From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Tue Feb 29 2000 - 12:41:03 MST
"john grigg" <starman125@hotmail.com> writes:
> Eliezer wrote:
> (From other sources, I get the impression that Japan might be truly clued.
> Heck, even their anime is pretty clued. Look to the Japanese to be the first
> culture to emotionally accept the upheaval ahead.) I am very interested in
> knowing how much China knows, seeing as how the Orient looks to be the
> bogeyman of this century.
> (end)
>
> Very interesting comments. As I understand, the Japanese government and
> academia saw the promise in nanotech long before the United States did and
> funded appropriately. And so a hidden major reason for the Clinton
> administration's generous funding of nano research is to deal with the
> foreign competition! Competition can be a good thing, eh?
Also, they realise they need technology to stay alive - the Home
Islands are resource-poor, with a rapidly aging population and
dependent on overseas resources. Anything that can make them more
efficient, self-sufficient and able to uphold their high standard of
living will be pursued. On the other hand, my impression of Japanese
research is that it is often either very applied or very blue sky
visionary; it seems there is a gap in the middle that might seriously
hinder development.
> I do also worry about China. I hope they can learn to live peaceably with
> the rest of their global neighbors. I think of China like an adolescent
> male who was pushed around alot by neighborhood bullies who have since grown
> up and matured emotionally. But the victim of this is still carrying a big
> grudge and wants to kick some butt to prove his place in the neighborhood.
> The question is, can we guide this lad of one billion people to that state
> of societal maturity without a major hot or cold war??
Neighbourhood bully? China is much more than somebody who has been
bullied by stronger neighbours - for most of its history it has been
the reverse. I think *that* is the problem - as long as the Beijing
government see themselves as rulers of an Empire with a manifest
destiny to be great, they will collide with everyone else. Note the
tremendous benefits Japan or Germany (or Sweden in the 16th century
for that matter) have reaped from turning the energy spent on
nationalist expansionism into other pursuits.
As for China, I don't know. On one hand it has such tremendous
potential, a booming economy, many cultural memes which could work
well with transhumanism and sheer size to become the major power of
this century. But on the other hand, it could break down if the
Beijing people cannot handle the transition, and then we get a Balkan
with a billion people involved.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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