While this is a well written post full of fascinating historical details...
I remain persuaded that academia’s passion for immersion in the deep analysis of countless details is obscuring simpler more important truths. And I really do apologize for repeating this, but...
Unless and until the pace of the knowledge explosion is brought under control so as to match the human ability to effectively respond to emerging threats....
None of this matters.
We can analyze the past, speculate about the future, dive in to the technical details of every emerging threat and so on as much as we want. But so long as the source of all these threats continues to produce ever more threats at an ever accelerating pace, we are collectively headed for destruction.
So much, almost all of the analysis on this site, seems based on the assumption that if we are just smart enough, if we just analyze carefully enough, we can somehow manage whatever pops out of the ever accelerating knowledge explosion. That is a false assumption.
I’m asking readers to trade in your sophistication for clear minded simplicity. As a place to start, focus on what the word “accelerating” actually means. It means faster, and faster, and faster.
So long as knowledge development is feeding back upon itself, resulting in an ever accelerating rate of knowledge and power development...
Nothing on this site matters.
If we are going to accept an ever accelerating knowledge explosion as a given, then we would be wiser to buy a surfboard, head to the beach with our favorite friend, and focus on enjoying civilization while we still have it.
While this is a well written post full of fascinating historical details...
I remain persuaded that academia’s passion for immersion in the deep analysis of countless details is obscuring simpler more important truths. And I really do apologize for repeating this, but...
Unless and until the pace of the knowledge explosion is brought under control so as to match the human ability to effectively respond to emerging threats....
None of this matters.
We can analyze the past, speculate about the future, dive in to the technical details of every emerging threat and so on as much as we want. But so long as the source of all these threats continues to produce ever more threats at an ever accelerating pace, we are collectively headed for destruction.
So much, almost all of the analysis on this site, seems based on the assumption that if we are just smart enough, if we just analyze carefully enough, we can somehow manage whatever pops out of the ever accelerating knowledge explosion. That is a false assumption.
I’m asking readers to trade in your sophistication for clear minded simplicity. As a place to start, focus on what the word “accelerating” actually means. It means faster, and faster, and faster.
So long as knowledge development is feeding back upon itself, resulting in an ever accelerating rate of knowledge and power development...
Nothing on this site matters.
If we are going to accept an ever accelerating knowledge explosion as a given, then we would be wiser to buy a surfboard, head to the beach with our favorite friend, and focus on enjoying civilization while we still have it.