[OT] Plato's Pub and Philosophical Society

[QuarianRex]

Originally posted by Kamog:
If our consciousness comes from chemicals in the brain, then there can be no afterlife. Once the brain stops, that's the end.

Not necessarily. The chemical processes of the brain could merely be the interface through the soul interacts with physical reality.

[Chronon]

Not that this discussion of determinism isn't fascinating - which it is - but I was inspired by Dogscoff's futuristic vision thread to think about my race creation in SEIV in terms of what kind of society I would like to live in (let's leave aside the question of what the future will actually look like - that's for the other thread).

So, what kind of future society would you like to live in if you could choose? The Galactic Empire of Star Wars? The Federation of Planets? The Galactic Empire of Dune? A warrior culture? An emotionless scientific culture?

Personally, I'd go for a peaceful, cosmopolitan culture, with heavy emphasis on science and knowledge (no deeply religious trait for me!), perhaps with a touch of maintenance expertise, and organic technology (or at least eco-friendly).

[Kamog]

I would prefer to live in a Federation of Planets type of society. Technology, science, and medicine are advanced, space exploration and colonization are rapidly progressing, and the society values peace, cooperation, fairness, and freedom. It seems like a pretty much ideal future society. One thing I don't understand, though, is how economics is supposed to work. Supposedly, they don't have money anymore? Or do they?

[Fyron]

When you have a replicator, money means nothing. You can replicate anything you need.

[Suicide Junkie]

Given power and time, of course.

The first things you should replicate are some power plants, and some type of refinery to gather the fuel you need.
A hawking reactor would probably be cheapest, assuming you can get your hands on a really small black hole (borrow one from a romulan ship).
Random matter in, energy out, E=MC^2. Much more unsafe than a Fed style matter-antimatter reactor, but much cheaper to run.
You'd just need to set up camp in an asteroid field, or a trek-density nebula, and you'll be set for life.

[ April 01, 2003, 16:24: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[dogscoff]

For me the best sci-fi universe to live in would be the one from Iain M Banks' Culture novels: Incredibly advanced technology means that lifespans are incredibly long and comfortable and economy/ currency is pretty much irrelevant at the personal level. There is no such thing as government, you can mod your body into absolutely anything you like and there is a proven afterlife at the end of it all. Furthermore, the whole society is maintained and kept stable by these benign Super-AI "Gods" called Minds, and there are a zillion wierd and wonderful places and things to see and do.

Yep, that'd do me...

[Kamog]

I wonder if we will ever get to the point where people don't have to work for a living. Even if we have replicators and unlimited energy, we will probably still need to work. The advancement of technology has not reduced our work hours. Computers and automation have made our industries more efficient but we still don't have a 3-day work week like some people thought we will have. We can get things done faster with technology, but we have to do more each day now. In fact, it seems like people are working longer and longer hours and working more and more. 50 years ago, one person in the family was able to work and comfortably support a spouse and kids and be able to buy a house, car, and other items. Now it seems that in most families, both parents have to work just to get by. The trend seems to be more work, not less.