FAQ: Human Orientation

[j__1]

http://pobox.com/~sentience/tmol-faq/meaningoflife.html (http://pobox.com/%7Esentience/tmol-faq/meaningoflife.html)


If computing power doubles every two years, what happens when computers are doing the research?
If I created a mind with no built-in desires, what would it do?
How can I do something that will still matter in two hundred million years? For answers to these and other questions,
Click on the links below, starting with Orientation (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient).
1: Orientation. (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient)
1.1: What is humanity's place in the cosmos? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient_singularity)
1.2: Why should I get up in the morning? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient_why)
1.3: What really matters? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient_matters)
1.4: Is my life significant? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#orient_life)
2: Logic. (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic)
2.1: What is the problem of asking "What is the meaning of life?" (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic_problem)
2.2: What are choices? What are goals? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic_choices)
2.3: Where do goals usually come from? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic_origins)
2.4: Is there anywhere else goals can come from? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic_ai)
2.5: What is the Meaning of Life? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#logic_meaning)
3: Miscellaneous. (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc)
3.1: What's this business with "42"? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_hitchhiker)
3.2: Which political party is right? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_politics)
3.3: Is {the physical Universe, consciousness, intelligence} Turing-computable? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_turing)
3.4: What will happen to the human race? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_after)
3.5: Isn't "happiness" the meaning of life? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_happiness)
3.6: How can I become a better person? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_better)
3.7: How can I change the world? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#misc_world)
4: Theology. (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo)
General Disclaimer on Theology (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_disclaim)
4.1: Is there a conflict between science and religion? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_conflict)
4.2: Is my religion correct? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_religion)
4.3: What was the purpose for which the Universe was created? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_ultimate)
4.4: Is there a God? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_god)
4.5: Do I have free will? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_free)
4.6: What about God? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_spackling)
4.7: Is there life after death? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#theo_soul)
5: About. (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#about)
5.1: Why did you write the FAQ? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#about_why)
5.2: How do you know all this stuff? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#about_how)
5.3: Why did AltaVista/Ask Jeeves take me to your site? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#about_link)
5.4: Where do I go from here? (http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html#about_where) This site is not affiliated in any way with Ask Jeeves (http://ask.com/) or AltaVista (http://altavista.com/).

[Railroader]

Many of my answers to those come from these sites :)

http://www.lds.org

http://www.mormon.org

Edit-Yes, we're almost all Mormon in my family :) As far as politics, we're all Democrats in our family as well.

[j__1]

:) I must admit, my knowledge of the Mormon ways is unreasonably light. And, considering the strong Mormon influence at T-Mobile, one would think I would have filled in that gap.... Oh well.

Thanks for the links, Railroader... and your sense of humor. :)

Obviously, when it comes to politics, I am unable to follow your socialist tendencies... I guess no one is perfect. :D (Wait, what does that mean?)

And I'm not even going to touch the railroads and early American history...! At least not yet. :D

Many of my answers to those come from these sites :)

http://www.lds.org

http://www.mormon.org

Edit-Yes, we're almost all Mormon in my family :) As far as politics, we're all Democrats in our family as well.