More explanatory of the way people actually behave is that there’s no unified preference for or against death, but rather a set of behaviors. Being in a burning building activates fleeing behavior; contemplating death from old age does not activate cryonics-buying behavior.
Contemplating death from old age does activate fleeing behavior, though (at least in me), which is another of those silly bugs in the human brain. If I found a way to fix it to activate cryonics-buying behavior instead, I would probably have found a way to afford life insurance by now.
When you notice that your fleeing behavior has been activated, ask “Am I fleeing a problem I can solve?”, and if the answer is yes, think “This is silly, I should turn and face this solvable problem”.
Focus more on the reward of living forever than the punishment of death from old age.
There are also problems with incompleteness; if I can think everything a smarter me would think, then in what sense am I not that smarter me? If I cannot think everything, so there is a real difference between the smarter me and the current me, then that incompleteness may scuttle any attempt to exploit my stolen intelligence.
For example, in many strategy games, experts can play ‘risky’ moves because they have the skill/intelligence to follow through and derive advantage from the move, but a lesser player, even if they know ‘an expert would play here’ would not know how to handle the opponent’s reactions and would lose terribly. (I commented on Go in this vein.) Such a lesser player might be harmed by limited knowledge.
Not applicable here. If you can predict what a stronger you would lift, why not lift it right now? Because it’s not about correct beliefs about what you want the meat robot to do, it’s about making it do it. It involves different thoughts, about planning rather than goal, which aren’t predicted; and resources, which also need planning to obtain.
I wrote my comment with the purpose in mind of providing some short-term motivation to juped, since it seems that that’s currently the main barrier between them and one of their stated long-term goals. That might or might not have been accomplished, but regardless you’re certainly right that my statement wasn’t, um, actually true. :-)
YES. This so much.
Contemplating death from old age does activate fleeing behavior, though (at least in me), which is another of those silly bugs in the human brain. If I found a way to fix it to activate cryonics-buying behavior instead, I would probably have found a way to afford life insurance by now.
Three suggestions:
When you notice that your fleeing behavior has been activated, ask “Am I fleeing a problem I can solve?”, and if the answer is yes, think “This is silly, I should turn and face this solvable problem”.
Focus more on the reward of living forever than the punishment of death from old age.
Contact Rudi Hoffman today.
If you can predict what a smarter you would think, why not just think that thought now?
There are also problems with incompleteness; if I can think everything a smarter me would think, then in what sense am I not that smarter me? If I cannot think everything, so there is a real difference between the smarter me and the current me, then that incompleteness may scuttle any attempt to exploit my stolen intelligence.
For example, in many strategy games, experts can play ‘risky’ moves because they have the skill/intelligence to follow through and derive advantage from the move, but a lesser player, even if they know ‘an expert would play here’ would not know how to handle the opponent’s reactions and would lose terribly. (I commented on Go in this vein.) Such a lesser player might be harmed by limited knowledge.
Not applicable here. If you can predict what a stronger you would lift, why not lift it right now? Because it’s not about correct beliefs about what you want the meat robot to do, it’s about making it do it. It involves different thoughts, about planning rather than goal, which aren’t predicted; and resources, which also need planning to obtain.
Good points.
I wrote my comment with the purpose in mind of providing some short-term motivation to juped, since it seems that that’s currently the main barrier between them and one of their stated long-term goals. That might or might not have been accomplished, but regardless you’re certainly right that my statement wasn’t, um, actually true. :-)