Universal Basic Happiness, Part 2

As we continue our discussion of possible solutions to various inequalities, Phil outlines one possible way e could make everybody -- that’s EVERYBODY -- completely happy.

Wireheading: This Strange Experiment from the 1950s Wired Pleasure Directly Into the Brain

In the early 1950s, some very odd experiments were being performed at Tulane University in Louisiana. Dr. Robert G. Heath found that he could manipulate the pleasure and pain centers of the brain by surgically placing electrodes deep inside.

Is it time to turn this into a universally available solution?

Wouldn’t it solve all other inequalities? We could all live in hovels eating gruel every day.

And we’d be happy!

But first we might want to face these rather difficult questions:

Would we be useful?

Would our lives still be meaningful?

Alternatively, virtual reality could open up new avenues of subjective experience without rewiring our brains.

Can VR compensate for sex inequality and income inequality?

On its own, VR will probably never wipe out all those problems. However, VR is actually a subset of a bigger phenomenon. Next time, we’ll look at that bigger phenomenon.

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Universal Basic Happiness, Part 1

Last Weekend, Robin Hanson stirred things up by inquiring why the people concerned about income inequality aren’t worried about other forms of inequality:

Those w/ less access to sex plausibly suffer similarly to those with low income, & might similarly hope to organize to lobby for redistribution along this axis. Strikingly, I see little overlap between those concerned about income & sex inequality. 

https://bit.ly/2HMKlyF

Phil and Stephen discuss: If Universal Basic Income becomes a thing, will Universal Basic Sex be next?

It would be a difficult solution to implement. Some of the hysterical reactions have been that Robin is calling for rape and/or sexual slavery to cure the sex inequality. 

Could universal basic sex be managed in such a way that it protected individual freedom and dignity?

Sex bots, anyone?  We will come back to sexbots in a later podcast.

Meanwhile, here’s a much bigger inequality: happiness.

Some people are a lot happier than others. Some just seem to have happy dispositions. Doesn’t that transcend most other inequalities? Think about it:

There are poor people who are happy.

There are rich people who are miserable.

They are people who have a lot of sex who hate their lives.

There are people who are completely celibate who love every minute of their lives.

Related: Why $50,000 May Be the (New) Happiness Tipping Point

https://ti.me/2eMg09t

 

So if happiness is the big inequality, how do we fix it?

We’ll explore further in part 2.

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Who Wants to Live Forever? Part 3

We conclude our three-part discussion with futurist Thomas Frey by looking into when and how a cure for aging might be found.

Is Death Our Only Option?

https://goo.gl/m1UDax

What is the most likely path the ending aging?

Drugs NMN (NAD+) Metformin

Surgery / Treatments? (Telomeres?)

Genetic Modification / CRISPR?

Other

How long before it is being reliably done for a small subset of the population?

How long before it is an option being enjoyed by a large share / majority of the population?

How long before it is an option for everybody?

Thomas Frey is executive director and senior futurist at the Da Vinci Institute and an internationally renowned futurist and speaker.

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Who Wants to Live Forever? Part 2

This time out we look at the upside of not dying. (Shouldn't be too hard to find now, should it?)

Is Death Our Only Option?

1.) Improved Health

2.) Delayed Death

3.) Dramatically Improved Intelligence

4.) New Age of Discovery

5.) New Social Structures

6.) More Stable Society

7.) Additional Levels of Maturity

8.) More Diverse Economy

Thomas Frey is executive director and senior futurist at the Da Vinci Institute and an internationally renowned futurist and speaker.

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Who Wants to Live Forever? Part 1

If we could extend human life indefinitely, would it be a good idea? What are the downsides? Futurist Thomas Frey joins us for part 1 of a 3-part series.

Last Known Person Born in the 19th Century Dies

If what we are hearing about developments in anti-aging technology is true, the last person from the 20th century to die will do so long after the year 2118. But is that a good thing or a bad thing?

 

Is Death Our Only Option?

 

1.) Old System Failures 

2.) Messy Transition  

3.) Family Dynasties 

4.) Wealth Controlled by the Super Old 

5.) Super Entrenched Political Systems

6.) Loss of Urgency 

7.) Loss of Innovation

8.) Heavy-Handed Population Control 

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Benefits of Making People Live Longer  :01

Shifting Realities, Part 3.

Phil and Stephen attempt to reverse-engineer the Mandela effect by looking at news stories and trying to figure out which narrative best explains them.  Can we change our reality by changing the story we tell ourselves about what reality is? 

Israeli Scientists May Have Found A Cure for MS, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s And Colitis in One Single Drug

https://goo.gl/8iJbiv

Possible stories:

Cures are all around us, but the government and big pharma are working to keep them out of our hands.

OR

We live in an era where curing most or all major diseases is a real possibility

A different kind of regret: Trying White Castle’s new Impossible Slider

https://goo.gl/M2kjcP

Progressives are ruining everything. First they bring veggie burgers into White Castle --next you won’t be able to get a real burger anywhere!

OR

We are rapidly moving towards a more humane future in which we can enjoy our favorite foods without causing billions of animals to suffer

Is the Future of Farming Vertical?

https://goo.gl/3R5mjd

Also: https://youtu.be/ScH3TMZQ-dg

Do we really want food that hasn’t been outside, nourished by the sun and outside air?

OR

Controlling exactly the right amount of light, water, etc means that less than 1% of crops thrown away (rather than 50% for crops in fields).  Reduces waste, water uses, reduces herbicide and pesticide use to zero. Number of harvests are 4x that in fields.

If we’re just going to create our own reality anyway, why no pick a good one?

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Shifting Realities, Part 2.

Like it our not, our “reality” goes on mostly in our brains. If you contract a physical brain disease it can greatly  shift your reality. But in recent years we have repeatedly exposed our minds to a completely different kind of infection. And now we’re living with the consequences.

This Video Will Make You Angry

https://youtu.be/rE3j_RHkqJc

Memes aren’t just funny cat pictures. They are the driver of our shifting realities

Are we doomed to live in a less real world-- one that makes us angrier?

Is the Mandela Effect Real? Maybe reality really is changing (sort of)-- since we experience reality in our brains and our brains are drawing very different pictures of how things work than they used to.

Are we letting ourselves be pushed into realities we don’t want to inhabit?

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Shifting Realities, Part 1

The end of two paranormal and conspiracy-affirming institutions from the 90’s may have something to say about how differently we shape our reality today than we did in years past.

Radio host Art Bell dies at 72

‘The X-Files’ Is Done, and Please Let It Be For Good

Both the X files and Art Bell belong to an earlier era. As entertainment, they are quite similar (although many take the Art Bell stuff seriously.) But it’s hard to use UFOs and conspiracy theories as entertainment when crazy, paranoid ideas are so common--more or less mainstream.

Meanwhile, fringe ideas have gotten more extreme. Some people believe that every shooting that occurs is a FEMA production. Some seriously believe in the Mandela Effect -- which the X Files references in a humorous episode earlier this year. And a growing number of people are now saying that they intend to keep and “open mind” about whether the earth is flat. 

I sreality getting hard to grasp, or are we just having a harder time committing to it? Either way, what should we do next?

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What are the implications of Vladimir Putin’s recent statement that he wants Russia to make a big move in space?

Vlad's New Land Grab

Vladimir Putin announces mission to MARS next year followed by manned trips in bid to colonise the Red Planet.

The original space race was one of superpower vs. superpower. Are we ready for a new space race that pits nation states against other nation states, against private organizations?

It would seem that the Human Imperative  continues apace. Capability that once belonged only to massive-budget superpowers now sits with nation states and smaller groups.

So who do we like in this race? Elon MUsk or Vladimir Putin?

If the race heats up, would the US “adopt” Musk’s program and make it their own?

Alternatively, is their room for Putin / Musk cooperation in getting humanity to Mars?

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It’s worse than that.You are that which produces the product.

We start with some thoughts from Glenn Reynolds on the possible need for social media regulation:

Social media firms want us addicted to approval. So much for WiFi making us smarter.

goo.gl/KJiDgt

Glenn shares an enlightening tweet from The Stoic Emperor goo.gl/YLZMkL:

Almost all Americans own a smartphone or a computer.

Each device contains the library of Alexandria. 

The sum total of all world knowledge. 

You can learn anything. Why don't you?

Too busy tracking social status. 

Too enthralled by imagery your evolution can't resist.

Then there’s this piece, also recommended by Glenn:

You are not friends with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. You are their product.

goo.gl/SrRKKp

-- We conveniently forgot or ignored the fact that WE are the product Facebook sells. We are not Facebook’s customers. We don’t pay to use it. We give Facebook tons of data every time we sign on or post or ‘like’ something, and they make boatloads of money off us. They sell our information to advertisers. The small price we thought we were paying was seeing an annoying ad for a dress bought on StyleWe or shoes from Nordstroms follow us around for a few months. --

No exactly. We aren’t really the product. It’s worse. We are more like the livestock.

Still, there may be hope in the face of all this angst. And it may come from a pretty unexpected source.

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