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Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

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Re: Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I'd say young people should focus on educating themselves about the various issues in an academic sense, particularly if they're in college. Don't just read blogs, read studies and learn the statistics/background so you actually understand what they mean. Look up primary sources to get perspectives from people who have lived through whatever issue you're grappling with. Learn to write and how to think about the…

I’d say older people should focus on educating themselves about the various issues in an academic sense, particularly if they haven’t been exposed to the many new issues facing younger people that are often ignored by the many politicians catering to older groups. Don’t just listen to cable news and partisan radio shows, read studies and learn the statistics/background so you actually understand what they mean. Look…

And? As someone in their early 30s I'd agree.

The discussion was what should college-age people be doing with their time. I'm simply pointing out that young people entering college typically have little academic knowledge and little real-world experience. So outliers aside, how are they fit to solve problems again? Most of them are white belts when it comes to adult life. That's not bad, just a statement of status.

Given that college provides years of uninterrupted access to scientific journals, never mind classes and a myriad of other education resources, I'd recommend that they maximize the opportunities in front of them and maybe work their way to to at least purple belt before setting out to save the world.

Also, I find it sad how eager you were to pigeon-hole me as some cable-TV-watching boomer who's refusing to change just because I pointed out there are economic nuances to the climate change argument. You sound like one of the victims of our shallow public education system I mentioned in my previous post.

Re: Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

#62
If you’re in Berkeley, I can help you directly.. I’m not sure why, but this sounds familiar. Otherwise, here is a problem:

- Maintaining good nutrition is a problem for many [People].

+ Maintaining good nutrition is a problem for many [People]. [your solution name] solves this problem by [providing a superior solution].

* solution: develop a service predicated on ensuring people meet macro/micro nutrient requirements; I wouldn’t do this directly, I would partner with the fast-food/restaurant industry to develop “paths” towards “nutrition.” Say you get a number 1 or whatever, well instead of “only having x more calories to spare” (restriction) you know what you need to eat next.

Now, this wouldn’t be initially ideal as it’ll probably drive unhealthy habits (to be exploited I’m sure), but it could help drive better habits over time: - menus aren’t well-balanced diets - customers could seek more balance then there’d be - incentive to balance menus - could shift perceptions of food

Also, it’s hard to solve problems you don’t have. But, since you aren’t married to any problem, you can be problem-promiscuous. This means you should start trying to solve problems—more problems will fall out of this process.

Loosen up your pitch process too, have categories (i.e. serious, comical, satirical, fiction, etc). Rapidly pitch for a few days (don’t evaluate any of them).

Re: Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

#65

Are you in an area with homeless people? In my neighborhood, there's a homeless guy named Mike. His wheelchair has been stolen 4 times in the last two months, and he can't walk without it. I was thinking it'd be cool if there was a municipal registration system for wheelchairs, like there are for bikes, that would work for homeless people. Just an idea. No clue how practical it'd be!

Related: Malcolm Gladwell's Homelessness is Solvable

>https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/solvable/solvable-podc...

Re: Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

#66
post #51

If you're away at college in a college town, you could try getting to know the local government, businesses, and community. That would help solve the problem that has persisted to the point of stereotype: college students and administrators ignoring or looking down on the towns surrounding them.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?

#67
One of the problems worth trying to solve is Food Wastage. In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. This estimate, based on estimates from USDA's Economic Research Service of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010.
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