Saadia says that Star Trek is one of the few science fiction universes that grapple with the idea that money may someday become obsolete.

“It’s made clear and emphasized several times in the course of the show that the Federation does not have money,” Saadia says in Episode 205 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “You have Captain Picard saying, ‘We’ve overcome hunger and greed, and we’re no longer interested in the accumulation of things.'”

Saadia is fascinated by the idea of a society in which material wealth has become so abundant that possessing it no longer holds any appeal. In such a world the only way to gain status would be by cultivating talent and intellect.

“What really makes sense in the Star Trek universe and Star Trek society is to compete for reputation,” he says. “What is not abundant in Star Trek’s universe is the captain’s chair.”

He points to technologies like GPS and the internet as models for how we can set ourselves on the path to a Star Trek future.

“If we decide as a society to make more of these crucial things available to all as public goods, we’re probably going to be well on our way to improving the condition of everybody on Earth,” he says.

But he also warns that technology alone won’t create a post-scarcity future. If we’re not careful we could end up like the greedy Ferengi, who charge money for the use of their replicators rather than making them available to everyone.

“This is not something that will be solved by more gizmos or more iPhones,” Saadia says. “This is something that has to be dealt with on a political level, and we have to face that.”

Listen to our complete interview with Manu Saadia in Episode 205 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.

>>8566360

Manu Saadia on Isaac Asimov:

“In 1941 he publishes his first story about robots and his great idea and insight is that the robots are not going to be our enemies or our doom as a society, the way robots were usually portrayed, as Frankensteins. The robots will liberate us, and so Asimov is trying to figure out a world where human labor is no longer necessary for survival. And that is something you see throughout Star Trek, much more so in The Next Generation than in the original series. In The Next Generation you have these incredible machines that will make anything for you on the spot and on demand—the replicators—and in a way the replicator is a metaphor for universal automation the way it is described in Asimov’s robot stories.”

Manu Saadia on Star Trek characters:

“They are consistent with the economic circumstances in which they live. Imagine yourself growing up in a society where there is never any want or need or financial insecurity of any sort. You will be a very different person. You will be absolutely uninterested in conspicuous consumption. … You will probably be interested in things of a higher nature—the cultivation of the mind, education, love, art, and discovery. And so these people are very stoic in that sense, because they have no worldly interests that we today could relate to. … I usually say that they’re all aliens, in a way. My friend Chris [Black], who wrote on the show, said it was really hard for the writers, because it’s a workplace drama, but there’s no drama.”

Manu Saadia on the Ferengi:

“I love the Ferengi because they are sort of a parody of the 1990s or 2000s American acquisitive businessman. … The Ferengi are really ignoble, really awful people, and they’re really funny as a result. But they do change over time. When you watch the whole arc of the Ferengi in Deep Space Nine, the Ferengi, just by contact with the Federation, become more like the Federation, they become Keynesian social democrats, by the end. Suddenly you have the right to have unions and strikes, and there’s health care for everybody. … I always thought that this story of the Ferengi becoming more humanitarian just by contact with the Federation was a metaphor for all of us becoming better by watching Star Trek.”

Manu Saadia on the Borg:

“The Borg are such great villains because they’re so similar to the Federation, when you think about it. The Borg have perfect allocation of goods, and supply and demand, and everybody is connected to everybody in the beehive, and they just seem to be extremely efficient. They’re also the other society in Star Trek that could be characterized as ‘post-scarcity.’ Any Borg drone never wants or needs anything, it’s always provided by the Collective. So it is the mirror image—and the dangerous image, almost—of what a society that is both redistributive and satiated could look like. It’s almost as if the writers tried to incorporate the criticism of the society they propose.”

The economics of Star Trek

Trekonomics

is attached as a PDF

An economist by background, Manu provides a very credible analysis of the economics of the future, based upon the idea of a post-scarcity world as portrayed by Star Trek. Anyone wondering how robots and AI will change our world, this book will give you the answers.

Discusses the economic stage beyond Universal Basic Income, which is post-money, and a reputation based economy. Has a lot of interesting perspectives on the Star Trek universe as well (as related to the economics). His basic premise is that the "Replicator" in ST is a metaphor for automation and AI having shouldered the burden of supporting humanity, and we turn to either a life of leisure or pursuit of whatever passion strikes us. The serious and driven among us join StarFleet… I really enjoyed it, but if you are already a ST nerd there probably won't be much new in the discussion points regarding the series itself. For UBI fans it will just serve to further excite you about our (childrens') future. The biggest take-away for me personally is to make me realize I'm being a bit hypocritical when I speak of wanting there to be more jobs and higher employment. I should be rooting for zero employment, and the day that automation and AI provide for us to make us truly free to pursue happiness, not the full employment middle class dream any more for me. Now I want to be unemployed! Bring on the robots! Where's my replicator anyway?

The 10 days darkness is not talking about electricity

Or the Internet

It is talking about the human soul

The Dark Night of the Soul is an essential stage

18 Signs You’re Experiencing A Dark Night Of The Soul, Otherwise Known As an Existential Crisis

https://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2017/02/18-signs-youre-going-through-whats-known-as-a-dark-night-of-the-soul/

In the above article, don't take it mechanistically or literally. A truly devout Christian will experience it in a different way than someone who has rejected Christianity. Your religion does not matter because every one of us travels alone in order to meet our source which is God.

We all must go through this step

In order to experience the Great Awakening

And the Illumination of Our Soul

At the end, we will be Sheep No More

And this is how we defeat the Cabal

Because while they are the Elite Illuminati

They have control over us

But when most of us have also become Illuminati

We will VASTLY OUTNUMBER THEM

And their mind tricks will no longer work on us.

Also remember that Q told us that most people are good.

He was including most Hollywood celebs in that statement.

Most of them are merely victims enslaved by evil people

God forgives any person, who admits their mistakes

And accepts God's guidance personally. It is not up to us to judge anyone

Because we are also evil sinners in our own way.

Don't be one of the 6% left behind after the crisis has past.

>>8566652

Notables is the wrong place to look. Real world activities happen in the real world and are ONLY available to those who dig.

>>8566931

Nope.

I am an engineer and it took me only a day to design such a device.

And it would be completely undetectable.