Convincing someone else to work towards something is like devoting another lifetime to it, or doubling your efforts. And you only need to convince them once.
Evangelism!
So there’s two things I want to learn how to do: 1. Convince people to try and save the world
It is a tricky proposition. The world has existed for billions of years, and doesn’t look as though it is at much risk. There are billions of humans on the planet. Our species is doing spectacularly well.
There are lots of people trying to convince others that the world is at risk. Resource shortages, a climate apocalypse, nuclear warfare, technological meltdown.
One problem is that most of them are transparently after your money and time—and just want to use a superstimulus to get hold of it. Humans are relatively vulnerable to manipulation using fear—and an apocalypse is a fear superstimulus.
Another problem is that most humans—like many other animals—are fairly self-interested. The coming apocalypse is usually a large collective action problem that most individuals are poorly-placed to influence—and poorly-motivated to try to influence.
So, people build up a memetic immune system that rejects this kind of material.
Making messiahs is a traditional problem faced by religions. They have many of the best tricks for overcoming people’s natural defenses:
Get to people when they are young. Use authority figures. Use sex. Use scripture. Sever ties to the family. Make sure they have no money—and are dependent. Invoke powerful super-beings—and make sure they are on your side. Eliminate doubt. Employ inspirational speaking. Make sure that their eyes shine.
It is a tricky proposition. The world has existed for billions of years, and doesn’t look as though it is at much risk. There are billions of humans on the planet. Our species is doing spectacularly well.
On the whole our species is doing well, but if you look at history there’s quite a bit of precedent for societies collapsing (Mayans, Mohenjo Daro, Sumerians), being wiped out by disease (Native Americans), and being destroyed by natural catastropes (Crete). We just don’t find them that pressing because our society is still going.
Evangelism!
It is a tricky proposition. The world has existed for billions of years, and doesn’t look as though it is at much risk. There are billions of humans on the planet. Our species is doing spectacularly well.
There are lots of people trying to convince others that the world is at risk. Resource shortages, a climate apocalypse, nuclear warfare, technological meltdown.
One problem is that most of them are transparently after your money and time—and just want to use a superstimulus to get hold of it. Humans are relatively vulnerable to manipulation using fear—and an apocalypse is a fear superstimulus.
Another problem is that most humans—like many other animals—are fairly self-interested. The coming apocalypse is usually a large collective action problem that most individuals are poorly-placed to influence—and poorly-motivated to try to influence.
So, people build up a memetic immune system that rejects this kind of material.
Making messiahs is a traditional problem faced by religions. They have many of the best tricks for overcoming people’s natural defenses:
Get to people when they are young. Use authority figures. Use sex. Use scripture. Sever ties to the family. Make sure they have no money—and are dependent. Invoke powerful super-beings—and make sure they are on your side. Eliminate doubt. Employ inspirational speaking. Make sure that their eyes shine.
On the whole our species is doing well, but if you look at history there’s quite a bit of precedent for societies collapsing (Mayans, Mohenjo Daro, Sumerians), being wiped out by disease (Native Americans), and being destroyed by natural catastropes (Crete). We just don’t find them that pressing because our society is still going.