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slatestarcodex's profile
Scott Alexander
Scott Alexander
Scott Alexander
@slatestarcodex

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Scott Alexander

@slatestarcodex

I have a place where I say complicated things about philosophy and science. That place is my blog. This is where I make terrible puns.

slatestarcodex.com
Joined June 2013

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    1. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25

      People obsessively focus on intelligence when talking about genetic engineering, but my guess is that that's going to be MUCH less important (and harder to do) than A) mood modifications like reducing anxiety and depression, and B) cosmetic changes like height.

      31 replies 18 retweets 131 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25

      My guess is that very little intelligence enhancement will ever come from genetic modification, but a whole lot will come from biomechanical devices.

      11 replies 2 retweets 41 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25

      I doubt genetic intelligence enhancement will be a big deal, because of long-term side effects. Engineering yourself with "genius genes" (whatever those are) would risk making you into a nutter like Isaac Newton or having your brain explode at age 50.

      25 replies 1 retweet 33 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Scott Alexander‏ @slatestarcodex Jan 25
      Replying to @Noahpinion

      Seehttp://slatestarcodex.com/2016/05/04/myers-race-car-versus-the-general-fitness-factor/ …

      1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
      Scott Alexander‏ @slatestarcodex Jan 25
      Replying to @slatestarcodex @Noahpinion

      But also, I question "Oh, it will just create a bunch of people like Isaac Newton" equaling "Won't be a big deal". And if I could be Alan Turing but have my brain explode at 50, well, I'd take that deal. Turing died at 42 and still managed to do some stuff.

      1:22 PM - 25 Jan 2018
      • 7 Likes
      • Humean Being Scientific Coder Danny Nemer Mikal sfrustrowany_hanys Brett Bowman Noah Smith
      2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25
          Replying to @slatestarcodex

          Yeah, and I bet it'll be all the rage in some developing countries.

          3 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        3. K. Chen‏ @tznkai Jan 25
          Replying to @Noahpinion @slatestarcodex

          I don't have a rigorous argument for this: but what worried me most about increasing intelligence is creating a bunch of hyper-aggressive anti-social meglomaniacs. In my observation, keeping smart people smart AND prosocial is really hard.

          2 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        4. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25
          Replying to @tznkai @slatestarcodex

          Of the incredibly smart people I've known, most were nice sweet folks, and maybe only one was a hyper-aggressive megalomaniac.

          2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
        5. K. Chen‏ @tznkai Jan 25
          Replying to @Noahpinion @slatestarcodex

          Did they grow up in a nice middle class neighborhood, were the parents economically stable? Were they themselves bright and thereby have some experience with high intelligence?

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        6. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25
          Replying to @tznkai @slatestarcodex

          I honestly have no idea. Stanford math and physics profs were generally very nice guys, though there were one or two jerks. But there are one or two jerks in any department anywhere...

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        7. K. Chen‏ @tznkai Jan 25
          Replying to @Noahpinion @slatestarcodex

          I mean, thats definitely a survivorship thing.

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        8. Noah Smith‏Verified account @Noahpinion Jan 25
          Replying to @tznkai @slatestarcodex

          The smartest kids at my high school were all very nice folks, and still are. I have known only a few aggressive, arrogant geniuses in my life (most of them in economics). But many depressed and anxious ones.

          2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        9. K. Chen‏ @tznkai Jan 25
          Replying to @Noahpinion @slatestarcodex

          I think smart kids also are likely to bring out the worst kn each other.

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        10. 2 more replies
        1. New conversation
        2. Adam J Calhoun‏Verified account @neuroecology Jan 25
          Replying to @slatestarcodex @Noahpinion

          How about if it turned you into William Sidis?

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
        3. _, err‏ @DanSchmidt Jan 25
          Replying to @neuroecology @slatestarcodex @Noahpinion

          Or Ted Kaczynski…

          0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        4. End of conversation

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