From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Sun Mar 18 2001 - 14:37:05 MST
Hugo Alves wrote:
>
> "In any case, we can say with absolute confidence is that boredom is not
> going to be a problem. Boredom is an emotion and already we have means
> (drugs etc.) that can reliably dispel boredom for extended periods (albeit
> sometimes with side-effects). It is unthinkable that a jupiterbrain SI
> wouldn't be able to figure out a way of avoiding the boredom emotion if it
> chose to."
I find this exceedingly hideous. Your world/universe/whatever and what
you think of it and yourself does not make you happy or bores you so you
propose to invent or buy a drug to make you feel better without any
necessity for self-examination and possible change? I have friends who
take some of these anti-depressants. I have watched many of them have
their creativity and a large part of their joy flattened in order to
have a even-tempered ok-ness take its place. I cannot speak for all
people of course but I am not at all sure in many cases that this is a
wise thing to do. Nor do I believe that the answer to the possibility
of eternal boredom is simply to engineer the experience away!
- samantha
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