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Cognitive equality

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Thu, 2010-01-14 11:55

Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture

Cognitive equality

Today's Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic has a joke that seems to resonate with EP: being smart is no longer a matter of luck, but what people choose to upgrade to. Most transhumans are much smarter than flats just by default. This can be seen as an egalitarian move. Rawls mentions natural talents as a problem in his theory of justice, noting that if they could be improved there would be gains in justice by improving the least advantaged. Many of the more egalitarian groups of the system (especially the Titanians) would be very happy with it. Meanwhile the less egalitarian groups would instead see it as a matter of ambition: if you are interested enough to work to get a great brain, then you should have it. But the converse is that a lot of smarts no longer matter. If your professional skill is below 40 your work can be done by anybody or anything with a skillsoft. Even skill levels of 60 are not that impressive any more thanks to fast learning brains, forking of professionals and smarts-oriented morphs like mentons. So a vast number of people really have to make do by being original - not even creative, but by doing something nobody else is doing. Or thinking, perceiving or feeling what nobody else does. Maybe this is a reason for some geniuses and experts to move to the Jovian Republic: there, at least, they get appreciated for being unusual and impressive. They get to be big fishes in a small pond.

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Sat, 2010-02-06 11:17

hakand

Re: Cognitive equality

Alongside intelligence, I would also like to point out enhancing motivation. Being smart is well and good, but what if you're a scum never-do-well or a hyperelite dilettante. In a society with widespread intelligence enhancement the next logical enhancement target would be motivation. There are some obvious side-effects to such enhancements. Firstly, the motivational enhancements are likely to be somewhat culture-specific. Getting ahead as an Argonaut xeno-paleontologist on Europa would likely require something different from being a career-minded hypercelebrity on Venus. Secondly, it would greatly promote competitive behavoiur, especially with off-the-shelf enhancement solutions that corner the same niche as it were. Thirdly, interoperability issues are likely to pop up a lot. A certain intelligence enhancer peddled by an Extropian microcorp may be (by design!) pure poison when coupled with a Barsoomian motivational enhancement. Today we have either highly specific advice or outright snake-oil dominating the market for motivation and ambition enhancement. Given the fractured nature of transhumanity in EP, I don't think this problem has entirely gone away. Anti-rationalist sentiment and religious movements could push enhancement philosophies and products for reasons other than pure efficiency. Furthermore, cognitive equality is the antithesis of individually oriented motivational enhancers. if everyone (or a goodsize portion thereof) wants to rise above the herd, inequality is even a desirable state. Highly collectivist cultures would, apart from attempting restrictions, likely try to design collective-ambition enhancements. How that would pan out is anyones guess :)

Sat, 2010-02-06 16:06

Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture

Re: Cognitive equality

hakand wrote:
Alongside intelligence, I would also like to point out enhancing motivation. Being smart is well and good, but what if you're a scum never-do-well or a hyperelite dilettante. In a society with widespread intelligence enhancement the next logical enhancement target would be motivation.

I can imagine an enthusiasm personality upgrade, making you more driven and interested (c.f. Exuberance: the passion for life by Kay Redfield Jamison). Given that drive, it becomes easier to excel - but it also takes a certain amount of character to direct it, rather than becoming a dilettante (maybe a WIL roll now and then to stay on track and not just maniacally explore everything). Getting that balance between self-control, being aware of what matters and restless ambition right will be tricky, and might be hard to just patch in. There is also the difference between having high self-esteem and actually being worth it. Enhancing just self-esteem is not going to be healthy, since then that high esteem needs to be protected from evidence to the contrary. It is more effective in the long run to add enhancements driving you to excel rather than just thinking you are excellent. But the latter are a much easier sell. There might be a lot of esteem-junkies around who are happy with who they are and where on the social ladder they exist.

Quote:
Highly collectivist cultures would, apart from attempting restrictions, likely try to design collective-ambition enhancements. How that would pan out is anyones guess :)

"Download the People's Glorious New Motivational and Ideological Security Patch 4.42 now! Ensures that you will feel pure and harmonious altruism with your fellow citizen and ebulliently strive for the betterment of yourself, the common good and the Cause! Protects you from selfthink and zero-sum reasoning 32% better than 4.4!"

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Mon, 2010-02-08 09:32

Re: Cognitive equality

Arenamontanus wrote:
"Download the People's Glorious New Motivational and Ideological Security Patch 4.42 now! Ensures that you will feel pure and harmonious altruism with your fellow citizen and ebulliently strive for the betterment of yourself, the common good and the Cause! Protects you from selfthink and zero-sum reasoning 32% better than 4.4!"

"Plug into the habitat's XP live feed ! Feel its hunger foe Helium, its itching leaks and the vertigo of its under-powered transportation system. Understand where the work has to be done !"