The Future of Fun, Best of TWT

Phil, Stephen, and Michael D. talk about the future of fun.

• Will our fun future be jeopardized by peak oil?
• Will we allow ourselves to enjoy the great future once it gets here? Or will we obsess more and more about less and less serious problems?
• How much time will we spend in virtual reality?
• Is the notion that we would get bored with an indefinite lifespan just a new iteration of the Tithonus Error? Maybe we won't get bored because - in addition to remaining biologically young - we'll also be getting smarter. This is part of Eliezer Yudkowsky's Theory of Fun (MP3 of the speech and transcript is at the link). According to his theory, "fun space" is a function of intelligence. The more intelligent we are, the more possibilities of fun we have.
• Things we can't grasp today will be fun (and funny) to us when we're smarter. Consider the Simpson's episode "Bart the Genius."

[This show first aired 06/23/2008.]