[extropy-chat] Boredom in old age

Harvey Newstrom mail at HarveyNewstrom.com
Wed Dec 3 16:10:30 UTC 2003


BillK wrote,
> On the mental side, the 'seen it all before' syndrome is also 
> very real. Computer techies will have seen the 'burn-out' 
> effect on whiz-kids who just can't do it any more. The people 
> who are the big achievers are all 'driven' by their own 
> various demons.

I have this.  I get sick of seeing all these "new" ideas that are rehashes
of stuff we did decades ago.  Most of these fail or have the same problems
that were encountered earlier.  (Those who don't know history are doomed to
repeat it, etc....)  That's why I am so pessimistic all the time.  It's easy
to have irrational exuberance in youth.  But after you go through the same
thing dozens of times, you learn not to be so naïve the next time around.

I also just realized that I am a professional pessimist.  As a security
expert, auditor, debugger, investigator, hacker, etc., my job is to see the
problems that no one else sees.  I literally get paid for, and spend 60
hours per week trying to brainstorm how things can go wrong rather than how
they can go right.  I see obvious flaws that everybody else seems oblivious
to.  Other engineers explain how great their projects can be, whereas my job
is to explain how horribly they can go wrong.  I really do not believe I am
being unrealistically negative.  I really see real problems that everyone
else ignores.  I am very good at my job.  However, it means that I see a
much darker and more dangerous world where technology is not as stable as
people think.

> The more subtle problem will be mental. The young researchers 
> cannot appreciate that their fresh, inquiring minds could 
> ever change. But they will. Every experience that is 
> assimilated will change them, until after 60 or 70 years they 
> will be very different. All the exciting dramas of youth will 
> become less important. An older person will be more likely to 
> respond with 'Jeez, not that again!'.

Exactly!

However, I think the enthusiasm of youth is automatic because things are new
and different.  Transhumanism used to be new and different.  But after being
on these lists for over a decade, there aren't very many new ideas going
around.  Older people also feel like they are running out of time.  Ten
years ago, people were predicting the singularity, moon bases and
immortality in a decade or two.  Now that we are half way there, the goals
don't seem any closer, yet time is running out.

-- 
Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, CISA, CISM, IAM, IBMCP, GSEC
Certified IS Security Pro, Certified IS Auditor, Certified InfoSec Manager,
NSA Certified Assessor, IBM Certified Consultant, SANS Certified GIAC
<HarveyNewstrom.com> <Newstaff.com> 





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