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Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

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Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#101

Post by andrepd »

DataDaoDe wrote: post #84
pasabagi wrote: post #36

I actually think Germany would be really good at digital infrastructure if they stopped being afraid of friend computer. Germany is immensely proud of its history of creating standards - there's literally a place in berlin called DIN Platz. Germany is also very proud, and rightly so, in its history of mathematical innovation. Everything that isn't dross in the computer world is either a well designed standard, or a w…

Germany has tons of potential, but Germany is one of the most risk averse countries on the planet (see Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures)[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_avoidance ]. This makes it amazing at building high quality industrial products, taking innovation done elsewhere and refining and polishing it, slowly over many years - building standards as you say. However, it doesn't help much in the inno…

> Also as probably the world leader in data privacy and protection that's another vector working against innovation

Extremely thick irony here

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#102

Post by bobthepanda »

mhitza wrote: post #56
rrr_oh_man wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not the bureaucracy. Nobody's stopping a local mid-market manufacturer from automating workflows. Or hindering a utility company from offering a better service process. The problem is corporate leadership. German companies tend to be run by people who are inflexible, uninspired, and cheap. Maybe it's in the culture. Compare this to Austria, where there's a cultural flair for the dramatic (and therefore…

> Compare this to Austria, where there's a cultural flair for the dramatic (and therefore an eagerness to stand out, even if it's weird) or Switzerland where enterprises, public or private, are not afraid to place big bets. Can you call out with some examples for those of us unfamiliar with those 'big bets'?

One very big bet I would say would be the NRLA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NRLA

Switzerland sits between Germany, Italy, and France, and was getting choked by road traffic, so voters have approved the largest tunnels in the world to get goods around and through Switzerland without using roads.

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#103

Post by bobthepanda »

whimsicalism wrote: post #95
bobthepanda wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what you are looking at. For example there is increasing consensus that Merkel's "black-zero" budget requirements set the stage for today's collapsing German infrastructure and lack of productivity growth due to decreased public investment.

Think it has much more to do with traditional EU regulator attitudes around the dual of labor & capital markets. Both are very dysfunctional in Europe, with labor probably slightly edging out in terms of dysfunction.

thats also not helping, but it's not exactly a secret that German public infrastructure from roads to rails to electricity and whatnot are also all crumbling.

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#105

Post by ernst_klim »

tene80i wrote: post #47
slt2021 wrote: post #40

Germany has no national idea, they have no reason why an average burger should work his/her ass off competing with Chinese/American/Indian scientists and working 80 hr/week on cutting edge research. Germans are smart and capable, but the German lifestyle is not for "super high tech" industry

What’s your proposal? Give up?

Germany is actively killing innovation. I propose to stop for starters.

Tho when the median voter is 55 and national motto is "that's how it was always done" and "Pensions are secure" - I don't put much hope. I still remember the outcry when the digital health cards were introduced.

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#106

Post by holowoodman »

> “Our goal is that the world’s first fusion reactor should be realized in Germany,”

This will never happen. At some point they will notice that fusion is something with "nuclear" and "atoms" and they will immediately jump to "scary", "dangerous" and "verboten".

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#107

Post by DataDaoDe »

analog31 wrote: post #82
whimsicalism wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the EU is increasingly aware of its faults, especially in Germany & France. Happy to watch them cook and I say that as an American who has watched on with pain at what the EU has done to itself over the last decade+.

Are their people worse off?

I can't speak for France, but for Germany, unfortunately, by most metrics that matter (affordable housing, infrastructure, subjective well-being, energy costs, labor markets, etc.) compared to 20 years ago, yes. However, compared to most other countries, Germany is still doing quite well. So it all depends on the context for how you interpret the data.

[1] https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/03/27/germanys-rea... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_economic_crisis_%282022...

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#108

Post by Ridius »

holowoodman wrote: post #106

> “Our goal is that the world’s first fusion reactor should be realized in Germany,” This will never happen. At some point they will notice that fusion is something with "nuclear" and "atoms" and they will immediately jump to "scary", "dangerous" and "verboten".

Germany is home to one of the most promising Fusion projects - "Wendelstein 7-X "

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#109

Post by whimsicalism »

bobthepanda wrote: post #103
whimsicalism wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think it has much more to do with traditional EU regulator attitudes around the dual of labor & capital markets. Both are very dysfunctional in Europe, with labor probably slightly edging out in terms of dysfunction.

thats also not helping, but it's not exactly a secret that German public infrastructure from roads to rails to electricity and whatnot are also all crumbling.

it's hard to build infrastructure when you have dysfunctional labor markets & your tax base is declining in real terms.

Re: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for research, technology, aerospace

#110

Post by sz4kerto »

ernst_klim wrote: post #64
anigbrowl wrote: post #34

Black_13 appears to be shadowbanned so I'm reproducing their comment here: black_13 11 minutes ago [dead] | parent | context | unvouch | favorite | on: Germany creates 'super–high-tech ministry' for res... The cynicism in these comments is telling, but misses crucial realities about Germany's capabilities and social achievements. Yes, Germany creates bureaucracies. Yes, Dorothee Bär's digital infrastructure record is…

> comprehensive public transportation infrastructure, universal healthcare without administrative bloat, and urban planning that prioritizes livability over speculation. This can't be further from the truth. This is probably written by an American, and US is a very car-centric, but German infrastructure is a shitshow. Also healthcare is absolutely stiffled by bureaucracy. I have a friend who is a cardiologist. He say…

As someone who lived in multiple rich countries in Europe, let me tell you that the German healthcare system is awesome. It has a lot of problems, but it's head and shoulders above many-many other countries. You can actually get care by a qualified doctor, while this is absolutely not self-evident even in rich countries like the United Kingdom, and let's not talk about CEE countries.
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