I get inspired when engineers from "the world of atoms" talk about improving important parameters by an order of magnitude or more.
Cost of lighting, transport, clothing, food, heating, communication. We've done it before, we can do it again.
Conversation
Why aren't you working on one of these critical parameters, or supporting the work of people who do?
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At the moment, civilisational safety & resilience is an especially critical parameter.
The risk of disaster from biology labs, artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, solar flares etc is far too high.
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Resilience of food supply, electrical grid, trade routes etc are not well understood.
There’s a lot more we could do, cheaply, to prevent catastrophes and mitigate them when they occur.
See e.g. .
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E.g. #2
We were warned about coronavirus pandemic risk for decades, but many governments and health institutions did not make the most basic preparations (e.g. learn whether mask wearing is actually helpful, and have supplies at the ready.)
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If you can, work on civilisational safety and resilience.
If you’re reading this, you can probably help: either directly or in a supporting role.
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Improving other big parameters, such as those listed above, is also very valuable, all else equal.
But, as Nick Bostrom emphasises, changes to these parameters might increase civilisational risk or fragility…
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We should aim to shift parameters in a direction and sequence that is safety-promoting, for our own sake & for future generations.
Massive uncertainty here, but we can do better than chance.
C.f. Bostrom on differential technological development.
forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/differe
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Some interviews with “world of atoms” engineers that inspire me:
with : dwarkeshpatel.com/p/austin-verno
J. Stores Hall with :
listennotes.com/podcasts/power
David Denkenberger of with :
Replying to
Denkenberger is my favourite: he & team at want to make sure we can produce enough food even if the sun gets blocked by nuclear war or supervolcano. Techniques they develop will probably prove valuable for other scenarios, including “normal times”…