From: Barbara Lamar (altamiratexas@earthlink.net)
Date: Tue Jan 30 2001 - 18:05:51 MST
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.org
> [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]On Behalf Of Chris Russo
>
> I think that if you gave everyone in India who is starving a
> "limitless" supply of food, you'd see a population explosion there of
> unimaginable proportions. How far will even miraculous
> nanotechnology be able to be stretched before we once again have
> people starving?
This is surely one possible effect. Starving people don't generally
reproduce. I believe that without a certain amount of body fat women stop
ovulating. As long as there's a finite amount of food, it would seem that by
giving food aid to people who are hungry now (without at the same time doing
something to prevent them from having children), you're going to make it
possible for them to reproduce, thereby ending up with a larger number of
starving people later. I think education is by far a more valuable gift in
the long run than food.
>
> I believe that most of mankind's societal problems are self
> inflicted, and that no matter how miraculous the technology that we
> discover, we won't achieve the kind of "world problem solving"
> progress that has been discussed in this thread until we change
> ourselves.
This makes sense. I see social structures (other than those that are
biologically determined) as a form of technology. When you say we need to
change ourselves, do you mean genetically or socially or some other way?
Barbara
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