'If Only We Were Smarter" - Philippe Verdoux on big brains - IEET countdown # 13
Ready for a bit of pessimism? Verdoux argues that getting smarter won't help us solve our problems - in fact it makes things worse. (I wonder whether he's read Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos; he'd like it.)
I would disagree. The problems appear not because we're 'getting smarter' but because certain segments of the population are creating technologies that the rest cannot use sustainably or with due caution.
Just think of a world in which everyone is an academic, a scientist, a philosopher, an engineer. Surely that sort of world would be far more stable that ours and far preferable to going back to the pre-historic era?
I would disagree. The problems appear not because we're 'getting smarter' but because certain segments of the population are creating technologies that the rest cannot use sustainably or with due caution.
ReplyDeleteJust think of a world in which everyone is an academic, a scientist, a philosopher, an engineer. Surely that sort of world would be far more stable that ours and far preferable to going back to the pre-historic era?
How to get to there from here though...