[ExI] Dealing with transhumanism bashing

[BillK]

On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 4:43 AM, Mike Dougherty  wrote:
> Right.  I don't think it takes much "vision" or predictive power to
> imagine this.  Look at the Amish.  Sure, they can teach their kids to
> value hard work on the farm - but their culture dwindles.  The view
> tourists get is probably as [in]accurate as the anachronistic
> recreations of colonial settlers at Williamsburg.
>

Correction of 'vision' here.
In the 21-year period from 1992 to 2013, the Amish of North America
(adults and children) more than doubled in population, increasing from
an estimated 128,000 in 1992 to 282,000 in 2013.
<http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_Trends_1992_2013.asp>


> Ultimately, I think the problem you'll need to solve is that novelty
> wears off more quickly as exponential change happens.  At some point,
> the old yields to the new.  Uploads will likely rediscover this
> principle when their replacement threatens them.
>


Once (If) uploading becomes a standard cheap process I expect the
number of uploads to increase very rapidly. Millions die every day. If
people are faced with the choice of 'death or upload' the decision
becomes easy. On the same level as signing up your body for organ
donation after death.


BillK