Phil, Stephen, and Michael D. talk about the future of fun.

Will our fun future be jeopardized by peak oil?Will we allow ourselves to enjoy the great future once it gets here? Or will we obsess more and more about less and less serious problems?How much time will we spend in virtual reality?Is the notion that we would get bored with an indefinite lifespan just a new iteration of the Tithonus Error? Maybe we won't get bored because - in addition to remaining biologically young - we'll also be getting smarter. This is part of Eliezer Yudkowsky's Theory of Fun (MP3 of the speech and transcript is at the link). According to his theory, "fun space" is a function of intelligence. The more intelligent we are, the more possibilities of fun we have.Things we can't grasp today will be fun (and funny) to us when we're smarter. Consider the Simpson's episode "Bart the Genius."

[This show first aired 06/23/2008.]