"The tendency for entropy to increase in isolated systems is expressed in the second law of thermodynamics — perhaps the most pessimistic and amoral formulation in all human thought."
— Gregory Hill and Kerry Thornley, Principia Discordia [1]
As I understand, over the centuries, the usual coping mechanism for existential dread has been belief. Religion is often cynically thought to be a means to control the masses, but I think its central purpose is serving as a mental safety valve. I've chosen to believe in the power of technological progress.
"Yes, we did it, we killed the dragon today. But damn, why did we start so late? This could have been done five, maybe ten years ago! Millions of people wouldn't have had to die."
— Nick Bostrom, The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant [2]
I believe it's our duty to conquer death and bring heaven to earth, by fixing aging and developing machine intelligence. [3] [4] Once this is done, there will be time to think about reversing entropy, or breaking out of the universe.
"THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER."
I believe it's our duty to conquer death and bring
heaven to earth, by fixing aging and developing machine
intelligence. [3] [4] Once this is done, there will be
time to think about reversing entropy, or breaking out
of the universe.
That is a beautiful thought, and a good way to overcome and deal with this 'existential crisis'.
"The tendency for entropy to increase in isolated systems is expressed in the second law of thermodynamics — perhaps the most pessimistic and amoral formulation in all human thought."
— Gregory Hill and Kerry Thornley, Principia Discordia [1]
As I understand, over the centuries, the usual coping mechanism for existential dread has been belief. Religion is often cynically thought to be a means to control the masses, but I think its central purpose is serving as a mental safety valve. I've chosen to believe in the power of technological progress.
"Yes, we did it, we killed the dragon today. But damn, why did we start so late? This could have been done five, maybe ten years ago! Millions of people wouldn't have had to die."
— Nick Bostrom, The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant [2]
I believe it's our duty to conquer death and bring heaven to earth, by fixing aging and developing machine intelligence. [3] [4] Once this is done, there will be time to think about reversing entropy, or breaking out of the universe.
"THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER."
— Isaac Asimov, The Last Question [5]
[1] http://principiadiscordia.com/
[2] http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html
[3] http://www.sens.org/
[4] http://intelligence.org/
[5] http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html