Reddit reviews Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (Exponential Technology Series)
We found 29 Reddit comments about Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (Exponential Technology Series). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
That's a good question. I believe the answer is split in two parts.
Optimism. I consider myself a rational optimist. I know that things can go very bad (and often times they do), but research in neuroscience suggests over and over that the way we look at the world influences greatly the outcome of our actions and that of the people around us. This of course has nothing to do with any quantum-woo bullshit, it's simply a recognition that if you feel hopeless, scared, and defeated, you are less likely to come up with solutions to whatever problem you are facing than when you are open to the possibilities.
Also, we are objectively getting better at most everything (see the book of my good friend Peter Diamandis Abundance, the Future is Better Than You Think): better health, less violence, fever wars, etc. This is an often overlooked and underplayed fact by the pessimists and by the environmentalist community. However, there are two things that are getting progressively worse: wealth inequality and environmental degradation. This is an often overlooked and underplayed fact by the techno-optimists and by the Singularity crowd. I stand right in the middle, I see the opportunities, as well as the perils, and I try to think of solutions accordingly.
Achievement. I honestly have no way of knowing if humanity will achieve the goals that I propose. All I can do is strive to make it happen, and inspire others to do the same. Since it's not an impossible goal, merely a very difficult one, it's not a delusional state of mind. It's simply a rational optimist approach. By having this attitude I'm increasing the probability of achieving the goal, and even if I contribute to a mere 1 part in 10 thousand, the collective effort of others like me has more chances of succeeding.
GMO is so good for struggling farmers, unfortunately some uninformed idiots think it's bad and dangerous but they don't know any of the facts. It's inevitable whether you try to stop it. it's coming, and it's a good thing. For further reading,
Here's Bill Gates, talking this year about GMO foods, breaking down why it's a good thing.
In the video he recommends a book called Tomorrow's Table
Also, Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis
It's written by the guy that started the X prize, he's an MIT professor and Harvard MD.
He basically says GMO foods are gonna change the poor parts of the word for the BETTER and goes on to describe the harm that kooks are causing trying to stop them.
completely agree ! reading a great book at the moment called "Abundance; the future is better than we think https://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217 which backs up what you just said.
Why the hell does this only have 289 upvotes? I think there's a 0 missing at the end...
Btw read his book guys, it's very addictive and you'll wanna read it in one shot.
Referrer-free linky:
http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
Can I convince you the future will be perfect? no.
Are all of your concerns legitimate? Absolutely.
However, as NewFuturist said, this is only the latest in a long line of periods in which people thought that the world was ending. While there is a sort of deep, visceral sense that our problems are more serious than those in other times, we must examine that belief to see if its really true. Personally, although I do believe that humanity is facing its most difficult period ever, we also have the most amazing tools to defeat it.
If I could recommend one book to read to convince you that we at least have a shot, please read Abundance by Peter Diamandis. It is a wonderful book that breaks down the challenges that humanity faces one by one. You can see that there is significant progress being made in all of the areas where humanity is in trouble. We can't know for sure if we're going to make it. But personally, I believe its a very real possibility. That's why I've decided to make a career out of this stuff.
Step 1: Watch this
http://vimeo.com/34984088
Step 2: Read this
http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
Step 3: Post here. Tell me what you thought.
It's more about society changing (like the book Abundance, which is a great read) than people, but I think a lot of use share some of these visions. Thoughts?
> The other concerns are not so easily dismissed. “How would we pay the pensions?”
Yes it is easily dismissed. The chronologically "old" people would be biologically as young as 25 or 30 (that's the plan at least). They wouldn't need pensions. They wouldn't even retire, and hence would contribute to the economy.
> This takes us to another concern he dismisses: “dictators would rule forever”. Is this proposition (if not taken literally) ridiculous?
Yes it is ridiculous if I don't see George Monbiot writing an equally acrid article against ongoing "traditional" research on cancer, Alzheimer, and so many other age-related diseases.
> de Grey’s mockery becomes most offensive when invoked by his fourth rhetorical question: “what about starving Africans?”
George Monbiot's (potential) hypocrisy becomes most offensive when he picks only the longevity research out of all the "cutting edge" research topics and attacks it using "dull edge" topics (by 'dull edge' I mean the effort to make existing technology widespread across the developing countries using the methods of economics, sociopolitics, logistics, etc.).
For example, starving Africans is more a problem of diverting resources from obese Americans (just to give an example, not to criticize any nation), not a problem of dwindling resources (I encourage him to take a look at Peter Diamandis's book Abundance).
NOTE: I called it 'potential' hypocrisy since I haven't read his other works and not familiar with his overall worldview. But if it's truly in line with what he has said here, about all other cutting edge research as well, biotechnology, cancer, alzheimer, nanotechnology, space, fusion, supercomputing, artificial intelligence, robotics, particle accelerators, and so on, then he is, not a hypocrite, but someone who shouldn't be taken seriously.
> Life extension science could invoke a sunlit, miraculous world of freedom from fear and long-term thinking. Or a gerontocratic tyranny. If it’s the latter, I hope I don’t live long enough to see it.
There's plenty of non-gerontocratic tyranny around the world in the present time if you decide to look around. Does that warrant you to put an end to your life? I don't think so. By being against longevity research, and pointing out a remote scenario of a worst possible dystopian future, you're doing exactly that, i.e., you're being suicidal.
A good question, and neat coding skills :) I meant to ask, what are all the cool things you would want to add to the creator tool? Maybe it helps us add some of the tools for everyone. (We are slightly careful to not add much bias to the creator tool; say we offered a gradient maker, that would start to push the world look into having many more gradients. Which is fine if that's what the creator specifically wanted for a tile, of course, but it's hard to tell before when offering a toolbox. A line tool would almost mean we'd need to also add circle tool, polygon, oval, rectangle and so on in order to not skew into one direction. If the tool is rather sparse, then it means it's also really open to your personal style and imagination.)
Generally, intent should be more important than tool, but sometimes the two are connected. We as community will always be the ones voting on what we want to have in this world, and creativity, originality, care and craft are probably what we prefer together if we all want it to be sustainable. Transparency of the creation process helps us with that voting... e.g. was it a line tool, or a copy tool, or...
(I've had a look at some terrific new earth-grass-toned solids and slopes yesterday and was wondering, what was the creator and artist thinking? How did they go about it? Everything we understand by analyzing and then doing ourself will be a toolbox that we add to our own creativity, mixing it into a personal style that tickles other people's brains because it shares our view on the world. That's how we learn and improve, and Manyland is a shared world of abundance that can really help with that. Even looking at outside pixel art, of course, can help us understand creation processes, and maybe the currently often detrimental-to-progress copyright laws written by campaign donations will one day be changed by society into a system where the focus is voting on originality and credit, not putting up copyright barriers. As it is, we want to try together to avoid many letters from lawyers in the future as we want this to be a sustainable world.)
As far as official APIs or support for more tools go, I think we have to look at this again together in some way in the future. We're currently trying to get the fundament right together, and some things will probably more naturally fall into place. Maybe we as community decide that the 'manual' drawing is just the right thing for us to make this world ours and full of character, style and soul. In terms of support, already we are spending some time to help with reports coming in from third-party browser extensions -- say, a translation tool in Chrome that somehow throws an error -- and every minute we look into that, we can't work on the many features like adding new block types that we really want to give to you. Happines of all of us manyzens is the number one priority guiding all other decisions.
Update: Thanks again for triggering all these thoughts. We now internally discussed just what to add to the terms to clarify the stance and not leave anyone wondering, and we now added to the terms what we think benefits the Manyland world and community the best, and makes it the most sustainable and best for all of us to maintain (and live in) together. We hope you understand and can help with the goal, and thanks again for bringing up all this!
I'm 57 and posting about college/jobs, but not about me. Im 57, dropped out of the corporate world in 1993, broke, started my own business, and doing well - I pay all my bills and my checks never bounce.
But posting to all the posts about college/jobs, most likely from the under 40 crowd. The BIG question that must be answered by YOUR generation is "what if we simply don't need everyone to work to provide ALL the goods and services needed and wanted by our society?"
It's only a theory (thus the LIE) that a capitalistic economy forever expands to provide (good) jobs for everyone who wants one.
Computers are in the 2nd half of the exponential curve of chip power, doubling in capacity every 2 years (Moore's Law) since 1958. Computers/robots/machines are now on-net eliminating human jobs.
READ: "Race Against the Machine": http://www.amazon.com/Race-Against-Machine-Accelerating-Productivity/dp/0984725113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333472572&sr=8-1
AND: "Abundance" http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333472597&sr=1-1
and if you want to read an ancient novel, there's the 1952 book by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. "Player Piano" about a society where machines do ALL the work: http://www.amazon.com/Player-Piano-Novel-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0385333781/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333472653&sr=1-1
This "lie" you've been told is not ever again going to become a "truth"... spoiled milk put back in the refrigerator does not become good again. This "recession" and/or high-unemployment is not just a cycle. True, there have been many "crying wolf" since the early 1800's when British laborers violently protested the automation of sock making, but I for one just don't see how "creating jobs" can happen in a world were we can produce so much stuff and services so efficiently with the aid of a computer.
I haven't read either of the books, but Abundance and The Better Angels of Our Nature claim that the world is getting better. But, just because it's getting better by some measures, it doesn't mean the world is good or we live in a "steady state." Just look at the North Korea, Pakistan, or Iran. Pretty soon nuclear arms will be in the hands of the wrong people, and if you take a long-term view, how soon before technology allows a rogue suicide bomber can strap a nuclear bomb to himself?
This is very true! I encourage everyone to read this book that has referenced data to back up all of those claims.
The book is called Abundance: the future is better than you think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler
Some of the (non-technical) books I've recently read:
Though, a lot of these quotes are from journals of mine. But many of the above books are great spring boards to other readings (especially the "Infinite in All Directions" book).
Read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
Have you heard of this book?
http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
I agree this is a major problem today. The price of a good data plan is out of reach for many in Africa. That's a limiting factor for Bitcoin. But it is a solvable problem.
Providing access to sell to the first-world or lowering costs for network operators are two options. The idea of spreading Bitcoin to Africa is a good one, but it needs to be cultivated.
In a way, death and the unknown, actually comfort me. Kind of a proof of an ultimate peace.
Also, though, these might be interesting to you:
war and violence on the decline
abundance: the future is better than you think
This is a chapter in Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis.
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377569779&sr=8-1&keywords=abundance+the+future+is+better+than+you+think
I saw Peter Diamandis speak at a convention where he gave away this book. His speech was pretty amazing and the book is even better. Here's a short version of the speech I saw him give, this one was for TED. http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html Around 7:00 mark he speaks about aluminum. The book/speech are very entertaining as well as educational, do yourself a favor and watch the video and/or go buy the book.
Diamandis is a badass. Plain and simple.
I've been enjoying this book, 'Abundance' lately. It's a detailed examination of where technologies might lead us to a post-scarcity society.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1451614217
I am a transhumanist (member of Humanity+ and IEET).
If you like books that look to the future, and give you a hopeful (or at least a better) outlook, try these:
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think
https://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
And pretty much anything by Michio Kaku.
There's a pretty good book on this sort of thing.You need to go digging through historical biographies and text to get a more typical view of what life was like back then (I'd start with those I recommended above.. A lot of people, myself included aren't a fan of Churchill's politics, but if you look at him through the lense of his era and keep in mind his differences to you or I... As in we weren't born in a palace as the son of a lord, on a first name basis with all of the richest & most powerful gentry. Getting to hang out in his teens & taken places by the Prince of Wales/the future King, Edward VII (who his mother was probably sleeping with)) its a great read and will give you a decent insight into what life was like for both the gentry & the people who worked for them:
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Lion-Winston-Churchill-1874-1932/dp/0385313489
The book on how great today is:
https://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
I really recommend anyone who is interested in Orwell or Huxley's perspectives also read books like Abundance which lay out a detailed statistical case for why so much shit in the world today is measurably and immeasurably better than it ever has been.
The main positive and negative of the modern age isn't so much we live in some realization of a literary dystopia but that the stakes are much higher as a global society than they ever have been. We can easily mess things up in terms of climate change, nuclear war, and other kinds of societal breakdown but we are also on the verge of eradicating some of the greatest and historical problems mankind has ever faced.
People forget how much a fact of life things like plagues were. Philadelphia just straight up shut down as the US capital three times between 1776 and 1800 alone due to random outbreaks of plague to say nothing of how things were across the world.
> Don't humans do just that? I once went for a ride on a tour bus in a developing country. I didn't expect one of the tour stops at a small village ravaged by poverty.
You went to a poor village in Africa?
> Where will the money come from to fund the negative income tax when the automation displaces practically the full workforce?
I'm thinking short-term, you're thinking long term here.
Automation will not displace the workforce all at once. It will happen gradually. Negative income tax will become higher and higher the more wealthy civilization as a whole becomes. Capitalism will crumble. Socialism will take over. This is all talked about in the book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think. It's a really great book and critically acclaimed. I really recommend you read it.
> We inherit the idea of taxes from civilizations that lived thousands of years ago. We wear it like a ball and chain. We can't seem to imagine a future without taxes. I wonder if the alien tourists who visit Earth pay taxes. Maybe we Earthlings have to agree to pay taxes as part of the first contact protocol. I can see it now. It's income tax day and I have to send a Singularity Transaction to record my debit voucher to the Internal Revenue Ministry of the Galactic Planetary Union.
Someday people are going to have to wake up and look at the future that is changing around them. I know it may seem hard to imagine, but there is literally no way capitalism can work anymore in such a wealthy society. It'll happen by force if need be. (unlikely, because they'll realize they are greatly outnumbered, and I don't believe most are so adverse to the idea, I don't believe most are sociopaths.)
Eh, you gotta do what you think is right, and internet karma is just numbers on a screen. I've watched this country slide backwards for most of my life, while at the same time technology gets better (which itself is great). I still think it's voter apathy and unawareness that causes the major problems, so that's why I do what I do. People should learn, and participate in civics, even if you can't be a 'politician.' So if I can light one lightbulb, it's worth it. Your response means something to me.
As someone who won the lottery of birth by just being born in the first world, then got even luckier be being white, and even luckier by being male; my parents actually moved us out of an upper class area (Prince Georges County) in the 1980's, because they could see the 'affluensa' even back then. We're not "rich" by any measure, but comprehend our 'position.' There are other things that influenced me as well; my dad was an interior designer and my mom was a computer programmer, both very good at what they did, so I don't believe bullshit 'popular culture' norms, as I was inoculated by reality. Me joining the military and seeing the world as it actually is, just helped me understand that people are just people. (Sagan's Pale Blue dot helps as well). So while I defend the Constitution, as flawed as it is, I still haven't seen a better idea, except in Sci-fi. The Culture isn't technically feasible, yet.
The fact that the Libertarians want equal 'opportunity' for all isn't bad itself, it's just that too many of them can't see the helping hand that got them into the position to even be contemplating it in the first place. I voted for Gary Johnson last time, but would like to vote for Bernie Sanders next time, this country is way overdue for a cultural shift, and the young are going to do that. Just look at how fast the gay/marijuana acceptance is changing.
I also recommend both Abundance and The Zero Marginal Cost Society books to people for ideas about the way forward.
EDIT: spelling and links.
I recommend this book if you are looking to always have a good outlook on life.
A thoughtful and insightful reply deserves my upvote.
I'm reading this book right now... so hopefully I'm not naive in thinking we really can solve homelessness. (well, maybe not the people who purposely CHOOSE a homeless lifestyle,.. but we could solve the problem of people who don't want to be homeless).
I think you are right though.. .it IS a complex and multi-faceted social problem.
I'm still gonna keep a positive outlook... ;)
You might try reading something positivesomething positive to counterbalance whatever negative news is getting you down. The world is overall pretty great and getting better, but our perspective is easily skewed if all we read are bleak sounding headlines.
I disagree :)
You should watch this TED talk. Read his book too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BltRufe5kkI
http://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Future-Better-Than-Think/dp/1451614217
I know people are going off the rails, but I would recommend this book. Abundance. Remember that news sells FUD. The reality is things have never been better and it's likely to continue.
Beyond that I'd tell you is that when you reach a problem. "If there's something you can do about it, why worry? If there's nothing you can do about it, why worry?"
If your society is advanced enough to develop spaceships that can travel faster than the speed of light, then you probably resolved scarcity of resources. Some think we're on the brink of solving that issue on our own planet.
This book talks about exactly that problem.
(edit: I'm not hawking this book, it just talks about exactly this issue that culture evolved faster than our brains, and we're still fine tuned to live in a fight or flight environment where we're at great risk of being killed each day. It's a good read, and gives excellent perspective on why these are not the worst of times, and how things are not going down the shitter)