Hey Pat. I'm a long time lurker from the Socks RPG reviews, an agnostic lapsed Catholic from the old internet atheist scene, a machine learning knowledge worker with a lot of social ties to the rationalist community and a serious problem with Yudkowsky, an environmentalist, and a forty year old dad with two kids. I feel like these identities mean I should stop lurking to address the question at the end of this post.
A few of my friends and a lot of my acquaintances might not or will not have children for fear of the listed apocalypses, so it's been bothering[1] me too.
I have come to think of having children as the ultimate political choice. From zero, very left leaning, to one, moderately left, to two, moderately right, to three or more, hard right, a person is essentially registering the ultimate vote about their own genes, social ways, and right to a share of existence[2].
As with all votes, whether we are rationalist, historical materialist or otherwise, we do like the Well-Manicured man says: the weight of evidence is ultimately dwarfed by the weight of *preference*.
From evidence, my money is also on dark age, and has been since I was an older teenager, with the understanding that dark ages end and preservers emerge with the tools of renaissance.
But my *preference* is Paula over Giygas. That's why I voted two children.
Thanks for that Earthbound review, all those years ago, by the way. And for suffering the later Final Fantasy games so I didn't have to. And thanks for this substack, it's great.
[1] I am not bothered by the friends who choose not to have children for the simpler reasons of personal preference or to avoid passing on certain genes or behaviors.
[2] Or, put rudely, a vote about their own will to power.
Huh! I missed this. I made sure Substack doesn't notify me when I get comments because otherwise I might fret about not getting any comments. I appreciate the thoughtful reply, and see good reason to concur with you about reproduction as the supreme political act—at least in the context of our uncertain and delirious epoch.
Hey Pat. I'm a long time lurker from the Socks RPG reviews, an agnostic lapsed Catholic from the old internet atheist scene, a machine learning knowledge worker with a lot of social ties to the rationalist community and a serious problem with Yudkowsky, an environmentalist, and a forty year old dad with two kids. I feel like these identities mean I should stop lurking to address the question at the end of this post.
A few of my friends and a lot of my acquaintances might not or will not have children for fear of the listed apocalypses, so it's been bothering[1] me too.
I have come to think of having children as the ultimate political choice. From zero, very left leaning, to one, moderately left, to two, moderately right, to three or more, hard right, a person is essentially registering the ultimate vote about their own genes, social ways, and right to a share of existence[2].
As with all votes, whether we are rationalist, historical materialist or otherwise, we do like the Well-Manicured man says: the weight of evidence is ultimately dwarfed by the weight of *preference*.
From evidence, my money is also on dark age, and has been since I was an older teenager, with the understanding that dark ages end and preservers emerge with the tools of renaissance.
But my *preference* is Paula over Giygas. That's why I voted two children.
Thanks for that Earthbound review, all those years ago, by the way. And for suffering the later Final Fantasy games so I didn't have to. And thanks for this substack, it's great.
[1] I am not bothered by the friends who choose not to have children for the simpler reasons of personal preference or to avoid passing on certain genes or behaviors.
[2] Or, put rudely, a vote about their own will to power.
Huh! I missed this. I made sure Substack doesn't notify me when I get comments because otherwise I might fret about not getting any comments. I appreciate the thoughtful reply, and see good reason to concur with you about reproduction as the supreme political act—at least in the context of our uncertain and delirious epoch.