Conversation

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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I really think there will be some kind of breakthrough consciousness that will develop a spacefaring body-type and gtfo out of our sphere of intra-solar system shenanigans.
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isnt it subjective what mind-expanding is? People find solving problems or even sititing on a rock (meditation) mind expanding. I think you may have the same genetic variant as me that makes us dopamine insensitive and need for extra stimuli 😜