wedrifid comments on SotW: Check Consequentialism - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 29 March 2012 01:35AM

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Comment author: wedrifid 30 March 2012 04:17:58PM 4 points [-]

A human corpse into poofing into existence from nowhere wouldn't be in itself a bad outcome.

Free food! (It doesn't count as cannibalism if the corpse has never been a member of your species!)

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 05 April 2012 08:45:46PM 0 points [-]

Less Wrong: Rationality, polyamory, cannibalism.

Comment author: AspiringKnitter 04 April 2012 03:21:32AM 12 points [-]

Does it have kuru? I'm only open to eating healthy human flesh in this scenario.

Also, if it poofs into existence from nowhere, is it creating matter out of nothing? It's creating something that still has usable energy in it, out of nothing? That could not only end world hunger and veganism, you might be able to use the newly-created corpses for fuel in some kind of power plant. Sure, you might have to go back to steam power to make it work, and sure, human bodies might not be the optimal fuel source, but if you're getting them from nowhere, that solves all our energy woes.

It also might make the planet gain mass, eventually, if you did enough of it for long enough. Hmm. Oh, well, you can use that to make spacecraft. Maybe. Or something.

That and blood pudding. And fertilizer.

I think actually, being able to poof human corpses into existence would be an improvement over the current state of affairs. It might still be sub-optimal, but it would be better.

Now I want to be able to poof human corpses into existence from nowhere. I also think maybe I should start a list of things I've said that I wouldn't have been able to predict that I would say if asked the day before.

Comment author: Armok_GoB 05 April 2012 09:27:22PM 1 point [-]

Someone need to make an SCP based of this.

Comment author: Strange7 23 June 2012 10:03:10PM 0 points [-]

There already is, if you're willing to combine two: http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-871 http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-604

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 05 April 2012 08:46:41PM 8 points [-]

Less Wrong: Rationality, polyamory, cannibalism.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 05 April 2012 08:56:52PM 1 point [-]

...though the other order would be more challenging.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 30 March 2012 04:36:13PM 2 points [-]

Nobody said "free." The operational costs of corpse-poofing might be prohibitive.

Comment author: Nornagest 05 April 2012 08:59:38PM 0 points [-]

Well, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.