The tails coming apart as metaphor for life

Abstract

Even when two variables are strongly correlated, extreme values of one variable are rarely associated with extreme values of the other. This phenomenon, termed “tails coming apart”, is illustrated by the correlation between grip strength and arm strength, or reading and writing scores. The author argues that the concept of “happiness” is also subject to this phenomenon, as it is a composite of several correlated properties, such as subjective well-being, positive emotions, and meaningfulness. Due to the complex nature of happiness, different people may have different models of what constitutes happiness, leading to divergent judgments about which individuals are happier, especially when considering extreme cases. The author further argues that this phenomenon is relevant to morality, as different moral systems, despite agreeing on basic principles in common situations, diverge dramatically in their prescriptions for extreme cases. This divergence can be observed in the contrasting approaches of utilitarianism, religious morality, and deontology when applied to hypothetical scenarios involving powerful technologies, such as those envisioned for the Singularity. – AI-generated abstract.