The last comment regarding humanity’s sum-total potential is not radical. Buckminster Fuller came to this same conclusion almost 50 years ago. How to realize this at scale is the crux of the problem. I hope some really smart and worldly people like Sussman can help keep this top of mind and that sparks some creative solutions.
Practicing martial arts or yoga for example would certainly help respected Dr Sussman look in a different way about the miracle it is to be a biological creature. And maybe avoid to say it is probably a good thing to become less biological. As a craftsman, and amateur pianist, also embracing technological progress and in my free time studying SICP as an intellectual challenge, I find a deep joy and reward in perfecting gestures and discovering the infinite depth of of our senses and sensory-motor abilities. Western culture values performance and productivity above all. Some others value deep connection to nature. We may find fulfillment in between. Healthy food and daily practice of Yoga, Qi-Gong, meditation have helped man reach 90 years of happy life since ancient times…
