Re: Modern Technology: Out of Control?
Robin Hanson (hanson@econ.Berkeley.EDU)
Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:26:27 -0800
Max More responds to my nit:
>>A nit: each of us can choose our own plan, but as humanity we cannot
>>choose a plan for ourselves. Evolutionary selection still functions, and
>>plans have reproductive consequences. Those who choose plans which result
>>in fewer progeny will be selected out in the long term.
>
>A nit with this: This isn't quite accurate. Those plans may not take over
>the society of all persons, but the plans of those with few progeny can
>take over sub-societies. If, as I suspect, posthumanity will diverge both
>in space as well as in form, even those who don't reproduce can form
>cultures independent of most of posthumanity. Their plans would only be
>selected out if you assume that only one culture/set of ideas will exist. I
>see no reason to believe this.
By "selected out" I meant becoming a declining fraction of the whole.
In a growing society, entities could stably occupy a niche and still be a
declining percentage of the whole.
Robin Hanson
hanson@econ.berkeley.edu http://hanson.berkeley.edu/
RWJF Health Policy Scholar, Sch. of Public Health 510-643-1884
140 Warren Hall, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 FAX: 510-643-8614