More Reasons for the Humanities

There are many (non-utilitarian) reasons why we need more than just math, science, politics, and economics. Here are two more that may seem oddly framed but get my point across.

In the future, when we all our material needs are satisfied, all our 'major' problems solved, while we sit on our ultra high-tech couches watching whatever sitcoms or reality shows are on TV hundreds of years from now with robots running around satisfying our every whim, what do we do with life? What will give us meaning? Why don't we just go all the way and wire our brains into pure ecstasy machines?

Imagine meeting another intelligent race. They see we've got very advanced technology, a perfect political system (economics are obviated by technology), etc. "Yes, yes, that's very nice, but is that all you've got?" What would make us any different from machines? We'd be lower than tapeworms. (Sorry, tapeworms.) (Is that a reason why so many billionaires become patrons of the arts? Are they just trying to affirm or prove their humanity?)

Linear Efficiency Improvement Versus Order of Magnitude Leaps

The bulk of civilization focuses on producing linear or even post-inflection logistic efficiency improvement: we're given something and we just try to make that as good as possible within our given framework, usually through minor tweaks and adjustments. This is certainly necessary and helpful, but the progress of our species is truly driven forward by order of magnitude leaps, paradigm shifts, revolutions (and we usually count on a handful of individual superstars to do that for us). These tend to be rare (Kurzweil believes they're becoming more frequent). Is there a way we could speed things up a bit? What can we do to increase the frequency of such exponential jumps? Change the educations system? Change the political system? Change the economic system? (Come on, we can do better than democracy and capitalism. I won't even comment here on education.)