Money, happiness, and the halting problem Re: I can finallyanswerone point-blank

[Brian Atkins]

I also (as one who has access to a little "jack") will go in agreement with
both of you- more money does increase happiness, at least temporarily, but
past a certain point it really doesn't add much, and no matter how much you
have it doesn't really get you to being completely satisfied/happy.

I think though that looking at it in terms of happiness is the wrong way.
For starters you can be happy all you want (even if you're poor you can
pump your brain full of drugs) and it is all for nought when you're dead.
Those experiences are just temporary IMO. Happy is a meaningless emotional
state equivalent in many ways I would argue to getting high. If your brain
was wired differently you might instead be discussing achieving what we
right now would describe as "achieving sadness".

What I really want is more time, more intelligence, and more control over
my environment. Money can buy me a little bit when it comes to environment
but really not very much using today's technology. Ditto for number 1 and
2. If I really want to maximize all three I have to use my money and mind
to invest in creating a much higher level of technology. The advantages of
having maximized those three things should be self-evident, but for starters
it at least should a) let me understand better what really is important
(or what makes me happy in Jeff's case :-) b) give me as much time as I
need to accompish that.
-- 
Brian Atkins
Director, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/