Progress is a Millenia-Spanning Conversation
wordgrammer · x · 2026-07-11
The author argues that "progress" is not a passive occurrence, but rather a millennia-spanning conversation: individuals propose ideas, and subsequent generations respond, revise, and advance them.
Drawing on the intellectual lineages of Plato, Hegel, and Kuhn, the author emphasizes the temporal relativity of our understanding of "improvement." They conclude with a thought experiment: even if an "out-of-distribution" RSI AI emerges, its improvements might not meet contemporary needs but could hold immense value for humanity centuries down the line.
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