Comment by Spivak

Comment by Spivak 3 days ago

7 replies

Only gotta last 80 years, it's pretty rational given the constraints. The what-ifs are unlikely to materialize at all, low probability to happen to you, and avoiding them if they do materialize requires that neither you nor any of your relatives submit their dna or have any contact with the justice system ever.

DNA is already protected from use by insurance companies so that's a future harm that already got squashed.

kelnos 2 days ago

Funny you picked 80 years. It's been roughly 80 years since members of a certain ethnic group were hunted down, corralled, and murdered because of their lineage and genetics.

And their murderers mostly only had census data and people willing to snitch on their neighbors to go on. A DNA database? Oof.

  • Spivak 2 days ago

    Thankfully time only goes forward and since I don't expect a large scale ethnic cleansing among the developed world since our birth rates are already below replacement I think we're fine.

23B1 2 days ago

That's ethical egoism, not rationalism.

Considering the second- and third-order effects of one's own decisions is obligatory in civilized society.

  • Spivak 2 days ago

    Of course, how could I forget. My DNA is also used for medical research so I'm helping develop novel treatments to all manners of genetic diseases, and helping my future relatives uncover health risks.

    • 23B1 2 days ago

      blind optimism

      • Spivak 2 days ago

        Negativity bias.

        Years ago I would have agreed with you but I have my anxiety under control now.