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> there isn't. Just our low evolutionary stage. Deeply xenophobic. This seems to be a deeply confused comment. What about evolution is "high" or "low"? Which

> there isn't. Just our low evolutionary stage. Deeply xenophobic. This seems to be a deeply confused comment. What about evolution is "high" or "low"? Which is a higher form of life, the housefly, or the Neanderthal? Which one is still around? If aliens with FTL travel and psychic powers were to visit us and start wiping us out, would their xenophobia[1] mark them as a being at a "lower" evolutionary stage? If so, what is the use of such a classification?[2] Evolution is not always "up." For that matter, "up" isn't always "up." "The feedback loop never really ends, so a tenth year polysentience can be a priceless jewel or a psychotic wreck," ~Alpha Centauri [1]And if they were the ones wiping us out, who would be more "phobic" (afraid), us or them? [2]http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvolutionaryLevels http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvolutionaryLevel...

trhway 12y ago
>What about evolution is "high" or "low"? Which is a higher form of life, the housefly, or the Neanderthal? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set >If aliens with FTL travel and psychic powers were to visit us and start wiping us out, would their xenophobia[1] >[1]And if they were the ones wiping us out, somehow I doubt they'd have much of a phobia. you're right - FTL and xenophobia are incompatible. A xenophobia indicates intellectual capabilities level not sufficient for FTL. The same about "wiping out". >Evolution is not always "up." For that matter, "up" isn't always "up." "up" has a pretty clear direction on many axes. For a given axis it is the direction of higher degree of symmetry breakup whatever it means on that given axis. Complexity/specialization and sentience level for biological systems. Managed energy density for technological civilization. Violence control for social organization.
- dropit_sphere 12y ago
  >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set A poset is ordered on one relation, and you posit (see what I did there?) that natural selection does the same, and that for humans, it just happens to be greater or lesser degrees of xenophobia? >A xenophobia indicates intellectual capabilities level not sufficient for FTL. I don't buy this, and I'm not sure why you do. It certainly shouldn't be taken as an axiom. > "up" has a pretty clear direction on many axes. For a given axis it is the direction of higher degree of symmetry breakup whatever it means on that given axis. Complexity/specialization and sentience level for biological systems. Managed energy density for technological civilization. Violence control for social organization. The problem is that the axis isn't given. One is competing on all of these axes all at the same time. And, predictably, progress along one axis may mean regress along another. What if you have a technological civilization populated by sentients with greater or lesser degrees of violence? Did you know that identity theft has increased by astronomical amounts since 1960? And yet we have these shiny iPads. Have we progressed?

trhway 12y ago

>What about evolution is "high" or "low"? Which is a higher form of life, the housefly, or the Neanderthal? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set >If aliens with FTL travel and psychic powers were to visit us and start wiping us out, would their xenophobia[1] >[1]And if they were the ones wiping us out, somehow I doubt they'd have much of a phobia. you're right - FTL and xenophobia are incompatible. A xenophobia indicates intellectual capabilities level not sufficient for FTL. The same about "wiping out". >Evolution is not always "up." For that matter, "up" isn't always "up." "up" has a pretty clear direction on many axes. For a given axis it is the direction of higher degree of symmetry breakup whatever it means on that given axis. Complexity/specialization and sentience level for biological systems. Managed energy density for technological civilization. Violence control for social organization.

dropit_sphere 12y ago
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set A poset is ordered on one relation, and you posit (see what I did there?) that natural selection does the same, and that for humans, it just happens to be greater or lesser degrees of xenophobia? >A xenophobia indicates intellectual capabilities level not sufficient for FTL. I don't buy this, and I'm not sure why you do. It certainly shouldn't be taken as an axiom. > "up" has a pretty clear direction on many axes. For a given axis it is the direction of higher degree of symmetry breakup whatever it means on that given axis. Complexity/specialization and sentience level for biological systems. Managed energy density for technological civilization. Violence control for social organization. The problem is that the axis isn't given. One is competing on all of these axes all at the same time. And, predictably, progress along one axis may mean regress along another. What if you have a technological civilization populated by sentients with greater or lesser degrees of violence? Did you know that identity theft has increased by astronomical amounts since 1960? And yet we have these shiny iPads. Have we progressed?