User:Nyarlathotep/Opinions
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I'm an Atheist Dawkins wannabe & a sane transhumanist. I beleive that:
- It is ignorant, hollow, and wrong to hope for more than the possibilities afforded by the real physical world, i.e. its wrong to want an afterlife.
- Irrational beliefs and behavior, like religion and poor decision making, cause most of the world's problems.
- The study of sciences like the psychology of human decission making or sexuality, or mathematics like game theory, is the most efficent way to make the world a better place. Deliberative democracy will help change the world.
- Memetics is the correct explination for human culture; although proof of this remains illusive.
- Dawkins is naive to seek escape from the "tyranny of the selfish replicators"; hope lies in compromise with our genes.
- Human identity is overrated. We are our memes. Any imortality which exists is gained by helping the ideas which will shape the world.
- Humanity's destiny is to memeticly evolve far beyond our current form, via artificial intelligence, brain implants, human genetic enhancement, etc. Biological humans will nolonger be significant within 200 years.
- Almost all resources & people should be working in some field of research & development. People should be genetically enhanced to be more intelligent, creative, etc.
- All consequences of scientific & technological progress are ultimately beautiful & good, by definition (if you use the right one).
- "Is" is slowely being understood to dominate "Ought", which is a very good thing, i.e. reality is more important than morals. Scientific & technological progress eventually force all moral systems to either accept such progress & merge, or die; a kind of "Church-Turing Thesis for Morality".
- Peter Singer style "suffering computations" are often a good measure of morality, but that this will not always be true as humanity continues to evolve. Almost all animal experimentation is perfectly acceptable, but eating mammals not really a good idea, although eating shrimp is fine, i.e. the "suffering per serving" is high for mamals, but low for shrimp.
- Intellectual property should either be abolished outright, or mandate open source, i.e. no copyright unless source code and/or schematics are published too.
- Anybody who ever complains about dating isn't practicing it enough, or isn't trying to learn anything.
- Punctuation should come after closing quotes, unless its part of the quotation. :)
