[extropy-chat] technological equilibrium

[paul.bridger]

Spike wrote:
> every society that is currently in or has ever 
> reached technological equilibrium is primitive!
> 
> Well, duh.  Obviously.  Has anyone a counterexample?  Has 
> anyone a suggestion, or a mechanism for how an advanced 
> society can establish pre-singularity technological equilibrium?

Well, I was thinking about a kind of technological equilibrium imposed by an 
increasing cost of energy (as we are seeing today). Progress would be too 
expensive, because simply staying still (surviving) would take everyone's time.
But then...before we reached that state we'd start doing research to make 
energy cheaper.