4 ms·

Because above the Maslow pyramid, there's some insanity zone Seriously: people with too much money quickly get surrounded with yes men, who act as an echo cham

by 1996 7y ago

Because above the Maslow pyramid, there's some insanity zone Seriously: people with too much money quickly get surrounded with yes men, who act as an echo chamber for these persons fears, and deliver them the white elephants they want. An apocalypse is very unlikely. But yeah, have this sweet NZ bunker. It's good for the local economy I guess? Now they have their nice bunkers, I hope they start fearing death more, and invest in anti senescence research. This could benefit a lot of people besides NZ local economy.

wslh 7y ago
> Because above the Maslow pyramid, there's some insanity zone Many times this insanity is about feeling like a king (today billionaires are the kings of kings) or feeling like gods.
foogazi 7y ago
> I hope they start fearing death more, and invest in anti senescence research Aren’t Larry and Sergey already investing in this via Alphabet?
- 1996 7y ago
  Not enough. I hope more billionaires start seriously investing when they turn 40 or 50 or 60 and realize the clock is ticking. And by seriously, I mean spending over 50% of what they have - when they realize that if death happens, all they have accumulated will not matter. Better spend that on increasing their lifespan that on kids!
  - rusk 7y ago
    And what then? You end up with 150 y/o billionaires? Great
    - magduf 7y ago
      No, you end up with everyone living to 150, and having longer, healthier lifespans in general.
      - rusk 7y ago
        Yeah right. What on earth would motivate them to prolong everybody’s life? I admire your optimism to be sure, but I don’t share it unfortunately. But even if your hoped for outcome did come to pass what happens wrt world population? Old Age is probably one of the last things saving us from dying surrounded by our own waste ...
        sixstringtheory 7y ago
        Welcome to Amazon Prime Assisted Suicide! Now with 2-hour delivery for only 5.99 and the latest counterfeit cocktails... reviewers are gushing about them! Or you could read someone who’s a better writer than I and check out Vonnegut’s 2BR02B.
        magduf 7y ago
        >Yeah right. What on earth would motivate them to prolong everybody’s life? 1) Profit 2) What makes you think they can keep it secret? >But even if your hoped for outcome did come to pass what happens wrt world population? In case you haven't noticed, people in developed countries aren't having kids any more. The population will stabilize: people who can afford anti-senescence therapy will live a very long time, but have very few (if any kids). People who have a lot of kids won't be able to afford any therapy and will die young, but eventually their offspring will become wealthier and will stop reproducing so much.
        rusk 7y ago
        (1) is precisely my concern. Death is the last great leveller. What happens when the rich become exempt? I think then they become gods ... on no basis then other than their ability to hoard coins. I’m familiar with your reasoning on population dynamics, and while it does provide a nice straw to grasp at, I kind of feel its irrelevant unless you address rampant inequality? What happens when one segment gets immortality and a far larger population gets nothing? History is littered with the scattered remains of socieities who tgought theyd have it all for themselves. Have a look into the genesis of Gengis Khan maybe, or more recently Cambodia ...
lsiq 7y ago
Is it actually so unlikely considering the sheer number of ways it could happen? We live in a society where it's obvious that one event, one invention, and one person can have an outsize effect on all the rest. Thankfully, these end up usually being positive changes, but not always. If you asked folks in 1920 how likely it would be that in less than 20 years there would be another awful World War and millions of civilians would be systematically slaughtered and turned into ashes, they probably would have said that is "very unlikely" too. These people are educated, understand tail risks and have the means to try and hedge them. They are not insane, not even close.
- 1996 7y ago
  I'm not saying that's insane - just that the probability multiplied by the consequences means they're misguided in being afraid of a global collapse instead of being afraid of their death that is GUARANTEED given our limited technology.
  - MagnumOpus 7y ago
    > they're misguided in being afraid They might be spending 0.1% of their wealth (which they could never spend in 10 lifetimes anyway) on protection from an event (war on US soil or loss of their US assets) that has 0.5-5% chance of happening during their lifetimes. Put it like that, it is quite rational. While even their entire wealth won't make them life forever. 100 billion is a drop in bucket for senescence research, especially if it has to yield results within 20-30 years.
    - 1996 7y ago
      Do you invest 0.1% of your wealth in things you considered to have 0.5-5% chance of happening? I don't. And I have a rather clear example in mind, something I do consider at a 5% risk and yet refuse to bother about. I don't, because it's not just the amount of wealth, but the consequences, and the complexities it creates by snowball effect. I don't want to talk about my stuff, but let's talk about their escape plans, as I can easily imagine how it would require some similar planning. These properties in NZ will require upkeep. It will keep their mind thinking about that too. It will also cause other slight increases in costs (the example of getting into a plane: add the costs of a 24/7 on-call flight team + a spare plane in case the first one has some unexpected failure) Even if they have someone whose job 24/7 is to take care of that, they may want to visit the NZ properties time to time, to make sure things are proceeding according to plan. Because you can't trust people for something as important as that. And their mind will incorporate these limits into whatever other calculations. For example, a juicy business deal in Europe? A concert or a conference where they can physically meet with some key person? Sorry but they shouldn't go to that conference as it may be too far from NZ in a catastrophic scenario, with the airspace closed, if they don't have another plane+team in Europe too. What's another 0.1%? Sure, add this plane and team in Europe. Then you need a manager, a company, etc. Then you want to have that on every continent. Then you think, what if disaster strikes in APAC? Might as well get started buying other properties in Chile! I guess it may be fun for preppers, but when you reevaluate the practical consequences, you come to the conclusion some things are better left undone, to have razor sharp focus on the things you want done. Simplicy has many virtues, especially in planning. Burning some ships is not just an exercise in removing concentration - it also increases focus.
magduf 7y ago
Exactly; the bunkers aren't helping anyone and are a complete waste. But advancing medical research can have all kinds of great by-products; look at all the technologies that came from pouring money into the Apollo program. Even if they don't succeed in totally conquering aging, there's likely to be other very useful discoveries made and therapies developed.
trhway 7y ago
>This could benefit a lot of people i don't think the blood boys benefit in any ways. And just wait until Thiel and the likes learn how to have "kidney/liver boys". Wrt. original post - NZ is just temporarily and just for meager billionaires. The Moon&Mars are for really rich people, ie. the trillionaires we're going to have in the coming few years. Private Starship on a private launchpad, private penthouse in high LEO, ... Sergey/Larry are the first people to live to 200, Zuck - to the time dilluting spaceships.
- LifeLiverTransp 7y ago
  They already do, the refugees in libanon and turkey sell parts for a future.

by 1996 7y ago

wslh 7y ago

> Because above the Maslow pyramid, there's some insanity zone Many times this insanity is about feeling like a king (today billionaires are the kings of kings) or feeling like gods.

foogazi 7y ago

> I hope they start fearing death more, and invest in anti senescence research Aren’t Larry and Sergey already investing in this via Alphabet?

1996 7y ago
Not enough. I hope more billionaires start seriously investing when they turn 40 or 50 or 60 and realize the clock is ticking. And by seriously, I mean spending over 50% of what they have - when they realize that if death happens, all they have accumulated will not matter. Better spend that on increasing their lifespan that on kids!
- rusk 7y ago
  And what then? You end up with 150 y/o billionaires? Great
  - magduf 7y ago
    No, you end up with everyone living to 150, and having longer, healthier lifespans in general.
    - rusk 7y ago
      Yeah right. What on earth would motivate them to prolong everybody’s life? I admire your optimism to be sure, but I don’t share it unfortunately. But even if your hoped for outcome did come to pass what happens wrt world population? Old Age is probably one of the last things saving us from dying surrounded by our own waste ...
      - sixstringtheory 7y ago
        Welcome to Amazon Prime Assisted Suicide! Now with 2-hour delivery for only 5.99 and the latest counterfeit cocktails... reviewers are gushing about them! Or you could read someone who’s a better writer than I and check out Vonnegut’s 2BR02B.
      - magduf 7y ago
        >Yeah right. What on earth would motivate them to prolong everybody’s life? 1) Profit 2) What makes you think they can keep it secret? >But even if your hoped for outcome did come to pass what happens wrt world population? In case you haven't noticed, people in developed countries aren't having kids any more. The population will stabilize: people who can afford anti-senescence therapy will live a very long time, but have very few (if any kids). People who have a lot of kids won't be able to afford any therapy and will die young, but eventually their offspring will become wealthier and will stop reproducing so much.
        rusk 7y ago
        (1) is precisely my concern. Death is the last great leveller. What happens when the rich become exempt? I think then they become gods ... on no basis then other than their ability to hoard coins. I’m familiar with your reasoning on population dynamics, and while it does provide a nice straw to grasp at, I kind of feel its irrelevant unless you address rampant inequality? What happens when one segment gets immortality and a far larger population gets nothing? History is littered with the scattered remains of socieities who tgought theyd have it all for themselves. Have a look into the genesis of Gengis Khan maybe, or more recently Cambodia ...

lsiq 7y ago

Is it actually so unlikely considering the sheer number of ways it could happen? We live in a society where it's obvious that one event, one invention, and one person can have an outsize effect on all the rest. Thankfully, these end up usually being positive changes, but not always. If you asked folks in 1920 how likely it would be that in less than 20 years there would be another awful World War and millions of civilians would be systematically slaughtered and turned into ashes, they probably would have said that is "very unlikely" too. These people are educated, understand tail risks and have the means to try and hedge them. They are not insane, not even close.

1996 7y ago
I'm not saying that's insane - just that the probability multiplied by the consequences means they're misguided in being afraid of a global collapse instead of being afraid of their death that is GUARANTEED given our limited technology.
- MagnumOpus 7y ago
  > they're misguided in being afraid They might be spending 0.1% of their wealth (which they could never spend in 10 lifetimes anyway) on protection from an event (war on US soil or loss of their US assets) that has 0.5-5% chance of happening during their lifetimes. Put it like that, it is quite rational. While even their entire wealth won't make them life forever. 100 billion is a drop in bucket for senescence research, especially if it has to yield results within 20-30 years.
  - 1996 7y ago
    Do you invest 0.1% of your wealth in things you considered to have 0.5-5% chance of happening? I don't. And I have a rather clear example in mind, something I do consider at a 5% risk and yet refuse to bother about. I don't, because it's not just the amount of wealth, but the consequences, and the complexities it creates by snowball effect. I don't want to talk about my stuff, but let's talk about their escape plans, as I can easily imagine how it would require some similar planning. These properties in NZ will require upkeep. It will keep their mind thinking about that too. It will also cause other slight increases in costs (the example of getting into a plane: add the costs of a 24/7 on-call flight team + a spare plane in case the first one has some unexpected failure) Even if they have someone whose job 24/7 is to take care of that, they may want to visit the NZ properties time to time, to make sure things are proceeding according to plan. Because you can't trust people for something as important as that. And their mind will incorporate these limits into whatever other calculations. For example, a juicy business deal in Europe? A concert or a conference where they can physically meet with some key person? Sorry but they shouldn't go to that conference as it may be too far from NZ in a catastrophic scenario, with the airspace closed, if they don't have another plane+team in Europe too. What's another 0.1%? Sure, add this plane and team in Europe. Then you need a manager, a company, etc. Then you want to have that on every continent. Then you think, what if disaster strikes in APAC? Might as well get started buying other properties in Chile! I guess it may be fun for preppers, but when you reevaluate the practical consequences, you come to the conclusion some things are better left undone, to have razor sharp focus on the things you want done. Simplicy has many virtues, especially in planning. Burning some ships is not just an exercise in removing concentration - it also increases focus.

magduf 7y ago

Exactly; the bunkers aren't helping anyone and are a complete waste. But advancing medical research can have all kinds of great by-products; look at all the technologies that came from pouring money into the Apollo program. Even if they don't succeed in totally conquering aging, there's likely to be other very useful discoveries made and therapies developed.

trhway 7y ago

>This could benefit a lot of people i don't think the blood boys benefit in any ways. And just wait until Thiel and the likes learn how to have "kidney/liver boys". Wrt. original post - NZ is just temporarily and just for meager billionaires. The Moon&Mars are for really rich people, ie. the trillionaires we're going to have in the coming few years. Private Starship on a private launchpad, private penthouse in high LEO, ... Sergey/Larry are the first people to live to 200, Zuck - to the time dilluting spaceships.

LifeLiverTransp 7y ago
They already do, the refugees in libanon and turkey sell parts for a future.