3 ms·
> Struggle is not always a problem. Sometimes struggle is a solution. It can be the solution to the question of who you are. I'm convinced that people derive m
by rhn_mk1 9y ago
> Struggle is not always a problem. Sometimes struggle is a solution. It can be the solution to the question of who you are.
I'm convinced that people derive meaning from restrictions they have to overcome. In the land of perfect convenience, everything would be instantly possible, and nothing would be valuable, so nothing would be worth doing. What would make people tick?
In this vision, convenience merges with powerlessness, leaving no options. At some point, we could observe that making things easier doesn't benefit society by freeing up time, but harms it by removing meaning.
As a believer in a transhumanist future, this possibility concerns me.
- Diederich 9y agoDid you just describe a possible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter ?
- rhn_mk1 9y agoSeems to fit the description! Future philosophers, please cite my name as "rhn" :) Looking at Wikipedia's list, I'd put it behind 9. The colonization explosion. As long as there is something to do - discover, colonize, compute - there will be a part of humanity that finds outside challenges. Colonization is the raison d'etre of Culture in Iain Banks' series, as described in this article: http://sciphijournal.org/why-the-culture-wins-an-appreciation-of-iain-m-banks/ http://sciphijournal.org/why-the-culture-wins-an-appreciatio...
- goatlover 9y agoIt's interesting on Star Trek how they avoid that with various challenges for the crew, including holodeck malfunctions. But you have to wonder how people back on cozy planet Earth outside of the highly motivated Starfleet types are able to stay away from the total convenience and immersion of holodecks, replicators and transporters.
- Analemma_ 9y agoI believe it was Scott Adams who said that "the holodeck will be Mankind's last invention", and it's a hard point to argue with.
- rhn_mk1 9y agoVirtual reality exists now. Perhaps the exit is in it, and within rules and restrictions which people would apply to themselves to have something to do. People grind for something as inconsequential as Steam achievements.
- goatlover 9y agoTime machines, AI or the holodeck. Take your pick, depending on the writer.
- Godel_unicode 9y agoI've mentioned it on here before, but this is a topic in some Peter F Hamilton novels, notably the Commonwealth saga. There's an interesting take on immortality plus backups, where you can elect to archive certain memories. That way you could e.g. read Lord of the Rings over and over for the first time.
- ImaCake 9y agoI really enjoy that Hamilton envisions a world where the entirety of society has become suburbian and just kind of gently utopian and boring. Then the events of books awaken humanity's desire to explore again, and civilization starts expanding and doing exciting things.