From: Steve Butts (sbutts@purdue.edu)
Date: Tue Oct 12 1999 - 19:06:25 MDT
"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" wrote:
>
> There was a time when everyone on the planet was a farmer. Now, in
> America, it's one in fifty. In a sense, food has ceased to be a problem
> for the vast majority of the population; now it's TV sets. Maybe
> someday work itself will go the way of everyone being a farmer,
> amputations without anesthetic... The economy will just run itself.
But it will always be TV sets. Someday some guy is gonna hack
together some device to make something easier or better, and other
people are going to have to work to keep with that.
I doubt highly that the complete abolishment of work is even possible,
but the real question is do we really want to abolish work? Or even the
requirement to work.
If a person didn't work then they aren't striving to their maximum
capacity to better themselves. If they want to be mediocre that's fine
by me. But while they are out there living and letting their
automations do everything for them, I know I'll be out there working
like crazy to build the faster computer, reach the next galaxy, and to
push the limits of whatever mental capacity I will have at the time.
.. Steve Butts
.. sbutts@purdue.edu
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