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Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

nautil.us

41–50 of 83 posts

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#41

I dont think we need smarter humans, i think we need more normal-intelligence humans who like working hard.

I think we need people who have more empathy for others, have more patience, have more respect for fellow humans, animals and the environment in general. I feel working hard, intelligence etc are secondary to empathy.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#42

Superhuman intelligence needs to have the corresponding nurturing factor as well. It won't do much good if you are born super-smart but are trapped in poverty or circumstances which limit your potential. Plus there is also the EQ (emotional) quotient. Not many people are going to want your company if you are a super-intelligent asshole either.

> It won't do much good if you are born super-smart but are trapped in poverty or circumstances which limit your potential. I'd argue the opposite. If you're in a tougher situation, there's a lot more for you to gain by applying your intelligence.

You would have more to gain, sure. But you would not be able to reach the level you could have reached with the right education, or with good nutrition, etc...

The article actually also mention this, in the passage about the Flynn effect.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#43
post #36
post #23

I don't know if there is any statistical correlation or not, but (as the article alludes to) it does seem that super intelligent people are more prone to some kind of other deficiencies, and particularly social issues. Can anyone shed more light on whether this is true or not? Anecdotally, one of my best friends (extremely intelligent, Cum Laude engineering student) went "off the rails" a few years after graduating.…

> he was seeing things 5 steps ahead of everyone else, and had such an extremely deep insight into every day things I had a period when I experienced this for some time. I can confirm it's deeply frustrating. You see all the madness very clearly. You see theoretical solutions to everything, know it could have been different. But you also understand you're quite alone and not influential enough. Generally, you're bett…

I would also add that you don't necessarily 'know' solutions, but rather make sense of the limited input you have and try to extrapolate in that. Obviously this fails hard at human interactions, which makes this the frustrating part. How to think of an alternative when the 'right' solution seems so beautifully simple?

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#44
post #23

I don't know if there is any statistical correlation or not, but (as the article alludes to) it does seem that super intelligent people are more prone to some kind of other deficiencies, and particularly social issues. Can anyone shed more light on whether this is true or not? Anecdotally, one of my best friends (extremely intelligent, Cum Laude engineering student) went "off the rails" a few years after graduating.…

This is not at all my observation. I've noticed that the uncommonly (technically-scientifically) intelligent people I've been exposed to tended to lead very socially balanced and normal lives. They have also been some of the funniest people I've met too.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#45
I don't agree with the premise of the article. The idea that there are "better" versions of each intelligence-influencing allele - and that they simply linearly combine - seems ludicrous to me.

It is equally plausible (and to my mind much more likely) that the many parameters influencing intelligence are linked in complex ways with no simple global optimum in sight.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#46
> This means that there must be at least thousands of IQ alleles to account for the actual variation seen in the general population.

Or that IQ is only governed by genes to a very small extent in which case the rest of the argument goes out of the window.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#47
post #21

I dont think we need smarter humans, i think we need more normal-intelligence humans who like working hard.

Yes, we definitely need more mindless wage slaves and worker drones who like being used and exploited.

"You should just feel lucky to have a job at all, who cares that they aren't paying you in level with the amount of service/product you produce for them..."

I hate this embrace your servitude mentality.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#48

> This means that there must be at least thousands of IQ alleles to account for the actual variation seen in the general population. Or that IQ is only governed by genes to a very small extent in which case the rest of the argument goes out of the window.

You're right that the author (unless I missed it) didn't say what proportion of variance in IQ is explained by additive genetic effects (narrow sense heritability) . I think a quick search would likely answer that.

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#49

I dont think we need smarter humans, i think we need more normal-intelligence humans who like working hard.

this is highly subjective topic, nobody really knows what mankind truly needs long term in current state. we can state our own personal preferences that would improve things we care for, but that's another topic with possibly different outcomes.

For example, I can easily say we need more people with high moral standards who don't lie, cheat partners, friends,family and do overall positive added value to mankind. This can be anything from freeing a seat in full bus to granny/pregnant woman to curing some specific type of cancer, and anything in between. They don't even need to work hard on this, even small positive action here and there, multiplied by 7 billions, would change our lives gradually for the better. But that's just my subjective 2 cents :)

Re: Super-Intelligent Humans Are Coming

#50

I don't agree with the premise of the article. The idea that there are "better" versions of each intelligence-influencing allele - and that they simply linearly combine - seems ludicrous to me. It is equally plausible (and to my mind much more likely) that the many parameters influencing intelligence are linked in complex ways with no simple global optimum in sight.

I've read that many gifted children are utterly unfit for normal school. Some are even prone to killing themselves if not taken care of properly.

Assuming we can indeed select for gifted embryos, and do so, the consequences are going to be… interesting.

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