It’s been pointed out recently that the topics discussed in the Culture War thread have gotten a bit repetitive. While I do think the Motte has a good spread on intellectual discussion, I’m always pushing for a wider range (dare I say diversity?) of viewpoints and topics in the CW thread.
I was a lurker for years, and I know that the barrier between having a thought and writing a top level comment in the CW thread can loom large indeed. Luckily I’m fresh out of inspiration, and would love to hear thoughts from folks about effortposts they want to write but haven’t gotten around to.
This of course applies to regulars who post frequently as well - share any and all topics you wish were discussed in the CW thread!
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Here are a few ideas I've been wanting to see more of. I've written on some of these topics, but want to put them out there for more discussion regardless:
Implications of space travel on the economy/culture war etc.
AI alignment based on politcal lines - seems this area is up in the air right now, but given the current partisan environment I highly doubt we'll get both partied agreed on one side or the other. I tentatively think democrats will push for safety/halting research, while Republicans will push for acceleration. I'd like to see a more rigorous analysis though.
The rise of the medical establishment, especially psychiatry, and how it has interacted with the downfall of Christianity and classical Western beliefs. A few other posters have written on this idea but I'm curious of the specifics.
Nuclear power and how/why it become so polemicized. I'm sure that everyone knows the big incidents like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, but I'd be willing to bet there's a story to be told about the behind the scenes politicking that led to the current status quo where nuclear is toxic (heh) in public discourse.
Dreams and how they are totally disregarded in modern technological societies. Almost every culture throughout the world placed a large significance on dreams - now we don't! Wonder why this is and how it could play into our neuroses.
I would like to read this, as I live in Japan where nuclear power has become (much more of) an issue (i.e. political talking point) ever since 2011. Too many people here seem perfectly happy confounding nuclear energy with nuclear weapons, and seem to me to have only the most muddled view of what happened in March 2011.
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In generally, in the US, what? How "toxic" nuclear varies hugely from country to country. In Finland, it's probably currently toxic to be anti-nuclear. However, several polls also indicate that the pro-nuclear view holds anywhere from a majority to a really comfortable majority of support in the American public, and at the very least there are no credible suggestions to actually start proactively running nuclear power stations down in the US, a la Germany.
Historically, I'd say the biggest motivator in anti-nuclear sentiment weren't the accidents, though those played a part, but rather the mental link between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. It's not an accident that Greenpeace has the word "peace" in name.
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This tickled the sci-fi nerd inside of me. But the realist part of me has to wonder "are we just too far away from meaningful space travel to get it before AI changes everything".
Especially interesting when thinking back to early sci-fi. Asimov was pretty interested in dreams and AI. 'Do Androids dream of electric sheep' and 'i, robot'.
I have been pretty fascinated with my own dreams for a while. I sometimes get to go on elaborate sci fi and fantasy adventures all within the space of a night. I was at one point mining my dreams for story ideas. However, whenever I hear someone else talking about their dreams my eyes glaze over with boredom. Anything beyond one or two sentence summaries feels like a social faux pas to me.
There is a concept of a "dream world" which is different and separate from the "real world". I think ancient lives and cultures spent all their waking time heavily interacting with the "real world", a land of concepts / ideas must have been strange and foreign to their lived experiences. Meanwhile, in the modern world, we all interact with the internet, which might as well be a dream world. Its all taking place in our heads. And our connection with the "real world" has stagnated.
Small point：Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was Philip K. Dick.
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Interesting parallel with the dream world being something similar to the internet or cultural discussion. I do wonder if our ability to so completely enmesh ourselves in a virtual world prevents or discourages dreaming. Something to look into.
I've felt that it has enhanced my dreaming, but it has also made dreaming not very unique. If you offered me two options:
Read a fantasy story in real life. Its got cool world building, some vaguely interesting characters, and a plot that keeps you hooked.
Live out a fantasy story in your dreams. Amazing visuals and sensations, but you'll probably forget most of it in the morning.
I sort of prefer to read the fantasy story. I'll stay up late doing it and miss out on sleep with dreams. Now if I'm in a pastoral culture, and my first option is just "stare up at the stars" I think I'm gonna pick the dream option a little more often.
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