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Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

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Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#171

Post by johnmorrison »

In the online world, it seems like there are two big things happening right now:

- Neural networks / ML (eg GPT-2) Definitely nowhere near its potential for being applied to a wide variety of areas. Find a niche you like and apply there.

- Security / Privacy (eg Telegram) Rapidly growing demand pretty much everywhere. Bonus points if you can make your product great for standard users and at the same time hackable/customizable for people who want to do that. Capitalize on both legs of the pareto distribution.

That all being said, if you are ambitious and talented without an all-consuming passion for software, I highly recommend you find something you can work in hardware. Since the '70s or so most industries have been basically frozen, besides computer hardware/software. Yet in the meantime materials science and engineering design has advanced considerably, both of which form the basis for innovation in new technologies. This is why SpaceX was able to build components for 10-100x cheaper than the leading suppliers in the early 2000s.

I work at a startup in nuclear fission, particularly because this tech is at Here's some ideas you might find interesting, that I think could work in the next decade or so: - Supersonic air travel - Electric air travel - Nano/micro-scale metallurgy and materials for industry - Biological materials - Gut/microbiome - Genetic engineering - Nuclear fission / fusion - Carbon capture - Cross-laminated timber (CLT) for construction - Indoor farming / optimizing farming in general - Synthetic meat / meat alternatives

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#172

Post by tito »

gnode wrote: post #167
tito wrote: post #53

Climate change will create the first trillionaire. Find everything that eats fossil fuels and electrify it. Find everything that requires stable land and predictable weather and put it in a shipping container. Find every infrastructure investment that requires decades to pay off and decentralize it. Instead of water line pipes, pull water out of the air. Instead of copper and fiber optic cables on telephone poles, us…

I'm pessimistic about governments coming together and coordinating an expensive effort to avert climate change. I also think the world is on a course to become increasingly divided and rivalrous, such that collaboration would be less likely, and nations less willing to compromise on their economic competitiveness. I think if there is an effort made (which there will probably have to be), it'll be something cheap and…

Same here regarding govts coming together. I think individuals have a huge role to play. The rise of the climate hackers.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#173

Post by monk_e_boy »

tito wrote: post #151
jeffreyrogers wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see that happening. Most of the things you've suggested would require large amounts on energy to produce. I don't see energy getting cheaper over the next 50-100 years. It seems to me that climate change and reduced dependency on fossil fuels we lead to reduced globalization and population reduction.

The cost of energy will go near zero. The marginal cost of an electron captured with solar is free. Solar is starting to beat fossil fuel installations already, below $0.05 USD per kWh. This was not predicted even by the biggest cheerleaders even 10 years ago: "In 2017, the solar industry achieved SunShot’s original 2020 cost target of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power three year…

Someone is going to cover the Sahara with solar panels and make some serious cash. Bonus points for automating the production of solar panels out of sand.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#174

Post by Arkdy »

neltnerb wrote: post #138

Cooperatives. The economy needs to shift away from giant companies with pay ratios of a thousand to one between CEOs and average employees and employees need control over their workplace to move to the next stage of capitalism. Make it easier for collectives to start up businesses that aren't purely focused on profit and instead focused on employees taking ownership of their work. It may not be the biggest profit pos…

A collection of relevant links I recently collected:

1. A Technology Freelancer's Guide to Starting a Worker Cooperative [pdf] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20908452

2. Platform Cooperativism Consortium | A hub that helps you start, grow, or convert to platform co-ops https://platform.coop/

3. Stoop.cp Incubator for co-ops with a revenue sharing model and 10k grant https://start.coop/#program

4. Savvy Cooperative https://www.savvy.coop/

5. The Internet of Ownership – Tools for a democratic online economy https://ioo.coop/

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#175

Post by tito »

Obi_Juan_Kenobi wrote: post #128
tito wrote: post #53

Climate change will create the first trillionaire. Find everything that eats fossil fuels and electrify it. Find everything that requires stable land and predictable weather and put it in a shipping container. Find every infrastructure investment that requires decades to pay off and decentralize it. Instead of water line pipes, pull water out of the air. Instead of copper and fiber optic cables on telephone poles, us…

You mean geo-engineering specifically, or just a transition to a renewable economy? Olivine weathering and ocean cloud seeding both seem like reasonably likely solutions that each cost on the order of 10's of billions. Major doubts that addressing carbon will be a big money maker. But obviously the carbon economy is huge, so the renewable economy will at least that big.

In terms of "What's a Promising Area to Work On", I'm excited about all of it. I've expanded my description to include the renewable economy as well as the carbon economy.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#176

Post by md8 »

tossAfterUsing wrote: post #94
aey wrote: post #28

Crypto! 17% of the worlds GDP is spent on financial services. Software can eat it all.

crypto is fake money, and it will never survive government scrutiny. we need our dollars to be made by governments, not basement dwellers.

Is the Government currency True money?

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#177

Post by monk_e_boy »

DrNuke wrote: post #168

> What's an area that people think is up and coming? I'm pretty introverted! Spend 3 to 6 months on theatre acting and you will never need asking the cold internet again for anything personal!

Bingo! Correct answer. Anyone can learn to 'act' ... I got into teaching to help myself be more confident infront of adults. It turns out that groups of strangers are perfectly normal people, and there isn't anything to worry about.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#178

Post by anon111028 »

hectorr1 wrote: post #80

Usable cryptography. iPhone-level UX for private key management. People care about privacy, and more are willing to pay for it. There is a massive opportunity for direct monetization through cryptocurrency users, and the things you could build when this problem is solved...

I see a future where everything is encrypted with the best there is. Encryption could/should be built right into the backbone of everything.

Re: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

#179

Post by tito »

monk_e_boy wrote: post #173
tito wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of energy will go near zero. The marginal cost of an electron captured with solar is free. Solar is starting to beat fossil fuel installations already, below $0.05 USD per kWh. This was not predicted even by the biggest cheerleaders even 10 years ago: "In 2017, the solar industry achieved SunShot’s original 2020 cost target of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power three year…

Someone is going to cover the Sahara with solar panels and make some serious cash. Bonus points for automating the production of solar panels out of sand.

Call it "Sand to Solar". Some of the best ideas start out as jokes, I googled for this because I was curious:

"New technology allows heated sand to generate electricity, presenting a viable new option for investors to focus on."

https://oilandenergyinvestor.com/acq/new-energy-from-sand-wh...

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