Comments by "Curious Crow" (@CuriousCrow-mp4cx) on "Elon Musk says empathy is threatening civilisation. He’s wrong. He is that threat." video.

  1. Absolutely. The human brain evolved in stages, and the survival and the relationship building sectors are the oldest parts of the brain. The irony is that the prefrontal cortex, which we tend to lionise so much, is the youngest evolution, and the weakest, it because it's arguably not essential as the older part for our evolutionary task, which is to survive long enough to produce and raise young. The prefrontal cortex increases the odds, but it's not essential per se. In this respect, if you imagine that the older parts of the brain are a duvet, and the prefrontal cortex is a duvet cover, you can see what the relationship is between them. The duvet is essential. And the duvet cover enables it to perform better at its job, but is of itself, no substitute for the Duvet. But it keeps it cleaner, and stops the duvet from getting twisted up or lumpy, which reduces its effectiveness. Elon doesn't know what empathy means or really does. And know the very little I've heard from his parents and about his upbringing, I suspect I know why he doesn't know what that is. He was born at a time where autism wasn't as understood as it is now. And his parents did the best they knew how, but he needed more than they could give them. And we see the results in his behaviours. And the joke is, if the world did not feel compassion for him, he wouldn't be where he is now. He doesn't want to acknowledge that. And that's sad.
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  2. ​ @Gibbonomics You might say that, but you have to ask why did humans evolve to have empathy, before rational thought? One is not better than the other, because intelligence is context-dependent. Literally, one's experiences shape how your brain grows. And our brains developed the need to relate not only to what we now call family, but to our collective - the tribe too. Until you can explain that, your conclusion is nowhere near the far more complex truth. Nature's agenda always trumps any rationalising we might indulge in. And there's a shed load going on amongst the Russian elites. And one can understand why. But, the bubble they exist in is misleading them. And it's not all their fault. America and Russia share one thing: they are both too big to know themselves or the world in any depth. The world is bigger than they are, and there's much, much, more to learn.
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