The middle part of the article is similar to your blog post on how nuclear weapon stockpiling and mutually assured destruction has led to preservation of knowledge as wanton wars used to periodically destroy knowledge and civilizations which had to be rediscovered anew.
Wow, yes. I myself failed to make the connection. Yes it is similar in theme, but the one written in 2006 was fundamentally optimistic. Not sure if it is the progression of age or the state of the world, but I am no longer optimistic that we will not regress.
After I read your comment, during my commute I was listening to the audiobook Lifespan by David Sinclair about longevity and extending human lifespan and vitality during old age. Towards the end he was arguing how population growth wouldn't be catastrophic for the planet and while citing disparity is surveys between the developed and developing world about how optimistic or pressimistic they are about the future he quipped that "pessimism is often indicative of exceptional privilege".
So maybe in 2006 we were part of a rising tide and now we are at a privileged position(relatively) in life and while improvements will be incremental downside risk weighs on our minds and that might be colouring our perception of the world.
The middle part of the article is similar to your blog post on how nuclear weapon stockpiling and mutually assured destruction has led to preservation of knowledge as wanton wars used to periodically destroy knowledge and civilizations which had to be rediscovered anew.
Wow, yes. I myself failed to make the connection. Yes it is similar in theme, but the one written in 2006 was fundamentally optimistic. Not sure if it is the progression of age or the state of the world, but I am no longer optimistic that we will not regress.
After I read your comment, during my commute I was listening to the audiobook Lifespan by David Sinclair about longevity and extending human lifespan and vitality during old age. Towards the end he was arguing how population growth wouldn't be catastrophic for the planet and while citing disparity is surveys between the developed and developing world about how optimistic or pressimistic they are about the future he quipped that "pessimism is often indicative of exceptional privilege".
So maybe in 2006 we were part of a rising tide and now we are at a privileged position(relatively) in life and while improvements will be incremental downside risk weighs on our minds and that might be colouring our perception of the world.