drdan

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Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Well, after giving the idea some thought, I guess I have an answer for OGH: Turn the Galactic Federation down, but not for the reasons you think. 1) Our present society simply cannot be trusted with an End It All...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
"If the latter is correct, the only thing we have of value is our unique human cultures. A short lived commodity because after the any deal is made we will have massive culture loss as we acculturate to the culture(s)...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Above, I broke OGH's questions down into a slightly different list of questions. On that list, I've gotten to these two: 3) Would such a telepathically transparent society necessarily constitute a group mind? (My answer to this question is “no.”)...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Well, I am assuming that there is a difference between a society that is merely telepathically transparent and a true group mind. A telepathically transparent society could be... tolerable... or it could be a hell-on-earth. I certianly wouldn't trust a...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
An excellent point! I would point out that at least we wouldn't have to worry about them inadvertently wiping us out with turbo-charged infectious diseases, like what happened when Europeans got to the Americas. I have been taking the alleged...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
"Tell the wankers to gtfo. I've had enough internet time to know that I don't want the collective id of Humanity to have access to my mind that I can't throttle." I think this is a point that we would...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Should humans consent to a telepathically transparent society in order to gain access to the galactic federation's Super Science and incidentally prevent our being eradicated by the galactic federation out of self-defense? My answer to this question is a provisional...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
I think I answered this in my own post, which is just above yours :p :D...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Why is the galactic federation doing this? This may need to be broken down a bit. What the federation fears is that if enough entities are granted access to the Super-Science, the risk of one entity (regardless of whether that...
Commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
My response to OGH's question is going to be a bit long. I think I'll recycle it as a blog post on my own blog (if I ever actuall launch it...), assuming OGH doesn't mind. I'm not sure what the...

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Bill Arnold commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
I assume that's A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan (July 2015). Don't have access except to the abstract; how big was the study out of curiosity? Anyway, that's science, not woo. The problem as you note is that standards of evidence for policy-making, and standards of evidence for picking problems and guiding research and further investigation, are two different beasts. For the later category (particularly picking problems), one needs to be more willing to consider that their priors are entirely, or at least interestingly, wrong. While I'm thinking of it, unrelated question;...
Dirk Bruere commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
The only thing I know is that microdosing with LSD is somewhat fashionable for "creativity". Not sure how well it works, but it seems logical. I have only ever done megadosing :-) Some discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/2grjbn/best_nootropic_for_enhancing_creativity/ Easiest thing would be for you to just try some Piracetam. It's about the safest drug I have ever encountered....
Bill Arnold commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Tx! Also found this (2009), related to Piracetam and intuition, and uhm other stuff. Search engines are great! (You might find it amusing.) Odd that the creative class hasn't picked up on it (or maybe they have), like performers have picked up on beta blockers etc....
Dirk Bruere commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Piracetam especially is more than subtle. For me its effect is imperceptible. I only notice it when playing something like Sodoku, where my scores increased over a period of around 3 weeks by some 7%. I initially thought the online game was somehow broken because they were getting significantly easier. However, I only do a few weeks with piracetam and then take time off. During the latter period the games get harder again. Perhaps that is why many people under rate it. Some of its relatives, like aniracetam etc tend to be significantly more effective more quickly, but I prefer...
Michael Cule commented on A purely theoretical dilemma
Me to aliens: Borg off. To expand a little... I want immortality but not at the cost of self. I have no evidence that a group mind is any more likely to produce happy results than a bunch of individuals. (Show me some evidence and I might, I say Might, be convinced otherwise. I have no evidence that these aliens are honest and trustworthy. Again show me evidence that they are not con-artists or the equivalent of Scientologist or other types of evangelists and I might be convinced otherwise. I never agree to major changes to my entire species on...

Responses to Comments from drdan

Common Misconceptions About Publishing—a series of essays about the industry I work in.
How I Got Here In The End —my non-writing autobiography, or what I did before becoming a full-time writer.
Unwirer—an experiment in weblog mediated collaborative fiction.
Shaping the Future—a talk I gave on the social implications of Moore's Law.
Japan: first impressions — or, what I did on my holidays
Inside the MIT Media Lab—what it’s like to spend a day wandering around the Media Lab.
The High Frontier, Redux — space colonization: feasible or futile?
“Nothing like this will be built again”—inside a nuclear reactor complex.
Old blog—2003-2006 (RIP)

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