If you could only study one more thing for the rest of your life...

[dark+matters]

...what would that thing be, and why?

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I would study the method to overcome the limitations of studying only a single thing for the rest of my life. Pretty self explanatory.

This would be Knowledge Engineering / AI

 

[Ex-User (8886)]

human brain or physics

 

[manishboy]

phenomenology - I boiled down everything I was interested in (computing, literature, history, systems theory, and a few others) by continually asking 'why'; that is I separated instrumental and non-instrumental knowledge. The only non-instrumental subject of interest is the basic experience of being. So I can't study anything without it, therefore it must be what I choose.

Damn you. I put more than a few cycles into this. Fun question.

 

[Architect]

It doesn't exist as a field per-se so here's my description

General Field: The Psyche/Mind/Intelligence (emotional, intellectual, etc)
Specific Field: Artificial intelligence, mind upload
Practical Field: Computer Science application thereof

 

[Brontosaurie]

organic chemistry or music.

oh and i'm a transhumanist too. i'm just chill about my shit. me is just me. that's transhuman.

 

[TBerg]

Zen Buddhism. It would keep my mind from complicating things while waiting out life.

 

[Yellow]

Plant reproductive ecology.

Edit: I just saw the part about explaining why.

Because it encompasses a lot of my personal interests and previous areas of study. With this subject, I could delve into everything from beekeeping, to evolutionary genetics, to vegetative v. sexual reproduction, to the effects and mitigation of monoculture farming. Also, it would get me that clone-free apple forest I've always wanted.

 

[dark+matters]

I feel like society really is asking that we pick one thing and specialize in it for our entire lives. And by the time we approach the ends of our lives, I fear that our brains will no longer be plastic enough to pick up new skills and concepts that are dramatically different. If that is close to the truth, it is really depressing.

If I were to pick an answer based on good strategy considering... the traits that have emerged from my little meat body, I'd pick physics or neuroscience. I'd be so tempted to pick other stuff though... I wish I knew more about computers and economics. I wish I knew more about math, I wish I could read all the literature and watch all the movies and see all the art, learn all the languages, study chemistry, herpetology, oceanography, paleontology, ichthyology, political science. But I can only pick one thing before I die, society? Just one? *sigh*