How do you define greatness? Would climbing something that no one else has ever climbed before, despite being attempted multiple times by professionals, fall under your definition?
Not sure if there is any greatness in climbing rocks at all.
Compare: finishing an unusually large pizza. It is dangerous, no one ever ate such a large pizza before, there is a lot of joy in eating a good pizza, and maybe your name will be mentioned in Wikipedia. But the feat is so pointless and banal, there is not greatness in it at all.
I find your “still decide to waste resources” argument poor. Where does the logic end? Should people have zero fun and live like beggars just to donate every last cent to fighting malaria? Why are you commenting on LessWrong when you could be out doing something altruistic?
Fair enough. I myself not sure where it should end. But some things are clear indicators of not caring enough for fellow humans. For example, installing a toilet made of pure gold, or spending 20k for being the 5000th person to climb Everest.
Not sure if there is any greatness in climbing rocks at all.
Compare: finishing an unusually large pizza. It is dangerous, no one ever ate such a large pizza before, there is a lot of joy in eating a good pizza, and maybe your name will be mentioned in Wikipedia. But the feat is so pointless and banal, there is not greatness in it at all.
Fair enough. I myself not sure where it should end. But some things are clear indicators of not caring enough for fellow humans. For example, installing a toilet made of pure gold, or spending 20k for being the 5000th person to climb Everest.