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

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241–250 of 314 posts

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

#241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I actually think Germany would be really good at digital infrastructure if they stopped being afraid of friend computer. They still have the automotive / electrical engineering mindset on computers and software. Software in Germany is built to achieve a means to an end. It is never the end goal itself.

> Software in Germany is built to achieve a means to an end. It is never the end goal itself. How do explain the explosion of non-embedded software companies in Berlin in the last 20 years? On the continent, it is hard to beat the Berlin tech scene for start-ups.

zero interest money and consumer demand of knock-off products that SV made a decade before and proved the market is successful

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

#242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying for a grant is normally difficult. In Germany, it's outright hellish. I hope I will be pleasantly surprised.

I am based in Germany and have helped a couple of dozen individuals and small groups to successfully apply for grants and incorporate. It’s really not that difficult once you overcome the typical psychological barriers which if you look closely are a combination of prejudices and negative self talk. On all levels, once you really breathe that there is a human person you are directing your inquiry to, and that you can…

Are you working as a consultant on these topics? I‘m looking for someone to get assistance with incorporating and grants this fall.

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

#243

Nothing surprising about Germany excelling at its strongest fields: creating ministries. Accretive policy is strong there and in their Anglo-Saxon descendants.

Excelling at creating paperwork... except now digitally. AUTOSAR is may favorite German software innovation. /s That's the curse in Europe. Every European country has it's own ministry of digital innovation who's role is the grift of allocating taxpayer money to the right politically connected pockets while pretending to do innovation. Case in point, German fiber optic infrastructure is still lightyears behind Romani…

> Case in point, German fiber optic infrastructure is still lightyears behind Romania despite much higher costs. Means, somebody in Germany is making good money form that, even if there's nothing to show for.

Apartment I stayed in while in Germany had annual Kabelgebühr of 100 EUR. It was not related with the ISP internet subscription of course. Any negotiations or questions were responded with "IT'S KABELGEBÜHR YOU HAVE TO PAY IT".

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

#244
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> There is also a massive union culture, which provides Germans with a great quality of life, but again, that's something probably negatively correlated to innovation. Hmm... So if people struggle in life and have live from hand to mouth in multiple jobs to support their family and loved ones, they are more innovative?

It engrains the idea into people early on, that they should work to upskill themselves or build their own jobs, instead of coasting on the idea the government will always be there for them to provide jobs and security.

Also, plenty of people in Germany live hand to mouth now. Poverty has been on the increase due to CoL.

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

#245
post #235

Ministries cannot keep up with the velocity of free market / startup culture like SV. So I wouldn't exactly be bullish on this.

What kind of comparison is this? A government ministry is not a private enterprise, it has different goals and structures. It's like saying a cargo ship can't keep up with a speed boat.

Well let me put it this way:

What is the point of the ministry, and why does the current global leader of super-high-tech (USA) not seem to be in need of such?

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

#246
post #151

The upside is that this will actually provide lots of research funding to small companies. Think of it like the seed round from a VC, but instead of investing into new companies, they try to strategically invest into existing companies to boost future tax revenue. It'll probably be very German, meaning overly bureaucratic. But the basic idea of financing R&D in small companies to grow them more competitive seems legi…

I dont want the govt to fund any research funding. As a tax payer i did not vote this. I want to decide who i fund or not. It just means, my taxes will not go down. :/

The government has two jobs: 1. Steal your money, 2. Send you to die in a war.

Unless your country is a war, that means they can focus entirely on stealing your money. You're never going to be able to change that. The only thing you can do is protect your money outside their reach. Then you can decide freely how it is used.

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

#247
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That does not scale. We cannot ask every single citizen about every single decision. You want to decide on each funding. The next will want to decide on every tax law change. Government decides, and if majority of population thinks they’re doing a shit job and someone else can do a less shot job they get replaced after a couple of years. Otherwise it’s micromanagement hell.

I disagree. Lets say i own 100 percent of my money. Just that i have to write it down, makes me shiver, what we as people accept to happen. Am i interested in progress? Of course. Am i not smart enough to see or think long term, most likely. Give me a robo advisor, that helps me distribute my money. Give me best practises. I do not need a bloated government and their politics and interest groups for a simple decision…

I don’t get it. You want everyone to decide what they do with their taxes? roads in the middle of nowhere would never get maintained for example. Orphan sickness would see even less research than they do today. Etc.

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

#248
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is also a massive union culture, which provides Germans with a great quality of life, but again, that's something probably negatively correlated to innovation. Hmm... So if people struggle in life and have live from hand to mouth in multiple jobs to support their family and loved ones, they are more innovative?

It engrains the idea into people early on, that they should work to upskill themselves or build their own jobs, instead of coasting on the idea the government will always be there for them to provide jobs and security. Also, plenty of people in Germany live hand to mouth now. Poverty has been on the increase due to CoL.

So, your hypothesis is that greed fuels innovation? Those innovating are rarely the ones benefiting financially. I think it rather fuels hustling. The end game of hustling are monopolies, which have little to no interest in innovation.

From what examples I can think of right now, innovation actually appears to require a certain level of coziness. I'd say great ideas come from curiosity, and if you're struggling to eat, that's usually limited. The trick is, perhaps, to be cozy, but not so cozy that lifting a finger seems pointless.

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

#249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

How does the Germany of today reconcile itself with the iconoclasts of its past from mathematicians, physicists, chemists, explorers, filmmakers, and industrialists who set the stage for modern life during the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

There were way more young people back then. Germany as a country has the mentality of a retiree, because that's who lives there.

I say that as a German doing a startup in Germany. There's upsides as well but it's true.

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

#250
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Lets say i own 100 percent of my money. Just that i have to write it down, makes me shiver, what we as people accept to happen. Am i interested in progress? Of course. Am i not smart enough to see or think long term, most likely. Give me a robo advisor, that helps me distribute my money. Give me best practises. I do not need a bloated government and their politics and interest groups for a simple decision…

I don’t get it. You want everyone to decide what they do with their taxes? roads in the middle of nowhere would never get maintained for example. Orphan sickness would see even less research than they do today. Etc.

Roads in the middle of nowhere are not needed, of course i would not want that. I want them there where they are needed. Like, connecting two big citied with a lot of nowhere in between. I want the robo advisor to make that calculation for me.

And the other thing: yeah, people know, what charity is. But there is no big charity, if the welfare state already takes half of your money. The responsibility to take care of people around you is offloaded to an anonymous entity.

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