From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Jan 31 2002 - 06:41:01 MST
On Wed, Jan 30, 2002 at 12:21:41PM -0600, Simon McClenahan wrote:
>
> If you're on a good thing, stick to it? What do you think about
> transhumanism then?
>
> I believe (although I don't practice as much as I would like) in early
> adoption of technology. Hanging on to the old for security reasons just
> addresses the symptoms of the issue, not the cause.
If you think transhumanism is mainly about the adoption of new
technology, then of course being a transhumanist makes early adoption
mandatory. But if you think transhumanism is about taking charge
of one's life to make it as good as possible, then there is no need to
get the latest gadget just because it is the latest gadget with the most
functions.
Personally I do not feel the need to discard tools I know and use well
unless the perceived benefit of getting the next version is higher than
the cost of re-learning to use the tool. My cellphone is not top of the
line, but the value of the newer features is so small to me that it is
not worth it to get a new one before this one breaks.
The interesting issue is how much time to spend looking at capabilities
of new stuff and estimating their value to me. The cost of time must be
smaller than the average value increase I get from buying new stuff.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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