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The Unexotic Underclass

miter.mit.edu

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Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#11

Post by zwieback »

This was a fun read but we've already reached the meta-discussion of the meaningfulness of entrepreneurs so it's probably time to move on.

The reality is that entrepreneurs cannot solve the Big Problems or big problems - the investment and time horizon of these problems means that traditional structures, e.g. large companies, research organizations and governments have to step in. Disruption is for the easy stuff, hard stuff still has to be solved the slow way, with decades of hard work.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#12

Post by staccatomeasure »

kstenerud wrote: post #5

All of this moralizing and "solve big problems" talk is really getting old. On average, chances are pretty low that a particular individual will ever solve a big problem, so stop worrying about it! It's not for others to say how you "should" spend your energy anyway. The moralistic fluff is unnecessary. Those who aren't motivated will ignore it, those who are motivated don't need to be reminded, and the moralizers wi…

You said: 1. On average you won't solve a big problem, so don't try. 2. Other folks in your society should have no opinion on what you spend time on. 3. Don't try to change people's opinions because you can't. 4. Stop bringing up morality because it makes people think, not act.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#13

Post by scrumper »

mikeash wrote: post #6
kyllo wrote: post #3

I noticed that devs on HN often sneer at CRUD apps because they're boring to build, but meanwhile a simple CRUD app could do something like make all these veterans' medical benefit claims paperless so that they can get filled out and approved in minutes rather than months , and they could get the care they need sooner. One could do a lot of good by just making CRUD apps for people who need them and can't afford to pa…

All the technology in the world won't make those veterans' benefit claims go through any faster. The problem there isn't the technology (it's not all that hard of a problem) but getting it into the right place, past all the gatekeepers who want to keep it out. It's not that nobody is building the technology because they're concentrating on other things, but rather nobody is building it because they know it won't sell…

Maybe that's the problem to solve then: navigating (or, dare I say it, disrupting) government procurement.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#15

Post by jholman »

jckt wrote: post #7
dfc wrote: post #4

" I’m sweeping a fairly catholic brush " What is a catholic brush?

"catholic : comprehensive, universal; especially : broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests " Note that he didn't capitalise the word. Edit: sorry, I don't tend to read the article's author's name -- bad on my part. Sorry about that.

she

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#16

Post by zipfle »

jckt wrote: post #7
dfc wrote: post #4

" I’m sweeping a fairly catholic brush " What is a catholic brush?

"catholic : comprehensive, universal; especially : broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests " Note that he didn't capitalise the word. Edit: sorry, I don't tend to read the article's author's name -- bad on my part. Sorry about that.

note that he is she.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#17

Post by mynameishere »

kyllo wrote: post #3

I noticed that devs on HN often sneer at CRUD apps because they're boring to build, but meanwhile a simple CRUD app could do something like make all these veterans' medical benefit claims paperless so that they can get filled out and approved in minutes rather than months , and they could get the care they need sooner. One could do a lot of good by just making CRUD apps for people who need them and can't afford to pa…

a simple CRUD app could do something like make all these veterans' medical benefit claims paperless

Changing a massive medical system from paper-based to digital is "simple"?

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#19

Post by mnutt »

scrumper wrote: post #13
mikeash wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the technology in the world won't make those veterans' benefit claims go through any faster. The problem there isn't the technology (it's not all that hard of a problem) but getting it into the right place, past all the gatekeepers who want to keep it out. It's not that nobody is building the technology because they're concentrating on other things, but rather nobody is building it because they know it won't sell…

Maybe that's the problem to solve then: navigating (or, dare I say it, disrupting) government procurement.

That reminds me of DonorsChoose, which connects elementary teachers with people looking to donate. It's unfortunate that many states don't properly fund things like school supplies, but it's a great service nonetheless.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#20

Post by vkou »

mikeash wrote: post #6
kyllo wrote: post #3

I noticed that devs on HN often sneer at CRUD apps because they're boring to build, but meanwhile a simple CRUD app could do something like make all these veterans' medical benefit claims paperless so that they can get filled out and approved in minutes rather than months , and they could get the care they need sooner. One could do a lot of good by just making CRUD apps for people who need them and can't afford to pa…

All the technology in the world won't make those veterans' benefit claims go through any faster. The problem there isn't the technology (it's not all that hard of a problem) but getting it into the right place, past all the gatekeepers who want to keep it out. It's not that nobody is building the technology because they're concentrating on other things, but rather nobody is building it because they know it won't sell…

From what I understand of Veteran's Affairs, the technology has been built, and it does sell. The only problem is that the government's being fleeced for all its got by the vendors in question.

VA's got no end of computer systems, where its staff hand-enter information in one system, print out its report, only to scan it, fax it across the country, where someone else will hand-enter it into... A different system.

Engineers, consultants, and Serious Business Contracts were involved in the construction of this abomination - and while they were all in compliance of the standards that the government expects from its vendors, none of them delivered a good product.

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