21–30 of 52 posts
That getting rich is not the key of happiness is so obvious that I don't understand how this kind of articles are revealing or enlightening to anybody.
These ideas struck me profoundly and I realised that in fact I couldn't think of anything worse than being famous. I realised that many many people in our society want to be famous - I'd never questioned that as a worthwhile desire.
I'm not rich but I have given thought to what I would do if I suddenly became extremely rich - would I want it to be broadly known, outside of my close family? I don't think so.... I suspect people treat you differently when you are rich and I don't want to be treated differently - I just want to be ordinary.
I used to want to be CEO of my own company, great office, lots of employees etc etc. Now I don't want even one employee, and I certainly don't want an office.
The core thesis is really only true if money can't be exchanged for some expectation value of additional years of healthy life. Up until fairly recently (say 20 years) that was the case. You couldn't really do a lot with a lot of money to swing odds, any more than you could with just a little money and some forethought. The free stuff like planning, exercise, and calorie restriction outweigh everything else, and by t…
Everything has to end. Even the human race. For me the deadline gives our activities meaning. Ironically, even your eager desire to extend longevity only has a sense of urgency and interest because we die. But the actual lifespan itself will always be arbitrary, a number picked out of a hat. So why isn't 80 years ok? Why is 160 years really better?
In fact, wouldn't faster generations make the world even a bit more interesting?
This is relevant because you might be reading only 1 human-sized book, but you can read 10 times as many!
If you can speed up your brain by a factor of 10, you could read a book 10 times faster. This is relevant because you might be reading only 1 human-sized book, but you can read 10 times as many!
Nothing will excite you anymore. All those friendships over 800 years? You've had enough misunderstandings and quarrels that you're done talking to those sick bastards. You have probably exchanged a dozen partners by now and you don't want anymore. Sex? All those positions have been tried out. Now its more like a keep-fit regimen. Landing on Mars? That was like a kid trying ice-cream for the first time. Obviously with eternity we can't have everyone giving birth to immortal babies, so reproduction is strictly controlled. You saw a few grandchildren, and they're all grown up now. Everything is a blip in eternity.
No thank you. I'd rather let my mind get garbage collected whenever the time comes.