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Shh, don't wake us... This is one of the most obvious things in modern life if you look. But no one seems to be looking. I'm not sure what life would look lik

Shh, don't wake us... This is one of the most obvious things in modern life if you look. But no one seems to be looking. I'm not sure what life would look like if they were. Probably very different and with a very violent transition.

mistermann 7y ago
> But no one seems to be looking. There are a few people on HN and elsewhere, but I concede that our numbers are extremely small. > I'm not sure what life would look like if they were. Probably very different and with a very violent transition. I'm curious why you think a transition to a more enlightened (a significant decrease in both delusional meme-based beliefs, as well as ignorant over-confidence in the beliefs people do still hold) society would be violent? I tend to think the transition would be rather orderly, with people tending to hang their heads in shame for their former stupidity. Violent lashing out is what we have now.
- ndiscussion 7y ago
  I don't mean violence from the individual, but from the buckling of systems currently supported by society. If everyone became enlighted simultaneously, we would probably help each other out, but it would cause a huge disruption in the global economy. Part of that economy is food, and it takes a while to grow a new crop... basically breaking supply chains can cause mass starvations, that's all.
  - mistermann 7y ago
    Ah I see....yes, from that perspective you are absolutely correct, I reckon mass enlightenment in a short period of time would wreak absolute havoc on the world and result in serious public unrest, likely including significant violence. Even if democracy could accommodate a transition, I have no idea how the impacts on the economic system (decreased spending on trillions of dollars in worldwide military budgets for example) would be safely managed.
quanticle 7y ago
One site that does appear to be looking is SlateStarCodex. "Meditations on Moloch" [1] and "How the West Was Won" [2] both grapple with the notion that ideas are supreme and people are just uncomprehending vessels for concepts that are larger than any particular individual. [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ [2] https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/07/25/how-the-west-was-won/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/07/25/how-the-west-was-won/
- mistermann 7y ago
  SSC is fantastic, lots of the posts there touch on this concept in one way or another. I also recommend https://marginalrevolution.com/ https://marginalrevolution.com/

mistermann 7y ago

> But no one seems to be looking. There are a few people on HN and elsewhere, but I concede that our numbers are extremely small. > I'm not sure what life would look like if they were. Probably very different and with a very violent transition. I'm curious why you think a transition to a more enlightened (a significant decrease in both delusional meme-based beliefs, as well as ignorant over-confidence in the beliefs people do still hold) society would be violent? I tend to think the transition would be rather orderly, with people tending to hang their heads in shame for their former stupidity. Violent lashing out is what we have now.

ndiscussion 7y ago
I don't mean violence from the individual, but from the buckling of systems currently supported by society. If everyone became enlighted simultaneously, we would probably help each other out, but it would cause a huge disruption in the global economy. Part of that economy is food, and it takes a while to grow a new crop... basically breaking supply chains can cause mass starvations, that's all.
- mistermann 7y ago
  Ah I see....yes, from that perspective you are absolutely correct, I reckon mass enlightenment in a short period of time would wreak absolute havoc on the world and result in serious public unrest, likely including significant violence. Even if democracy could accommodate a transition, I have no idea how the impacts on the economic system (decreased spending on trillions of dollars in worldwide military budgets for example) would be safely managed.

quanticle 7y ago

One site that does appear to be looking is SlateStarCodex. "Meditations on Moloch" [1] and "How the West Was Won" [2] both grapple with the notion that ideas are supreme and people are just uncomprehending vessels for concepts that are larger than any particular individual. [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ [2] https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/07/25/how-the-west-was-won/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/07/25/how-the-west-was-won/

mistermann 7y ago
SSC is fantastic, lots of the posts there touch on this concept in one way or another. I also recommend https://marginalrevolution.com/ https://marginalrevolution.com/