Backup of David's Livejournal

OK.  The subject line should probably be, "Why Are We So Dumb."

This new millennium didn't find us where we thought we'd be.  We rocked Moore's law with transistor density, so why aren't we living in a more advanced world now?  What's holding us back?

The answer, of course, is, "we."

We still respond on an emotional or otherwise irrational level to so many choices.  We resist change, and cling to the familiar.  We only exercise diligence and discipline until we meet some minimum goal.  We still try fad diets.

Want to get measurably smarter?

I suspect that it's possible.  And that Piotr Wozniak is onto something with his SuperMemo.  I recommend the Wired article Want to Remember Everything You'll Ever Learn?  Surrender to this Algorithm.

Getting smarter isn't some fad diet, though.  We'd have to maintain discipline, at some cost.