[Suncho]

Is there a way to build character and the grit to succeed without forcing people into extreme poverty?

Or a broader question is what do we want out of people? What values do we want them to have? What's the most efficient way to teach them those values? Poverty is pretty expensive. Is poverty so important to our society that it's worth paying the price?

This is a recent blog post I wrote:

http://www.greshm.org/blog/life-is-just-a-game/

"For example, sugar tastes sweet because we evolved in a world where calories were extremely scarce. Sex feels good because children are the continuation of humanity. Work seems important because, throughout much of history, we benefited from having more labor. But in modern times, we have artificial sweeteners, birth control, and hobbies."

How can we hack human society to take advantage of what we evolved to feel good about?