alt Hacker News> sorry about the tangent
I understand why you felt the need to do it, but it’s still sad that you have to apologise for it. It’s not like if using technology for killing is a fringe hypothesis, it’s happening right now and on the news. It’s a discussion worth having.
> This really is the quote of the century
I loathe that quote. The people thinking about how to make others click ads are only concerned with themselves and their own profit. To me that does not qualify as a “best mind”. Maybe a “smart” or “good at computers” or “good at manipulation” mind, but certainly not “best”. A “best mind” should be capable of empathy and have a broad societal view of consequences for their actions.
Replies
So when is society gonna start thinking of us in return? Where are our rewards?
It's a rotten world out there. Everything is corrupt. Taking the moral high ground is an enormous sacrifice. In the best case scenario, society will just laugh at you for it. Chances are they will actually fight you since your moral stand will probably get in the way of their profitable schemes.
I find it increasingly hard to blame people for playing the game. The reality is that the honest man is punished while the corrupt man is rewarded.
>A “best mind” should be capable of empathy and have a broad societal view of consequences for their actions.
9 years of philosophy later: You are not a best mind. Sorry. But you think morals metaphysically exist and no best minds do.
> A “best mind” should be capable of empathy and have a broad societal view of consequences for their actions
Empathy and introspection are so 20th century. They are a hindrance when your aim is to make as much money and put it on fire as quickly as possible. Because somehow that’s how we decided to measure success.
> I loathe that quote
I thought this quote was a direct invocation of Howl / Ginsberg, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”.
Seen in that light I think there’s another layer to it.