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The trend of optimising every detail of our lives is kind of inevitable. This realisation is what created the transhumanism philosophy. Natural selection and e

The trend of optimising every detail of our lives is kind of inevitable. This realisation is what created the transhumanism philosophy. Natural selection and evolution doesn't just happen at the biological level, it also happens on the informational and decision making level. If you're not optimising all your life decisions, you cede to someone who does.

TuringTest 8y ago
> If you're not optimising all your life decisions, you cede to someone who does. You're assuming that such optimization is done with a good fitness function. If the quality of the fitness measurement is poor, it doesn't matter how hard you try to micro-optimize, you'll be no better off than someone who merely puts some care.
lm28469 8y ago
I like to live in the present and not base my life on hypothetical states humanity might one day attain if it transcends everything that makes it human in the first place. Transhumanism is a good form of entertainment, but for me it's no more than intellectual masturbation for now. The average person (aka people not actively working in these fields) don't have to worry about these things and have an infinite amount of actionable decisions to make that would have an actual effect on their day to day life. > If you're not optimising all your life decisions, you cede to someone who does. You have to differentiate two types of optimization here. I eat healthy , exercise multiple times a week, get enough quality sleep because I know it's good for me. I don't invest in training apps, fancy enhancing supplements, weekly blood test, a smartwatch to monitor my HR 24/7, sleep trackers with detailed second by second summary of my night, diet "AIs". All of these are distractions that have minor impacts on your experience once you got the basics right. If everything it's a ridiculous waste of time, energy, brain power and money for everyone involved, but it makes money so I guess we all know why they exist.

TuringTest 8y ago

> If you're not optimising all your life decisions, you cede to someone who does. You're assuming that such optimization is done with a good fitness function. If the quality of the fitness measurement is poor, it doesn't matter how hard you try to micro-optimize, you'll be no better off than someone who merely puts some care.

lm28469 8y ago

I like to live in the present and not base my life on hypothetical states humanity might one day attain if it transcends everything that makes it human in the first place. Transhumanism is a good form of entertainment, but for me it's no more than intellectual masturbation for now. The average person (aka people not actively working in these fields) don't have to worry about these things and have an infinite amount of actionable decisions to make that would have an actual effect on their day to day life. > If you're not optimising all your life decisions, you cede to someone who does. You have to differentiate two types of optimization here. I eat healthy , exercise multiple times a week, get enough quality sleep because I know it's good for me. I don't invest in training apps, fancy enhancing supplements, weekly blood test, a smartwatch to monitor my HR 24/7, sleep trackers with detailed second by second summary of my night, diet "AIs". All of these are distractions that have minor impacts on your experience once you got the basics right. If everything it's a ridiculous waste of time, energy, brain power and money for everyone involved, but it makes money so I guess we all know why they exist.