[extropy-chat] limits of computer feeling

Eugen Leitl eugen at leitl.org
Wed Mar 14 08:05:36 UTC 2007


On Tue, Mar 13, 2007 at 09:08:57PM -0400, gts wrote:

> Seems to me that, contrary to your supposition, serious drug addicts  
> (e.g., those who inject heroin or cocaine into their bloodstreams) see  
> almost no limits to their possible pleasure.

Since drugs are cheap and plentiful, I guess this means
that everyone is a drug addict (checks for injection marks)...
Nope. Here's at least one human who's not.
 
> John Clark made the point that something like side-effect-free drug  
> addiction might explain the Fermi Paradox. I agree wholeheartedly, and add  
> that such a capability, if it were present in a sentient population, might  
> lead to its own extinction.

Populations have one thing going for them: diversity. Only monoclones
go extinct (see bamboo).
 
> Why should any being have sex or engage in other possible procreative  
> activities if it is just as pleasurable to turn up the pleasure knob? Drug  

How do you know it's so pleasurable if you're so opposed to it you
never even try once?

> addicts are wrong about many things, but they know better than to think  
> naively that sexual orgasms are the ultimate pleasure available to humans.
> 
> Sans procreativity, civilizations die.

Indidividuals and groups of individuals die.

-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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