If the next big things doesn't include how we generate and use energy, probably the really big next thing may be runaway climate change.
I feel like I’ve heard this before. When does the runaway change start?
Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
361–370 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#362China invading Taiwan.
Demographic problems (low birth rates).
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#363Earlier quoted context omitted.
They were telling us Manhattan would be underwater by now 20 years ago.
Please state your exact point. One narrow interpretation is that one particular study that you did not cite got it wrong. One broad interpretation is that we should not pay attention or give credence to the good faith estimates offered at the time. I get tired of snarky one-liners that don't say what they mean. They do not promote useful discussion. My comment here would not be necessary if you took a few minutes to…
Not the OP, but I think the point is valid.
I was born in the 70s, and my entire life I've been hearing climate alarmism - the end of the world is nigh (or just around the corner). No, really, this time it's for real! Donate here to stop it.
Most of the "solutions" I've seen are worse than the problem. Recycling was a major con that no one wants to talk about.
Carbon offset credits? Really?
With the amount of alarmism and blatant opportunism in the space, it's pretty hard to sift through and focus on real, meaningful change. Like not wasting precious aquifer water on lawns.
Simple stuff that would have real impact. Taxing the hell out of single use plastic water bottles.
We've done it before. The anti CFC thing was a huge success. Seems like that should be a model to follow.
Instead of pearl-clutching global alarmism, we should narrowly focus on concrete problems with real, measurable solutions, and address them one by one.
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#364Preimplantation polygenetic testing. The idea is that, when doing IVF, you sequence the genome of all the embryos and implant the ones that you predict will have properties that you like. This already exists for monogenetic screening (for parents who don't want to pass on heritable diseases for their children, where those diseases are localized to one gene). But the idea here is that, by checking thousands of genes,…
Rich people already have children who are more intelligent and attractive than average. They do this via mechanisms like “being intelligent enough to get rich, or at least not being stupid enough to go broke” and “being rich enough to marry hot people and have kids with them”. I don’t know if polygenetic testing is going to have a significant effect, but if it does, there is going to be a significant generation gap i…
this 'people are rich because they are smart' is not a take i expected to find on HN.
Its not quite as damaging as 'people are rich because they work harder' but its really not far off
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#365General purpose humanoid robots. They're kind of mainstream idea, but very few people talk about them or take them seriously. Humanoid robots will have an absolutely massive impact in very near future. Most people don't realize that with general purpose humanoid robots, labor becomes software. Labor becomes repeateable, testable, simulatable, modular, extensible, verifiable, etc. All things that apply to software wil…
This is the one that scares me the most because the labor benefits are so big that the field will advance quickly, and it's only a matter of time before someone starts fitting them with rifles.
> and it's only a matter of time before someone starts fitting them with rifles.
"DHS has chosen to lease its robot dog technology from Ghost Robotics, which has also debuted a company equipped with long-range guns"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/16/robot-dogs-u...
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#366Population control? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_population_planning We will have no choice eventually.
You scare me.
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#367Can I say what I hope/wish were on the horizon? 1. Approval voting becoming widely adopted. This would go a long way toward mitigating the hyper polarization in politics in America (and likely elsewhere as well). Electing politicians with broader approval means legislation would likely move more quickly. 2. Moving to a Land Value Tax system in America. This would organically help us transition to a culture that build…
> legislation would likely move more quickly I tend to think the slow pace is a feature not a bug. Could you imagine if something like Roe v Wade was flip flopping every 4 years on political whims? That said, I do think a modern democracy should have more frequent digital voting abilities perhaps on a policy level. Voting for a person you hope will represent you, it’s a decent concept when you lack technology but as…
The United States has a mechanism for slow-moving policy; the Constitution.
That doesn't mean we can't have other mechanisms for policy that can be more nimble, local, or "temporary" (for better or worse).
Tech policy is the best example of legislation that can't keep up with reality on the ground. (subject to corruption from monied interests, of course)
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
[Gattaca]( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/ ) is about the long term consequences of this exact technology for society. In particular, the consequences for the children born naturally who don't benefit from this tech. They don't get any say in the decision, but end up heavily penalized, barred from certain jobs for "safety" reasons, aren't desirable partners... an underclass of society.
"If the audience is supposed to accept that genetic determinism is true in Gattaca, then no amount of Vincent's hard work should make Vincent a hero. He's just a fraud. If the audience is not supposed to believe that in the world of Gattaca genetic determinism is true (that is, it's false), then it should be interpreted as a story of discrimination, and a story of the underdog's heroic hard work overcoming the negati…
It's not that you cannot use Genetic information to accurately predict certain aspects of someone's future... It's that genetic information tells you nothing about human will, and human will can overcome a lot.
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#369Preimplantation polygenetic testing. The idea is that, when doing IVF, you sequence the genome of all the embryos and implant the ones that you predict will have properties that you like. This already exists for monogenetic screening (for parents who don't want to pass on heritable diseases for their children, where those diseases are localized to one gene). But the idea here is that, by checking thousands of genes,…
Rich people already have children who are more intelligent and attractive than average. They do this via mechanisms like “being intelligent enough to get rich, or at least not being stupid enough to go broke” and “being rich enough to marry hot people and have kids with them”. I don’t know if polygenetic testing is going to have a significant effect, but if it does, there is going to be a significant generation gap i…
Nothing about the world's rich folks suggests that they, as a class, are in any way genetically superior to anyone else. Nature vs nurture leans 90 degrees towards nurture.
Re: Ask HN: What's the next big thing that few people are talking about?
#370The likely shutdown of all Russian gas to Germany this winter, resulting in a) 5-10X rise in home heating costs, and b) complete shutdown of many industries, resulting in a c) depression in the German (and thus European) economy
Let's hope so!
You do realize that we live in a globalized economy and that a collapse of the German economy would have significant consequences for the world at large?