[extropy-chat] Boredom in old age

[Hal Finney]

I remember when I was young and just getting started working, I noticed
there were different ways that older people approached their jobs, as well
as life itself.  The more common attitude was a kind of bitter fatalism,
a sense of disappointment.  Things were going badly and getting worse.
They were grumpy and unhappy, warning against mistakes but mostly being
ignored.

Generally these were people who had not been all that succeessful, who
were doing the same work that they had done 20 years before.  So it is
understandable that they might be bitter and unhappy.

I also ran into a few old people who were quite different, who were
optimistic and energetic, full of ideas and enthusiasm.  These were
mostly people who had been successful in their careers, who had advanced
to relatively important positions.  Another group like this were older
college professors who were still active and pursuing their research.

It is not easy to distinguish cause and effect here.  Were people happy
or unhappy because of their success or lack of it?  Or were their basic
approaches to problems influencing their career paths?

As I get older, I can see how cynicism creeps in.  I still have mostly
the same goals and the same basic belief that they are possible, but
more and more I perceive that much of the support for these projects is
based on unfounded optimism and sloppy thinking.  I become impatient
with one-sided perspectives and want to see both the pro and the con
positions represented fairly.

A case in point is the recent online nanotech debate, where the spin from
"our side" is that Drexler whipped Smalley's butt.  I don't perceive it
that way at all.  I thought Drexler was evasive and slippery, and from my
current perspective I see this as a persistent strategy.  You can never
pin him down.  Whenever someone claims that something won't work, he just
calls "strawman" and says if that doesn't work, we'll do it some other
way.  But since he never comes out with a specific, concrete proposal,
he has a perfect defense.  You can't critique what doesn't exist.

I need to write up these thoughts in more detail, but here again I
find myself facing the same barriers which had defeated the older
engineers I observed as a youth.  I know that it will be an enormous
battle, offering pessimism where everyone only wants to hear good news.
I doubt that it will do any good, because even the cautions of a Nobel
prize winner are ignored.  And I question whether I have the energy to
engage in the kind of hard debate which would be necessary to give these
issues the kind of hearing that they deserve.

Those old men I knew had given up.  They were convinced that our
plans and projects would mostly fail, but they were unable to make
persuasive arguments.  Too many times in the past they had tried and
failed, had gained reputations as naysayers, as not being team players.
These reputations had probably helped to mire them in their dead end jobs.
And by then they had nothing left but bitterness, pro forma objections,
and head-shaking predictions of doom.

I don't think any of us wants to end up like that.  I certainly don't,
and yet I feel myself creeping in that direction.  What can we do about
it?

I have a couple of ideas.  The first, and simpler, is to try to couple
pessimism with optimism.  This is basically the idea of what Max called
Dynamic Optimism.  Dynamic optimism is realistic.  It's not a matter of
wearing rose colored glasses.  You see the problems, but you also try
to look at them as challenges rather than obstacles.  Rather than just
opposing what won't work, figure out what will give the best shot at
working, and become a proponent of that alternative.  This way you are,
in a sense, a leader rather than dead weight.  Maybe nobody is following
you at the moment, but it is a crucial difference in perspective.

But sometimes this approach is difficult.  You have a situation where
every path seems doomed, and you can't imagine a solution that will work.
Pessimism is pervasive, even becoming depression.  In this case the second
idea comes in, which is based on a philosophy I have long believed in,
of being faithful to oneself.  Try to think of yourself not as a person
living in a moment of time, but as a being who spans an entire lifetime.
Give credit to the person you were in the past.  Think of his goals as
well as your own, and try to honor both of them.  Remember how you felt
when you were young, and even if you don't feel that way now, try to
act in a manner which respects those feelings.

As you feel the pessimism of age encroaching, understand that this is
not necessarily a matter of wisdom and experience.  It can be hormones
and neuroanatomy.  Your brain is changing, your body is changing.
Don't assume that your beliefs now are necessarily more valid than your
old ones.

The idea, then, is to try to hold to a sliver of optimism, even if you
don't believe it in your gut, or in your hormones.  Fight your tendencies
to cynicism.  Admire the optimism and energy of youth rather than pity it.
Give support where you can, and avoid being an obstacle to those who
are moving forward.

So there you have it, Extropianism for the Elderly.  I'm not quite
there yet, but most of us will face these issues eventually.  Give some
thought to how you want to age, and realize that your own mental habits
today are putting you on a path which may be much more ingrained a few
decades from now.

Hal