“Amusing Ourselves to Death? § Literature Review”, Gwern2018-05-12 (sociology of tech, transhumanism)⁠:

A suggested x-risk/Great Filter is the possibility of advanced entertainment technology leading to wireheading/mass sterility/population collapse and extinction. As media consumption patterns are highly heritable, any such effect would trigger rapid human adaptation, implying extinction is almost impossible unless immediate collapse or exponentially accelerating addictiveness.

To demonstrate the point that there are pervasive genetic influences on all aspects of media consumption or leisure time activities/preferences/attitudes, I compile >580 heritability estimates from the behavioral genetics literature (drawing particularly on Loehlin & Nichols1976’s A Study of 850 Sets of Twins), roughly divided in ~13 categories.

• Heritability of Leisure-Time Activities & Media Consumption
  • MaTCH
  • General Literature
• External Links
• Appendix
  • Literature Review
  • 1976_48ya: A Study of 850 Sets of Twins’, Gwern2018” id=”toc-loehlin-nichols-1976-a-study-of-850-sets-of-twins”>Loehlin & Nichols 1976_48ya: A Study of 850 Sets of Twins
  • 1995_29ya, ‘Occupational and Leisure Time Interests, and Personality’’, Gwern2018” id=”toc-waller-et-al-1995-occupational-and-leisure-time-interests-and-personality”>Waller Et Al 1995_29ya, “Occupational and Leisure Time Interests, and Personality”