Why the Fuck? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why the Fuck?

#11

Post by jiggy2011 » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:12 AM UTC

I don't have a degree in medical sciences so I have no idea where I would start.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#12

Post by moneypenny » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:13 AM UTC

The benefit is that you know which tedious people to avoid when they tell you they work at Facebook/Google/etc.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#13

Post by steveplace » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:13 AM UTC

Why the fuck do we see this complaint pop up on HN every quarter?

Re: Why the Fuck?

#14

Post by lindowe » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:13 AM UTC

There are a lot of interesting startups right now in the mobile health space, but it is a significantly more difficult space to operate in. It takes years to get FDA approval for new medical devices, the healthcare industry is beholden to several large industry players, and the culture of medicine is resistant to rapid innovation. I understand and echo your frustration that silicon valley often only pays lip service to 'dangerously ambitious ideas', but there are also real reasons why people don't operate in these difficult business environments.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#15

Post by cynicalkane » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:14 AM UTC

Bad incentives.

Maybe smart people don't care about money all that much, but they want their lives to not suck, their effort to not feel wasted, their identity not wrapped up in the service of dysfunction and politics. There are not many places where you can better humanity for a living and live the life such a person deserves, and it is not the job of humans to sacrifice themselves for no reward. That's why people who do so, effectively, are so rare.

Here's a guy who left the ivory tower for Google: http://cs.unm.edu/~terran/academic_blog/?p=113

I’m concerned that the US — one of the innovation powerhouses of the world — will hurt its own future considerably if we continue to make educational professions unappealing.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#16

Post by cgag » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:14 AM UTC

hammerdr wrote: post #3

RoboTeddy wrote: post #2

Probably because profit is only somewhat related to delivering actual utility.

Is profit the main driver? Should it be?

Yes, no.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#17

Post by nbashaw » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:14 AM UTC

Because it creates value, whether or not you approve or understand it. Fun and entertainment are what most people spend most of their time seeking. Simple as that.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#18

Post by YuriNiyazov » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:15 AM UTC

Because most people, Facebook programmers included, don't have the patience and the resources to undergo the amount of schooling necessary to reach the level of understanding to make an impact in these areas; and after they do, the amount of bureaucracy they will need to fight to make a dent will drive even the most resilient minds to take a job getting people to click on ads.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#19

Post by oh_sigh » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:16 AM UTC

hammerdr wrote: post #3

RoboTeddy wrote: post #2

Probably because profit is only somewhat related to delivering actual utility.

Is profit the main driver? Should it be?

Be the change you want to see in the world. Feel free to quit your job and go bankrupt while trying and most likely failing to make the world a better place.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#20

Post by johnbender » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 12:16 AM UTC

It appears that Diabetes research receives over a billion in funding each year just from the NIH [1][2]. As far as I can tell this doesn't include private funding for cures/treatments.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting the data here, but it looks like many people and many millions of dollars are devoted to solving real world problems like the one Scott Hanselman has.

[1] General Disease research numbers http://report.nih.gov/categorical_spending.aspx

[2] Diabetes funding by project http://report.nih.gov/categorical_spending_project_listing.a...