159
Jason Crawford
@jasoncrawford.eth #159
Founder, The Roots of Progress (rootsofprogress.org). I write about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. Former tech founder.
1580 Follower 69 Following
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Chapter 4: The Life Well-Lived (part 1)
Counterintuitively, happiness is not a good metric of human well-being. A better guide to human progress is whether people can achieve their goals and fulfill their values:
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch4-the-life-well-lived-part-1
Counterintuitively, happiness is not a good metric of human well-being. A better guide to human progress is whether people can achieve their goals and fulfill their values:
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch4-the-life-well-lived-part-1
This is in less than four hours:
In the NYT today, Max Roser says we need a new poverty line at $30/day.
I agree. I think we should also have poverty lines at $100, $300, and $1000/day.
More than 99.9% of the world lives on less than $1000/day. We should seek to reduce that number as far as possible.
Absolutely serious about this.
I agree. I think we should also have poverty lines at $100, $300, and $1000/day.
More than 99.9% of the world lives on less than $1000/day. We should seek to reduce that number as far as possible.
Absolutely serious about this.
Pasteur spent ~5 years (!) on the diseases of silk worms, in order to help the silk growers of France. It gave him key insights about the role of microbes in disease that ultimately led to the germ theory.
He didn't have to worry about how that would look on his CV. He didn't have an advisor tell him he was committing career suicide by going and working on practical problems for industry.
What academics could do this today?
He didn't have to worry about how that would look on his CV. He didn't have an advisor tell him he was committing career suicide by going and working on practical problems for industry.
What academics could do this today?
Speed of innovation in the Neolithic: 1 km/year
This is a prescription for re-enslaving women to domestic service, and ensuring that only the wealthy can live with the basic dignity of cleanliness.
What is described here is exactly how we used to do laundry, and it was terrible. Laundry was difficult manual labor that took up an entire day of the week, and was part of why being a housewife was a full-time job.
To quote a scholar who actually knows this topic (Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More Work for Mother):
“For most women, for most of the year, the labor of doing laundry meant carrying heavy buckets of water from tap to stove and from stove to tub, repeatedly overturning the tubs and refilling them, as well as carrying, scrubbing, wringing, and hanging the heavy fabrics that were the only ones cheap enough for poor people to buy. The labor of getting the family bathed was similar, lacking only the carrying, scrubbing, wringing, and hanging of the wash.…
What is described here is exactly how we used to do laundry, and it was terrible. Laundry was difficult manual labor that took up an entire day of the week, and was part of why being a housewife was a full-time job.
To quote a scholar who actually knows this topic (Ruth Schwartz Cowan, More Work for Mother):
“For most women, for most of the year, the labor of doing laundry meant carrying heavy buckets of water from tap to stove and from stove to tub, repeatedly overturning the tubs and refilling them, as well as carrying, scrubbing, wringing, and hanging the heavy fabrics that were the only ones cheap enough for poor people to buy. The labor of getting the family bathed was similar, lacking only the carrying, scrubbing, wringing, and hanging of the wash.…
So you want to advance human progress. And you’re wondering, what should you, personally, do? Say you have talent, ambition, and drive—how do you choose a project or career?
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/how-to-choose-what-to-work-on
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/how-to-choose-what-to-work-on
In quantum computing, “one experimental milestone after another that people talked about since the 90s is finally being achieved … If hardware progress continues at the rate we’ve seen for the past year or two, then I find it hard to understand why we won’t have useful fault-tolerant QCs within the next decade.” (Emphasis on the “if” though)
From the always-reasonable, no-hype Scott Aaronson:
https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=8310
From the always-reasonable, no-hype Scott Aaronson:
https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=8310
What learning app for young kids has the best visual aesthetic?
Given that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, was a terrorist who killed people with mail bombs and lived in a shack in the woods, I expected his manifesto to read like the ravings of a lunatic.
I was wrong. His prose is quite readable, and the manifesto has a clear inner logic.
My review (for paid subscribers) in the latest Roots of Progress newsletter: https://newsletter.rootsofprogress.org/p/two-mini-reviews-seeing-like-a-state
I was wrong. His prose is quite readable, and the manifesto has a clear inner logic.
My review (for paid subscribers) in the latest Roots of Progress newsletter: https://newsletter.rootsofprogress.org/p/two-mini-reviews-seeing-like-a-state
A $1 refund—that's almost $18 today—for every 15 minutes a train was late
Imagine if Amtrak had that pride and discipline
Imagine if Amtrak had that pride and discipline
The new Cosmos Institute is working towards a future where “AI becomes
a tool for consistently expanding human freedom and excellence.”
Proud to be a Founding Fellow. I strongly agree with Cosmos's core values of reason, decentralization, and human autonomy. And I agree that “existential pessimism” vs. “accelerationism” should not be our only choices—we need a vision based on humanism and human agency.
https://cosmos-institute.org/
a tool for consistently expanding human freedom and excellence.”
Proud to be a Founding Fellow. I strongly agree with Cosmos's core values of reason, decentralization, and human autonomy. And I agree that “existential pessimism” vs. “accelerationism” should not be our only choices—we need a vision based on humanism and human agency.
https://cosmos-institute.org/
There is so much alpha in having a 3-year-old. You can teach them to fly a kite, or ride a scooter, and it is literally the best thing that has ever happened to them
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Chapter 3: Ode to Man
A hallmark of the techno-humanist worldview is love for humanity, including reverence for human creations.
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch3-ode-to-man
A hallmark of the techno-humanist worldview is love for humanity, including reverence for human creations.
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch3-ode-to-man
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Chapter 2: The Surrender of the Gods (part 2)
Slowing growth isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle with nature.
To truly live in harmony with nature, *we must master it.*
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch2-the-surrender-of-the-gods-part-2
Slowing growth isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle with nature.
To truly live in harmony with nature, *we must master it.*
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch2-the-surrender-of-the-gods-part-2
New speakers and sponsors for Progress Conference 2024!
https://rootsofprogress.org/jason-carman-celine-halioua-cate-hall-lynne-kiesling-and-hannu-rajaniemi-to-speak-at-progress-conference-2024/
https://rootsofprogress.org/jason-carman-celine-halioua-cate-hall-lynne-kiesling-and-hannu-rajaniemi-to-speak-at-progress-conference-2024/
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Chapter 2: The Surrender of the Gods (part 1)
The story of progress is a story of the expansion of human agency
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch2-the-surrender-of-the-gods-part-1
The story of progress is a story of the expansion of human agency
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch2-the-surrender-of-the-gods-part-1
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Chapter 1: Fish in Water
Industrial civilization has become a victim of its own success: it has solved the problems of daily existence so thoroughly, and with such finesse, that the solutions and even the problems fade from our collective memory.
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch1-fish-in-water
Industrial civilization has become a victim of its own success: it has solved the problems of daily existence so thoroughly, and with such finesse, that the solutions and even the problems fade from our collective memory.
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-ch1-fish-in-water
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, Introduction: The Present Crisis
Fear and skepticism of progress put us at risk of stagnation and decline. The defeatism that arose in the 20th century about the challenges of progress does not give us a way forward. We need a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century, and beyond
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-introduction-the-present-crisis
Fear and skepticism of progress put us at risk of stagnation and decline. The defeatism that arose in the 20th century about the challenges of progress does not give us a way forward. We need a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century, and beyond
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/thm-introduction-the-present-crisis
Announcing The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, a book by me laying out my philosophy of progress:
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/announcing-the-techno-humanist-manifesto
https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/announcing-the-techno-humanist-manifesto
The parental “we”:
The royal “we” means “I”. The parental “we” means “you.”
“Did we wash our hands?”
“Let's pick up our toys!”
“We need to go to bed now.”
Etc.
The royal “we” means “I”. The parental “we” means “you.”
“Did we wash our hands?”
“Let's pick up our toys!”
“We need to go to bed now.”
Etc.
Announcing Progress Conference 2024: Toward Abundant Futures
Hosted by the Roots of Progress Institute, together with the Foresight Institute, HumanProgress, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Institute for Progress, and Works in Progress magazine
Berkeley, Oct 18–19
rootsofprogress.org/conference
Hosted by the Roots of Progress Institute, together with the Foresight Institute, HumanProgress, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Institute for Progress, and Works in Progress magazine
Berkeley, Oct 18–19
rootsofprogress.org/conference
Today, The Roots of Progress officially becomes the Roots of Progress Institute (RPI).
The new name represents the new identity we took on ever since we announced our first program last year, the Roots of Progress Fellowship.
Announcement: https://rootsofprogress.org/new-name-and-logo-announcement/
The new name represents the new identity we took on ever since we announced our first program last year, the Roots of Progress Fellowship.
Announcement: https://rootsofprogress.org/new-name-and-logo-announcement/