X-Message-Number: 968
Subject: CRYONICS Hypotheses about human behavior
Date: Wed, 08 Jul 92 10:37:54 -0400
From: 

Thomas Donaldson says:

>In any attempt to foresee the future, we must make hypotheses about how
>human beings will behave.

It's pretty empty of you to say that without either stating your
hypotheses or trying to state mine.  Here are the axioms I'm working
from:

1. A system is "human" if it is biologically human, and "machine" if
it takes coordinated action but isn't human.  (This nomenclature falls
miserably in a "Planet of the Apes" scenario.  By this definition, an
uploaded human is a machine.)

2. Businesses will act in the long run to maximize their profit margins.

3. For any task that humans can do, the cost of making a machine to do
that task approaches 0 as time approaches infinity.

4. Humans have a hard limit on their ability.  (In the case of
cyborgs, the human fraction of the system has a hard limit to its
contribution to the whole.)

>...if anyone believes that the human race WILL choose to
>commit suicide, it should be clear to them that no amount of preparation
>by us now will prevent it. 

Agreed.  Nevertheless, my line of reasoning does lead to eventual
action.  One should strive not to be human when the ecological niche
for the humans vanishes.

At this point I shall opt out of the discussion.  Somebody said
something about only speaking to those who have ears to hear, and that
seems like a good idea.

Tim


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