From: Jason Joel Thompson (jasonjthompson@home.com)
Date: Tue Sep 19 2000 - 11:01:05 MDT
Hi Dan.
> Clearly, if I set the imaginary payoffs of my imaginary Doors just
> right, choosing productivity behind Door #2 over happiness behind Door
> #1 might not only be a good idea, it might be downright irrational to
> the point of stupidity to choose today's happiness in exchange for the
> free time of an eternity.
I don't think you're really choosing between happiness and productivity
here, since ostensibly, what you hope to buy with your productivity is long
term happiness.
If the question is, do you think one should trade short term happiness for
long term happiness? The answer is yes.
>
> Though I have begun this question (perhaps) unnecessarily
> theoretically, I ask for rather concrete reasons: I'm graduating from
> Yale this year. I'm a biomedical engineering / philosophy double
> major. There are a number of potential career opportunities before
> me, some of which, it seems to me, would make me substantially more
> likely to survive than others; unfortunately, it also appears to me
> that the career opportunities which have the potential for reaping me
> the most happiness right now are not the opportunities which maximize
> my fitness.
I'm curious to hear how you're evaluating each career's ability to
substantially increase your survivability.
--
::jason.joel.thompson::
::founder::
www.wildghost.com
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