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* It boils down to a simple question. Does this give me better lifestyle / standard of living? Will I get laid more often? Eat Better Food? Have better relatio

* It boils down to a simple question. Does this give me better lifestyle / standard of living? Will I get laid more often? Eat Better Food? Have better relationships? Create Wealth? Will I even get more freedom ? Love ? Then why the f** should I optimize my life around this incredibly stupid idea?

tacker2000 4y ago
Idealism is a thing. People do things because they believe in them, that the world will be “better”. You dont have to agree with other opinions but dont call them “incredibly stupid”.
NoImmatureAdHom 4y ago
I can understand that it sounds like a big deal to you ("...optimize my life..."), but it's a very small change. Once it's set up you won't even think about it, promise. As for why, it's a good question. I think it's because I don't want to live in a world where it's impossible to do the "wrong" thing, or even think the "wrong" thing. Our legal system has evolved to be effective in a world where it's very hard to observe what people are actually doing or saying, and I fear a quick transition to ubiquitous surveillance will mean rigid enforcement of laws that were never meant to be enforced rigidly. In a world with ubiquitous surveillance, how do you get marijuana or gay sex legalized? How do you change things? There's also the problem of concentration of power. The surveillance network we've built would be the envy of the Stasi, and we as a species are only just learning what can be done with it. I fear a small group of people will be able to seize and hold on to a lot of power. So, these are reasons to care. But it doesn't really respond to your point, which is more like: "What's the immediate benefit?". There is one in that it's a great way to subtly signal that you're technologically competent in situations where that's important, but beyond that there probably isn't one. It's just costs. It's costs I gladly pay, though, because I want to raise the likelihood of a better world in the coming years. The present value of that better world over the one where I do nothing makes the investment worth it.

tacker2000 4y ago

Idealism is a thing. People do things because they believe in them, that the world will be “better”. You dont have to agree with other opinions but dont call them “incredibly stupid”.

NoImmatureAdHom 4y ago

I can understand that it sounds like a big deal to you ("...optimize my life..."), but it's a very small change. Once it's set up you won't even think about it, promise. As for why, it's a good question. I think it's because I don't want to live in a world where it's impossible to do the "wrong" thing, or even think the "wrong" thing. Our legal system has evolved to be effective in a world where it's very hard to observe what people are actually doing or saying, and I fear a quick transition to ubiquitous surveillance will mean rigid enforcement of laws that were never meant to be enforced rigidly. In a world with ubiquitous surveillance, how do you get marijuana or gay sex legalized? How do you change things? There's also the problem of concentration of power. The surveillance network we've built would be the envy of the Stasi, and we as a species are only just learning what can be done with it. I fear a small group of people will be able to seize and hold on to a lot of power. So, these are reasons to care. But it doesn't really respond to your point, which is more like: "What's the immediate benefit?". There is one in that it's a great way to subtly signal that you're technologically competent in situations where that's important, but beyond that there probably isn't one. It's just costs. It's costs I gladly pay, though, because I want to raise the likelihood of a better world in the coming years. The present value of that better world over the one where I do nothing makes the investment worth it.