What good thing happens if you read The Sequences?
You see repeated examples of rigorous thought about slippery topics, very deliberately setting up the seductive cached answers and then swerving away from them.
Exposure to a lot of carefully applied Transhumanism. Mostly in Fun Theory but also sprinkled throughout. The transhumanism is sincere and often emotionally charged, not just smug philosophical gotchas.
The concepts & jargon are really useful. Yeah, jargon has its downsides, no doubt, but it is still overwhelmingly net positive.
A thorough argument that you really can live a life that integrates philosophical curiosity, narrative satisfaction, frolicking artistry, vigilant truth-orientation, deep emotion, scientific rigor, and a childlike hope for The Good.
Deep and unforced optimism. Cynicism about cynicism[1]. Generalized anti-nihilism.
Friendly AI is permitted by the laws of physics. This is sufficient reason to try our best, even if it turns out to be too difficult for tiny mortals like us.
We’re a thousand shards of desire lashed together by evolved kludges. Human-compatible morals & æsthetics exist only in humans, and are not objectively special. So what are you gonna do about it?
Unicorns aren’t real, there is no god, and no pixies in the garden. But you know what is real? Giant squid. Electric eels. Radiotrophic fungus. Black holes. Volcanoes. Aircraft. Flamethrowers. SCUBA diving. Lightning, rainbows, aurorae. If you really think you could enjoy unicorns and levitation spells, there is no reason why you shouldn’t also be able to take joy in the merely real.
[1] Cynical About Cynicism isn’t in the Sequences, but the same general attitude still comes up.
What good thing happens if you read The Sequences?
You see repeated examples of rigorous thought about slippery topics, very deliberately setting up the seductive cached answers and then swerving away from them.
Exposure to a lot of carefully applied Transhumanism. Mostly in Fun Theory but also sprinkled throughout. The transhumanism is sincere and often emotionally charged, not just smug philosophical gotchas.
The concepts & jargon are really useful. Yeah, jargon has its downsides, no doubt, but it is still overwhelmingly net positive.
A thorough argument that you really can live a life that integrates philosophical curiosity, narrative satisfaction, frolicking artistry, vigilant truth-orientation, deep emotion, scientific rigor, and a childlike hope for The Good.
Deep and unforced optimism. Cynicism about cynicism[1]. Generalized anti-nihilism.
Friendly AI is permitted by the laws of physics. This is sufficient reason to try our best, even if it turns out to be too difficult for tiny mortals like us.
We’re a thousand shards of desire lashed together by evolved kludges. Human-compatible morals & æsthetics exist only in humans, and are not objectively special. So what are you gonna do about it?
Unicorns aren’t real, there is no god, and no pixies in the garden. But you know what is real? Giant squid. Electric eels. Radiotrophic fungus. Black holes. Volcanoes. Aircraft. Flamethrowers. SCUBA diving. Lightning, rainbows, aurorae. If you really think you could enjoy unicorns and levitation spells, there is no reason why you shouldn’t also be able to take joy in the merely real.
[1] Cynical About Cynicism isn’t in the Sequences, but the same general attitude still comes up.