Comments on Sentient Developments: The notion that 'Western man has stopped evolving'...

I can't tell you how happy I am that self-guided e...

2008-10-13T13:46:00.000-04:00

I can't tell you how happy I am that self-guided evolution will soon be more than speculation, and that it will allow for a truly open-ended experience. It's almost a tyranny the way things are set up now, and the way they have been for so long. Sentient mind is ready to move on, to expand, and do other things. It is liberating to think about what is going to be possible.
I know that there is a lot of resistance to self-guided evolution, especially uploading and transhumanist states. But where do people get the idea that biology, and the human being, are the final word in the ongoing evolutionary process?
In general, I am all for moving out of the sandbox and into greater domains. I know there are many issues and problems that lie ahead, but that has always been the case, and I believe that these things will be dealt with, and many limitations will be overcome.
It is sentient being that is moving onward and upward. And for that, I would say, that these are truly great days.

I agree with you on the first point but I'm not su...

2008-10-11T00:05:00.000-04:00

I agree with you on the first point but I'm not sure I follow your comment about complexity.

Nonsensical in that it's created an arms race betw...

2008-10-10T20:12:07.625-04:00

Nonsensical in that it's created an arms race between other males such that a) it doesn't increase the fitness of the bird from an adaptive perspective (it's also a waste of the organism's energy) and b) it has led to a certain degree of complexity that may prove to be a dead-end.

Peacock tails are "nonsensical"? This is certainl...

2008-10-10T19:17:00.000-04:00

Peacock tails are "nonsensical"? This is certainly news to me. Peacock plumage, like rooster wattles, are a dramatic means of expressing vitality to prospective mates.