the human race taking the Earth
> apart to build clouds of "computronium" around the sun.
> 
>> Having children invests your interest in a human future. Having no children means you don't care if you destroy that future. That's motive.
> 
> I read this as unjustified generalizations.  Read up on Hamilton's
> rule.  Even people with no children have a genetic interest in the
> future.  According to gene testing, there are thousands of people who
> share bits and pieces of my genes.
> 
> The problem with concern about the future is called "discount rate."
> How this became part of our evolved psychology is worthy of serious
> study.
> 
>> Brains gives you the means, and all that remains is opportunity to come along to invest in a future which is very hostile to human well-being.
> 
>> I don't trust politicians with no children, especially. And if a roboticist with no children started praising some AI, I would be very suspicious. Why should I trust that he wants the kind of future in which my children can thrive? He has zero stake in it. It's even worse if his biological urge to protect the next generation has been usurped by a robot parasite.
> 
> What is the long-term future?  Do humans stay biological?  Or do we
> upload and become mostly machines?  Do we spread into the universe or
> stay where the speed of light lets us communicate?  (Assuming no FTL.)
> 
> On a less expansive scale, the Atlantic has a fascinating article
> 
> Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex?
> 
> Despite the easing of taboos and the rise of hookup apps, Americans
> are in the midst of a sex recession.
> 
> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-sex-recession/573949/
> 
> Long article, but worth reading to the end.  Definitely related to
> your concerns.
> 
> Keith
> 
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