Thursday, November 14, 2024

Questions NOV 14

MacA Part II-Trajectory Changes. McK thru David Quammen

  • MacA Part II-Trajectory Changes Christina Guest
  • McK thru David Quammen - Audrey Lewis
  • ... - Eli Miller

MacA

  1. Who are some classical and Enlightenment philosophers who accepted slavery?  What 18th century activist does MacAskill credit with challenging it most effectively? What else did he oppose? 49-50
  2. What is the dead-hand problem? What's an example? 54
  3. What evolutionary biologist famously denied the likelihood that a re-wound "tape of life" would support the emergence of human-level intelligence? What is the current consensus among biologists concerning evolutionary contingency? What principles govern cultural evolution? What happens to cultures that don't entrench themselves? 55-60
  4. What does 20th century history show about moral progress? 65 What do we need, to drive it forward? 72
  5. Who were the Mohists? What did they have in common with the British utilitarians? 76 What did the rise and millennial lock-in of Confucianism illustrate? 78
  6. What technology of our time is key to the prospects of future lock-in? 79  What will we have created, if research in this area proceeds to its ultimate achievement?  80
  7. What have tech moguls like Bezos, Thiel, and Altman invested in and/or patronized? 85
  8. What is the alignment problem? It it's solved, what might continue for billions of years to come? 87
  9. What countries does MacAskill expect to grow in power in the future? 93 What kind of world does he say we should want to build? 99-101

McK

  1. Annie Dillard compared Richard Nelson to who? 860
  2. What do the Koyukon elders teach? 873
  3. What is David Quammen's main subject? What is it good to remember about feathers (and paleontologists)? 874-5
  4. How many species will be lost, if current trends continue? 881
  5. What does anyone interested in biodivdersity need to think about? 884
A nice moment between Joel (Cicely Alaska's imported Columbia-trained physician) and Ed, the local Shaman-in-training and aspiring filmmaker, from the great TV series Northern Exposure:



3 comments:

  1. I decided to take a look at one of Bill McKibben’s recent posts, he brings up how big tech is investing in nuclear energy, but for all the wrong reasons. They need to power their massive data centers and new ai technology, which could turn out to be a good thing if more people catch on to what exactly they’re doing. It means they’re acknowledging alternative power as a viable option, now whether they use it for good or not is up for debate.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would also like to share this debunker with those who are scared about the next four years https://robertinventor.substack.com/
    I am subscribed to his newsletter and he helps quell a lot of my anxieties, and honestly I don’t know if I would be here if it wasn’t for him. This one blog has helped ease a lot of my anxieties.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Benjamin lay who was an early philosopher discouraged consumerism. philanthrope problem the charity for Scotts in London, which tries to improve the lives of Scottish people who were deprived of wealth which is now not a problem today. if you rewound there is no reason to think life had evolved the way it has, small changes could lead to large changes. if time travel were possible.

    ReplyDelete