George Dvorsky: Specialization is for Insects

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This is my second interview with George Dvorsky.

The first time I had George on Singularity one-on-one, we ended up talking for 1 hour and 14 minutes. I am afraid that I enjoy his company so much that this time, we talked for almost 1 hour and 40 minutes.

During our conversation, we discuss issues such as Dvorsky’s agonizing decision to stop being vegetarian and embrace the Paleo diet; cross-fit training, organic farming and the cost of food; the seeming contradiction between transhumanism and paleo/cross-fitness; animal enhancement (aka animal uplift), human-equivalent non-person rights and the list of candidate species; mass extinction and the Fermi paradox; SETI and the Dysonian approach that George and co are suggesting; the potential for and implications of friendly and unfriendly alien intelligence.

This interview is long, but if you are interested in the above topics, then it is very much worth watching.

One of the main points that I will take away is a brilliant quote that Dvorsky brought to my attention:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

Who is George Dvorsky?

Canadian futurist, ethicist, and sociologist, George Dvorsky has a popular blog called Sentient Developments. He has written and spoken extensively about the impacts of cutting-edge science and technology – particularly as they pertain to the improvement of human performance and experience. George is a founding member of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the founder and program director for its Rights of Non-Human Persons program.

In addition, George is the co-founder and president of the Toronto Transhumanist Association and has served on the Board of Directors for Humanity+ for two terms. George has been interviewed by such publications as The Guardian, the BBC, Radio Free Europe, and Beliefnet. He made an appearance on the CBC’s The Hour and has been profiled in NOW and This Magazine. His work has been cited in such publications as the New York Times, Forbes, and Slate. He has also written for such publications as The Humanist, Canadian Freethinker, Cryonics Magazine, and a number of Thomson & Gale university texts.

George is also an avid CrossFitter, an ancestral health enthusiast, and an accomplished music performer, composer, and recording engineer.

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