[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I find the concept of intergenerational relationships and ideas quite appealing, as most of my acquaintances are of your age or older. For you, what does it mean to have influences from one, two, or even three generations prior, whether in intellectual terms or familial connections? Rick Rosner: My initial …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 653: The World We’re Leaving Our Children and Grandchildren
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are some common ruts in science fiction? Rick Rosner: Discussing the usual pitfalls in science fiction, one can find a plethora of tropes online, notably on TV Tropes, which serves as a kind of encyclopedia for clichés in TV shows, movies, and books. It's an excellent starting point for …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Go ahead. Rick Rosner: You asked about the future of comedy. We've talked about this before. Since I've been driving my wife's car with Sirius XM, which has several comedy channels, I've been listening to nothing but comedy bits. The difference between comedy now and a hundred years ago is …
[Recording Start] Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is the future of the human model, and what do you mean by that? Rick Rosner: There's this saying, "The measure of a man is man," which I suppose means that all our systems of judgment are grounded within a human framework. Our perceptions of good, bad, or compelling …
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: Things like augmented humans in increasingly large numbers are becoming more common. One possibility is that with increasing lifespan and advancements in medicine, as well as several other factors like people living virtually, San Junipero style, population growth will likely slow down, maybe even stop. The total number of humans living …
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: Or at least for most of our lives. A vast majority of people will try to avoid old age in one way or another, but the pleasures of human life, up until around age 60 or 65, will still be embraced by many. Anyway, have you ever taken a physics class …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 648: Effective Governance and the Future
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: Go on. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is the 'emptying world'? What do you mean by this? How does it play out? Why did this concept emerge? Rosner: Essentially, the question is, what will the world look like once humans are no longer the dominant information processors on the planet? My wife …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 647: The Emptying World and Florence
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: In addition to the big question that's up for grabs, there's the difference between what a conscious being wants and what a deceased conscious being wants, which is essentially nothing. A dead conscious being feels no regrets because there's no trace of that being left to feel any regrets or pain. …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 646: Conscious Beings and Dead Conscious Beings
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: This leads us back to the sort of casual, almost throwaway arguments that the golden rule is good because it's simple, easy to understand, and applies to a lot of situations. It's easy enough that we can reasonably expect many people will follow it and not cause harm to others. Then …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 645: Ethical Systems, Grudging Empathy
[Recording Start] Rick Rosner: To want to exist and reproduce, to derive pleasure from existence, is something many of us share. We are part of an order that supports our existence – the matter we consist of, the planet we live on, and the nuclear reactions in the sun that provide us energy. All these …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 644: To Exist and to Want to Reproduce
Rick Rosner 