16. The idea that global catastrophe
will be personally painless
There
is a natural tendency to think of global disaster by analogy to taking a bullet
in the head: quick and painless. Yet global disaster could stretch out for
decades or even centuries and provide profound misery to everyone involved. You
might not be able to enjoy the benefit of dying so quickly. Even if you did, it
seems irresponsible to discount global risk based on the anticipation that it
would be like getting a bullet through the head. Others may not be so lucky,
and humanity's entire future being lost has a profound negative value, even if
doom were painless.