Subject:
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Re: Future of Humanity (was: lotsa stuff)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 2 Nov 2001 20:45:41 GMT
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Viewed:
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1016 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Tom Stangl writes:
> I dispute that. While there will always be people on the far edges of the bell
> curve no matter what the scale of the curve, I would tend to believe that having
> that curve shifted UP would increase the chance of our species surviving longer,
> simply because we can't rely on a few supergeniuses to save our butts. Having the
> curve higher increases the chance of our species solving all of its current and
> future problems, IMO.
<snappy rejoinder>
I think it's got a lot more to do with conscience than brains. It's because
we're the smartest/most technological species that we're in a position to
wipe ourselves out (see crechebaby thread for "extinction" scenario).
> > IMO, intelligence may help us overcome various individual events[2], but makes
> > little (if any) difference to the overall evolution of a species.
> >
> > [2] which may range from milliseconds to several generations, but that's still
> > a needle in the haystack of evolution
>
> #2 is more important than you think, IMO. Having our species intelligence level
> increase gives us a better chance of solving problems that may wipe us out. If
> we're wiped out, we can't evolve further, now, can we?
Most of those problems are a consequence of misapplying/overestimating our
intelligence (IMHO). Leaving aside asteroid collisions, almost all
catastrophes that could decimate our species would be self-inflicted.
Basically, relying on technological fixes fails the precautionary principle.
Better to tread cautiously and forgo the possible payoffs than risk disaster.
--DaveL
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Future of Humanity (was: lotsa stuff)
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| (...) I dispute that. While there will always be people on the far edges of the bell curve no matter what the scale of the curve, I would tend to believe that having that curve shifted UP would increase the chance of our species surviving longer, (...) (23 years ago, 2-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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