A healthy dose of doubt

I haven't updated in a while; I think I needed a break from the ever-quickening stream of information about singularity and transhumanism. Too much immersion can lead to a false sense of certainty, of inevitability, and I don't want hold any delusions. Been thinking about philosophy of knowledge lately:

"Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never traveled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect."  -Bertrand Russell

Someone on Reddit recently asked for arguments against the singularity. I think apathy, laziness, conservatism, and the lack of imagination can hold back human potential better than any technological limitation. Many obstacles originate from well-meaning suggestions: "be careful experimenting with things you don't understand", "let's solve the current problems first, like poverty, famine, and war", "the life we have is good enough; let's keep it that way". While these are all good ideas, they should not be twisted to hinder progress.

More about conservatism this weekend.