> I would rather get execution right, and remain on the same mental track I have been on. I also don’t want my priorities re-ordered, or suddenly to feel that

> I would rather get execution right, and remain on the same mental track I have been on. I also don’t want my priorities re-ordered, or suddenly to feel that now I have grasped the true nature of the universe, and that x, y, and z are in fact meaningless. This whole post is about higher-order volition[1] - what you want to want. This is the future. What if you could have full control over your urges and desires? What if you could make the conscious decision to alter your consciousness such that your sole desire is to find the solution the collatz conjecture, or to achieve rank 1 in league of legends, or to experience orgasmic pleasure from setting up pyramids of dominoes until the end of time. I feel like that's the next phase of humanity. As it is, we're still trapped by the same urges and desires that has guided humanity for hundreds of thousands of years. Any true evolution beyond humanity means a meaningful break from that, but I honestly have no idea what that will look like and what implications it will bring. Greg Egan's fiction introduced me to this idea, and it's haunted me since I encountered it. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher-order_volition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher-order_volition