What values are you fulfilling with these moving criteria?
Ideology, as a rule, is a mess of signaling and identity. It seems to consist of beliefs that are held almost entirely because of coincidence and cognitive quirks. So they seem like a very bad set of beliefs to base life altering decisions on.
Now, your terminal values are your terminal values, but either you have a very unique set of terminal values or the way in which these moving criteria fulfills those values is pretty convoluted. Maybe if you explained what exactly your terminal values are your stated criteria would seem less crazy to us?
2- Pride (I want to actually be immune to ‘The Man’ as abstraction to the greatest possible extent- to be able to avoid opression and control by the elites of society as much as possible. Come to think of it, both Freedom and Property come down to this)
3- Social status (Practical- I want a high one relative to those I regularly interact with)
4- Social status (Theoretical- I want as high a social status in society as I can realistically get)
5- Evolution (I want to be evolutionary sucessful, although this is by comparison minor)
I figure that by picking and choosing low-status areas and people I can maximise my practical social status, my theoretical social status by working effectively, my happiness by the usual means, and my desire for property and freedom by choosing effectively where to live. By sperm donation once I’ve achieved high status, I can achieve evolutionary sucess beyond the wildest dreams of what my distant ancestors could hope for.
Good edit. My advice regarding #2 is to make lots of money. This is far more important than living somewhere with a strong property rights regime (as long as they have the usual property rights of Western countries). This may not be true in all countries (my experience is mostly with the US) but being wealthy lets you buy the best lawyers and the most influence. It gives you the means to leave the country and insulates you against threats to your property. And if you’re wealthy you don’t have to risk your life to kill burglars… you can just buy homeowners insurance or replace what you lose. Make a call to the mayor whose campaign you donated to and watch the police go to work hunting down you home invader. My guess is America lets you buy this protection more than most other places (at least, the other places worth living, you might get more bang for your buck living someplace dreadful)- I think your fears about freedom in the US are probably more serious than the evidence justifies. In any case, I’m pretty sure Texas is still pretty cool with shooting home invaders and Austin is a great city.
I think you should spend more time thinking about how your happiness will be influenced by where you live.
I figure that by picking and choosing low-status areas and people I can maximise my practical social status,
I’m not sure this isn’t the exact opposite of what you should do.
By sperm donation once I’ve achieved high status, I can achieve evolutionary sucess beyond the wildest dreams of what my distant ancestors could hope for.
A- That could be a barely acceptable way around it- what countries allow for ‘buying’ such protection for the rich?
B- It’s more that I can as a matter of principle- that I can defend my own property, rather than having to depend on the government.
C- By ‘practical social status’ I mean ‘social status relative to the people I normally have to deal with’. ‘Big fish in a small pond’ and all that.
D- That’s why I need high social status, or else sperm donation is useful. If the sperm are advertised as being from a high-status source, the chances of use increase. Sufficently high status, and I hit metaphorical jackpot.
People on this site love the idea of spreading our awesome genes through sperm/egg donation, but I wonder how many have tried. I’m sure LWers are above average in brains, but what gene banks wants are largely beauty, height, and flawless family history. As a population I expect we’re average or below average in those things.
So if you’re tall, handsome, and have no family history of any diseases, congratulations.
That’s why I’d have to achieve something high status first- say, becoming a partner in a law firm. That way, I’ll at least maximise my chances of evolutionary sucess (relative to any other avaliable options, given that it’s in the scheme of things minor).
That’s why I’d have to achieve something high status first- say, becoming a partner in a law firm.
I recommend becoming the Chief Medical Officer at the sperm/egg storage facility. Or, you know, the janitor. Darwin doesn’t award points for playing fair!
What values are you fulfilling with these moving criteria?
Ideology, as a rule, is a mess of signaling and identity. It seems to consist of beliefs that are held almost entirely because of coincidence and cognitive quirks. So they seem like a very bad set of beliefs to base life altering decisions on.
Now, your terminal values are your terminal values, but either you have a very unique set of terminal values or the way in which these moving criteria fulfills those values is pretty convoluted. Maybe if you explained what exactly your terminal values are your stated criteria would seem less crazy to us?
My terminal values include:
1- Happiness
EDIT:
2- Pride (I want to actually be immune to ‘The Man’ as abstraction to the greatest possible extent- to be able to avoid opression and control by the elites of society as much as possible. Come to think of it, both Freedom and Property come down to this)
3- Social status (Practical- I want a high one relative to those I regularly interact with)
4- Social status (Theoretical- I want as high a social status in society as I can realistically get)
5- Evolution (I want to be evolutionary sucessful, although this is by comparison minor)
I figure that by picking and choosing low-status areas and people I can maximise my practical social status, my theoretical social status by working effectively, my happiness by the usual means, and my desire for property and freedom by choosing effectively where to live. By sperm donation once I’ve achieved high status, I can achieve evolutionary sucess beyond the wildest dreams of what my distant ancestors could hope for.
Good edit. My advice regarding #2 is to make lots of money. This is far more important than living somewhere with a strong property rights regime (as long as they have the usual property rights of Western countries). This may not be true in all countries (my experience is mostly with the US) but being wealthy lets you buy the best lawyers and the most influence. It gives you the means to leave the country and insulates you against threats to your property. And if you’re wealthy you don’t have to risk your life to kill burglars… you can just buy homeowners insurance or replace what you lose. Make a call to the mayor whose campaign you donated to and watch the police go to work hunting down you home invader. My guess is America lets you buy this protection more than most other places (at least, the other places worth living, you might get more bang for your buck living someplace dreadful)- I think your fears about freedom in the US are probably more serious than the evidence justifies. In any case, I’m pretty sure Texas is still pretty cool with shooting home invaders and Austin is a great city.
I think you should spend more time thinking about how your happiness will be influenced by where you live.
I’m not sure this isn’t the exact opposite of what you should do.
Is this true? How often is a given sample used?
A- That could be a barely acceptable way around it- what countries allow for ‘buying’ such protection for the rich? B- It’s more that I can as a matter of principle- that I can defend my own property, rather than having to depend on the government. C- By ‘practical social status’ I mean ‘social status relative to the people I normally have to deal with’. ‘Big fish in a small pond’ and all that. D- That’s why I need high social status, or else sperm donation is useful. If the sperm are advertised as being from a high-status source, the chances of use increase. Sufficently high status, and I hit metaphorical jackpot.
That was answered:
I meant other than the United States- Texas looks like a good option at this point, but I wanted to see if there were any others.
I think money can buy protection almost anywhere, e.g. donations to the right people.
People on this site love the idea of spreading our awesome genes through sperm/egg donation, but I wonder how many have tried. I’m sure LWers are above average in brains, but what gene banks wants are largely beauty, height, and flawless family history. As a population I expect we’re average or below average in those things.
So if you’re tall, handsome, and have no family history of any diseases, congratulations.
That’s why I’d have to achieve something high status first- say, becoming a partner in a law firm. That way, I’ll at least maximise my chances of evolutionary sucess (relative to any other avaliable options, given that it’s in the scheme of things minor).
I recommend becoming the Chief Medical Officer at the sperm/egg storage facility. Or, you know, the janitor. Darwin doesn’t award points for playing fair!
As things stand (much to Inspector Darwin’s horror), you don’t need even to be the janitor—the donors make out like cuckolds. One known donor has 150 offspring: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06donor.html
Evolutionary sucess is by comparison a minor priority for me- if it were my first priority, that would indeed be my best course of action.
Simplest method: be one.