[jacobtwotwo]

> Someone has to be last

That makes it possible, not likely.

For any population N > 2, it's less likely that you'll be last than that you will not be last.

[JackFr]

Actually someone has to be latest, and rather each civilization for some time t will have its turn at being the latest.

[dylan604]

looking at the data, it’s like we’re trying our damndest to be last. Defunding education, limiting what can be taught (ex: Texas removing critical thinking), etc all seem like we just enjoy tripping on our own shoe laces

[Supermancho]

You're focusing on the wrong scale. Intelligence has skyrocketed in the past thousand years. Policy decisions in our lifetime, do not matter or they end all human matters at once.

[moate]

Certain policy decisions matter on a larger scale. Killing off millions of people has to have some meaning on future abilities, right?

I think that generally I agree with you, but I would tend to say you have a small (but >0) number of things that would have huge long term ripples.

[JudgeWapner]

> Defunding education, limiting what can be taught

Many people became educated and even advanced science before the government got involved in education.

[JackFr]

Indeed who's to say if the current worldview we share is a knowledge maximizing one.