Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts • Hacker News Board

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#171

Post by jelliclesfarm » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 5:17 AM UTC

rootsudo wrote: post #160

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good. I hope they lose these kinds of jobs to robots. Human beings shouldn’t be doing this kind of dirty and dangerous jobs. Once upon a time they used slaves from Africa to pick cotton in the newly formed United States. I often wish I was around to see the mechanical cotton harvester for the first time ever. I KNOW it would have taken my breath away. Consider this..there are 8 billion people in the world. Growing an…

And...consider this...to the farm hands, you just destroyed their way of income and their life.

New jobs can be created. Once upon a time before automobiles there were workers who picked up horse poop and maintained stables. And one day, those jobs disappeared. And new jobs were created. We can’t stop progress. Imagine if the Luddites had won...

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#172

Post by jelliclesfarm » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 5:18 AM UTC

just4tscomment wrote: post #144

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Point to note: migrant workers from other states are needed to work in the southern farms. The missing farm labour force are invisibly employed elsewhere. I would wager that it is in the tech sector.

I disagree. I took a look at Labour Report by the Government of India, https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/Report%20Vol%203%2... , which is based on the 2011 census data. A large portion of India's population is still poorly skilled. Besides, the tech sector has a higher barrier to entry compared to the blue collar and agricultural sector.

That’s a decade old.

Remember California in 2011? How many unicorns in SV post 2010?

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#173

Post by enugu » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 7:06 AM UTC

manquer wrote: post #168

enugu wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Education statistics were compiled in the British era, and these were referenced by Dharampal in his book 'The Beautiful Tree' which records the extensive education present in South India. Like a lot of claims, this doesnt stand up. Nor does the claim of 'caste system started in colonial era' make sense. Aside: For people interested in learning more about what I am talking about, read up Nicholas Dirks, Balagangadhar…

Lol , even today basic literacy is in the 70th percentile. I can count in fingers how many from my village in south india from my grandfathers generation went to school or could read/write. The reason congress first lost power in tamil nadu was partly because of caste based education proposed by rajagopalachari. Mid day meal program was pivotal in MGR's continued popularity . Education has always been key factor in p…

If you want to read more about this, please look at the 11th chapter of James Tooley's book https://www.amazon.in/Beautiful-Tree-James-Tooley/dp/0670083... on "the uprooting of the Beautiful Tree". Tooley was researching low cost private schools in different parts of Asia and Africa.

He follows up the references in Dharampal in British Home Office records, which catalog the reports sent on native education by collectors to the governor Thomas Munro (including 'caste' statistics).

Tooley also read the work of Andrew Bell, on how mass education in Britain and later Europe was strongly influenced by what Rev Andrew Bell(who had come to Madras to manage a school) learnt about the methods of peer learning in native schools in Madras.

Dharampal's book is available online for free, and Arvind Neelakantan has a review of Tooley's book.

Some other disagreements, its not just 'few kings' but majority. The 'priest' claim is also not true. Majority of the mathas in say Karnatak and TN are run by non-brahmins, and there are plenty of pujaris from other jatis, not that that is a position of social privilege given how poorly paid they are and difficulty in getting married.

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#174

Post by just4tscomment » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 9:04 AM UTC

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #172

just4tscomment wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I took a look at Labour Report by the Government of India, https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/Report%20Vol%203%2... , which is based on the 2011 census data. A large portion of India's population is still poorly skilled. Besides, the tech sector has a higher barrier to entry compared to the blue collar and agricultural sector.

That’s a decade old. Remember California in 2011? How many unicorns in SV post 2010?

Well, I'll say that Indian state demographics change slower than those of 'developed' countries. Besides, California is an outlier, even within the States.

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#175

Post by pkphilip » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 12:19 PM UTC

vinay427 wrote: post #166

pkphilip wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you have an issue with monkey labour when bulls et are routinely used for farming and transportation in India?

If I understand your point correctly that monkey labor in Thailand is fine because bulls are used for labor in India, I don't follow. Why are using bulls in India justified for you, and why does that justify monkeys in Thailand? As the other commenter said, why would you assume I even have an opinion on Indian bulls, let alone supporting their labor?

I don't have a problem with bulls/bullocks being used for labour and neither do I have a problem with monkeys being used. We use animals for a range of functions - donkeys, horses, goats, dogs, cows, camels, chickens, ducks, geese, pigs.. even elephants.. why not monkeys?

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#176

Post by iratewizard » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 3:43 PM UTC

berkes wrote: post #89

iratewizard wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Done right, it's the opposite for me. Those monkeys can live a happy life in the same way as an ox that pulls a tiller.

An ox is forcibly neutered, then forced, often with a torturing device (whips, nose rings etc), to toil in the burning sun for days. Untill his joints give up, and he is killed. I know I'm excaggerating. But it annoys me to no end that we came to think this is 'a happy life' in any remote sense. An ox, to me, is on the furthest part of the spectrum of forced labor. I found Harari's Book 'Sapien' very enlightening on…

How often do oxen work longer days than the farmer himself?

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#177

Post by iratewizard » Wed, Sep 23, 2020, 3:48 PM UTC

dharma1 wrote: post #133

iratewizard wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Done right, it's the opposite for me. Those monkeys can live a happy life in the same way as an ox that pulls a tiller.

These are wild animals who are abducted and then chained to do forced labour. It doesn't sound like a happy life and if they had a choice in the matter, I doubt they would volunteer

All of the pets in your home wouldn't choose to live with you if they weren't conditioned to already. You would need to abduct them one way or another. They wouldn't volunteer to become food, either. Getting caught by another animal mean becoming food is the alternative to forced labor.

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#178

Post by known » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 7:19 AM UTC

distant_hat wrote: post #91

daggerdrone wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of curiosity, if there was shortage of coconut harvesters, why were they poor? Can't they demand more money for the task?

In India, dangerous stuff often pays less due to caste and other considerations. Manual sewage cleaners have a really high death rate in India and are paid peanuts.

Casteism is an Organized mafia operating in South Asia since 700 BC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda which is evident from the fact that 50% Ministers in Modi Cabinet are Brahmin; And Brahmin are just 3% in India;

https://www.quora.com/Which-caste-is-looting-India/answers/2...

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#179

Post by berkes » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 8:22 AM UTC

iratewizard wrote: post #176

berkes wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An ox is forcibly neutered, then forced, often with a torturing device (whips, nose rings etc), to toil in the burning sun for days. Untill his joints give up, and he is killed. I know I'm excaggerating. But it annoys me to no end that we came to think this is 'a happy life' in any remote sense. An ox, to me, is on the furthest part of the spectrum of forced labor. I found Harari's Book 'Sapien' very enlightening on…

How often do oxen work longer days than the farmer himself?

When an Ox is a community asset and not owned by a single farmer.

Which, I imagine, is or was quite often the case. I'm no historian nor a farming-expert, so I'm really just guessing.

Re: Indian robot climbs trees to harvest coconuts

#180

Post by naruvimama » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 9:05 AM UTC

gamma_kappa wrote: post #134

naruvimama wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Islamic + Christian colonialism covered about 1000 years, during which time the natives or Hindus were second class citizens. Somehow the poverty and destitution seems to be always blamed on the natives. Moreover Caste system is a European system introduced by the British to divide up communities.

The caste system existed long before Europeans ruled India. Caste system has roots in the Vedic society. "The varnas originated in Vedic society (c. 1500–500 BCE). The first three groups, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya have parallels with other Indo-European societies, while the addition of the Shudras is probably a Brahmanical invention from northern India." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_In…

The "Caste system" has European roots connected to the monopoly of one book, one god and the all powerful church.

In Europe the king was the representative of god and got his powers through the church. Then came the merchants, landowners who funded the state. Artisans took the next rung. The unskilled workers took the most menial jobs came last.

We call this today as the class system but this was the original caste system imported from Europe and applied on the native population of India.

While one can not deny that there were/are different communities and a kind of class hierarchies in India just like in the rest of the world. The rigid caste system is actually the work of the Church. In India each community had its own gods and its own chieftains and priests.