Conversation

Null hypothesis on human futures is pretty grim: Brain uploads seem metaphysically ill-posed/not-even-wrong FTL travel, force fields, antigravity, time travel are all most likely impossible. Cryofreezing, extreme longevity (>200y), artificial wombs seem extremely unlikely
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Lots of problem-solving tech just over the horizon but very little horizon-expanding tech. Closest is robots.
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If you limited yourself to extreme realism, hard-scifi would only paint extremely limited futures. Full of problems and gritty solutions but few soaring adventures. Maybe Mars. Deep BCI symbiosis with computers at a stretch. Sublight starships at a real stretch.
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A weird blindsspot of tech culture, a different problem with solutionism is that small-minded investors and entrepreneurs reduce innovation to “solutions to problems.” That’s easily the least interesting kind of innovation. Horizon-expanding innovations are misunderstood.
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Tech critics don’t like solutionism because of legibilizing high modernism, externalities, dehumanizing effects etc. I am fine with all that. I don’t like them because they are horizon-blind.
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Solutions to problems bore me. They’re important but not that interesting. Without a bunch of horizon expanding, mind expanding generative things going on, there’s no real point to solving problems is there.
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A good way to summarize this view… if I magically discovered a cure for cancer tomorrow m, I’d be sort of abstractly happy for people with cancer but not particularly more fulfilled personally or find life more meaningful. Aliens landing though… yay!
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This thread sponsored by an acute lower back ache I’m dealing with today (while on a short road trip). Between spasms the thought that hits me forcefully is: “what’s the point of solving back aches if no prospect of warp drives?”
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