Browsing social media for a few hours and talking to friends for a few hours will each give me a high that feels about the same, but the high from social media also feels sickening, as though I’m on drugs. Similarly, junk food is often so unhealthy that it is literally sickening.
My assumption was that wireheading would impart both a higher level of pleasure and a greater feeling of sickness than current superstimuli, but now that I have read your perspective, I no longer think that that is a valid assumption. I still would not wirehead myself, but now I understand why you are confused that wireheading is not being pursued much these days.
Right. My intuition was something like “MDMA, but constantly” (which isn’t sickening, at least to me). I definitely get the “sickening”/”headache” aspect of social media.
Browsing social media for a few hours and talking to friends for a few hours will each give me a high that feels about the same, but the high from social media also feels sickening, as though I’m on drugs. Similarly, junk food is often so unhealthy that it is literally sickening.
My assumption was that wireheading would impart both a higher level of pleasure and a greater feeling of sickness than current superstimuli, but now that I have read your perspective, I no longer think that that is a valid assumption. I still would not wirehead myself, but now I understand why you are confused that wireheading is not being pursued much these days.
Right. My intuition was something like “MDMA, but constantly” (which isn’t sickening, at least to me). I definitely get the “sickening”/”headache” aspect of social media.