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The reality is that none of us know whether what we're doing will be important, or to what extent.
by Danihan 9y ago
The reality is that none of us know whether what we're doing will be important, or to what extent.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- amelius 9y agoYes, but we can make some educated guesses. For instance, what "good" has Facebook brought us so far? After we have determined this, is it not reasonable to extrapolate a little into the future? Also, entertainment is not unimportant, but everyone would agree it certainly does not belong anywhere near the top of the list, yet I see a lot of effort going in that direction lately, also on HN. It seems out of balance if you ask me.
- Danihan 9y agoI am not a Facebook fan, but it was successful at connecting communications around the world and increasing overall adoption of the the internet. I truly mean it, it's an unanswerable question, educated guesses or not. Too subjective. For instance... is it better for Earth to have 1 Billion people on it, or is it better to have 25 Billion? If a "tragic" disaster drastically reduced the population levels for 100 years, but also allowed our species to evolve at a more sustainable pace in the long-term, was the disaster good or bad?
- Anonymous9761 9y agoThe disaster would be good for the species, but bad for individuals. The species is more important than any number of individuals, so such a disaster would be of net benefit.
- segmondy 9y agoSpeak for yourself. I'm certain there are people working on hard problems on HN.