Balancing the real and significant perils of unfettered free markets with the real and significant perils of meddling with free markets.
Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
61–70 of 231 posts
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#62A catalogue of charities giving information about their goals and their financials. Help me to help others most efficiently with my money.
Givewell does research on the effectivness of donations to non-profits , and recommends the best.
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#63Online elections. Think of how many more people would actually vote in the US if it were online . The 2008 election had 63% voter turnout, which is historically high, but is nothing compared to countries like Italy with 90%. Obviously, there are huge security concerns and it would be a logistical nightmare, but that's what someone needs to solve.
If not proper elections at least a whole population simulation before the polls. That way people could express their true preferences without fearing that their vote will not count if it goes to a fringe candidate and would reassure them that they're not as few as regular polls and eventual results usually show.
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#64I want to be able to use the internet without being really worried about installing the operating system, maintaining and updating it. Heck, I don't want to SEE the OS. Just abstract it away from my view. I don't want to see it any more. (The same can be said about web browsers)
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#65Corruption. It is a huge problem in India, I wish it is solved using transparent processes, aided by software tools. RTI (Right to Information) act helps in bringing out issues to an extent, but those who file RTIs get threatened or can even end up being killed.. http://www.google.co.in/search?q=RTI+activist+killed Something like anonymous or proxy RTI filings can help and all the results should be cataloged.
I would guess corruption mainly comes about because individuals can be in positions in power. Ie it is not a real democracy and the legal system is defunct? Just guessing, but if that is so, I don't think transparency would help. The bribes would probably never be entered into the computer database either.
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#66"Deprecate the base of Maslow's pyramid" Inventing cheap and healthy concentrated 'food' that would allow people to eat once a month or even more rarely. Almost all other problems have a root in our needing to eat (work and cars, pollution, corruption, fighting for social status and it's consequences). You'd have the autonomy and time to take long trips without needing to carry much.
There's no science in this unfortunately - if you gave someone a month's worth of food in one meal then they are going to put on a month's worth of food in fat in one day and spend the next 29 days starving hungry, consequently slowing their metabolism and making them fatter.
There are plenty of advances to be made for sure, there's not much science for it 'yet'. That is why I mentioned 'healty'. Not some super-food to get you through a short period of intense physical/mental/emotional effort, but something that does not wreck your metabolism and plays well with your organs' age-old habit to be useful and doing their thing. So it would definitely not be just some bunch of nutrients but nanobots too that get cooperate with and monitor your organism. It's probably very hard, but if solved, it would make most (all?) other problems mentioned in this thread be non-issues :)
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#67A better way to communicate between cars -- honking a horn seems kind of stone age at this point.
Some car manufacturers have released technology which allows a car to see when you are getting too close to a car in front of you, adjusting your speed accordingly. I imagine that using this technology along with local area networks you could improve on the existing technology to enable coordinated lanes. I think it could be incredibly interesting if you were able to have a lane on highways which only allowed linked…
I read that Simulations show only 20% of cars need to have automated radar speed control to help make freeways free-flowing.
You just need to sprinkle smart cars liberally and everyone benefits.
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#68Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#69I'd like to see someone solve the problem of (snail) mail. Its the one thing that is really preventing me from living a digital nomad lifestyle. I still have to visit my office at least once a week just to pick up mail, half of which is often junk and half of which im normally too late for.
I think there are or used to be services that open and scan your mail for you and email you the scans.
Re: Ask YC/HN: What's a problem, any problem, you'd like to see someone solve?
#70Where is energy going to come from when the irreversible decline of oil production worldwide begins?