[ExI] not that rare earth (part 2 of at least 2)

[John Clark]

<spike at rainier66.com> wrote:

*>>> Yesterday we were told the Mountain Pass facility had its
>> environmental permits in place and would be producing all we need in two
>> years.*
>
> *>>…I wish them well…*
>
>
> *> OK good.  For a minute it sounded like you were cheering for China.*
>

*I'm certainly not cheering for China to win the AI race, but I think He
Who Must Not Be Named tariff nonsense, and canceling what would have been
the largest solar farm in the US, and canceling what would've been the
largest wind farm in the US even though it was 80% complete, and
discouraging some of the smartest people in the world from entering the
US, increases the likelihood that China WILL win the AI race. **And I don't
want that to happen because I think the probability of us surviving is
probably greater if the US wins, but I'm not certain. It might not matter,
it may turn out that Eliezer was right and the only winner will be Mr.
Jupiter Brain. But I am certain it's wise to face reality as it is and not
as we wish it was. And I think it's unwise to underestimate China.*

*>… and I can't help but wonder if your dislike of it is just a reflection
>> of He Who Must Not Be Named dislike of it….*
>
>
>
> *> The addition of political considerations only confuses an already
> wildly complicated engineering task.*
>

*I agree but you should tell that to He Who Must Not Be Named, not to
me. And there is something even worse than making a decision based on
political considerations, it's making one based on personal considerations.
You Know Who has been on a rant against wind power for years, but I don't
think it's because he really thinks wind turbines "drive the whales crazy"
and I don't think he'd care even if windmills did harm whale's mental
health. I think he hates wind because in 2015 the Scottish government
approved an offshore wind farm in view of his luxury golf course in
Aberdeenshire. He thought it spoiled the view.  *

*For years He Who Must Not Be Named has also been on a rant against
electromagnetic catapults on aircraft carriers, but nobody knows where that
irrationality came from. And nobody knows why he thinks coal power is
superior to wind or solar or even nuclear power. *

*>…I vividly remember the semi hysterical laughter that came from the
>> entire class when they got their first look at the final exam questions.
>> About an hour after that test I got the worst headache of my life, I don't
>> think it was a coincidence.*
>
>

*> After I took Power, I decided to not go to graduate school. *
>

*To this day I have a recurring nightmare and I think that course is to
blame.  In one variation I'm running around trying to find where the final
exam is being held after I suddenly remembered that months before I had
signed up for a course but had somehow completely forgotten to attend a
single class, I couldn't even remember if the course was about electrical
engineering or diesel engine repair or French poetry. In another variation
I see that the test questions are easy but when I start writing my pencil
point breaks and I don't have another, so I ask the teacher for a pencil
but he insists he is not allowed to help once the test starts, so I start
writing with a tiny piece of broken pencil lead but my fingers smears it so
much I can't read my own writing. Then I wake up in a cold sweat still
furious at that goddamn teacher for not giving me a goddamn pencil.  *

*John K Clark*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20251105/3c6f948d/attachment-0001.htm>