The wheel, of course.
ok then, how would you do it differently? :)
As a hovercraft, of course. If we'd started the history of transportation by floating instead of rolling, I think we can all agree humanity would be a much better place right now.
Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
11–20 of 56 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#12Addresses. They should work just like cell phone numbers, if I get a new cell phone the old number still works. I should similarly have an address "number" (which is mapped to a physical location by the post office). That way, when I move, I don't need to contact every magazine I subscribe to, every friend I have, every bill I pay, EVERYONE. People could continue sending their mail to my "number" and it would still get to my new place.
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#13Addresses. They should work just like cell phone numbers, if I get a new cell phone the old number still works. I should similarly have an address "number" (which is mapped to a physical location by the post office). That way, when I move, I don't need to contact every magazine I subscribe to, every friend I have, every bill I pay, EVERYONE. People could continue sending their mail to my "number" and it would still g…
This is very similar to emailing someone the password to their email account.
Fine, lets say your address is constant no matter where you move... then how does the post office know where you are? You'd need... yup, a secondary Address. Addresses would still exist, you'd just have a consistent 'alias' for yours.
And sure, the post office could update your new 'address' when you move. But they already have that service. It is called a change of address form.
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#14I would reinvent airplane travel - the long distance flights are way, way, way too long
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#15Power adapters for electronics - no reason they shouldn't be a hell of a lot more standardized than they are (I don't mean just for mobile phones, which is underway - I mean for everything).
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#16Power adapters for electronics - no reason they shouldn't be a hell of a lot more standardized than they are (I don't mean just for mobile phones, which is underway - I mean for everything).
Add in different voltages and plugs on different countries and you get quite a mess!
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#17The usual typewriter keyboard, as it is much too hard on the human hand. No, wait, the typical computer mouse is even worse than that. I would reinvent both to let persons who age into osteoarthritis continue to use those tools more comfortably.
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#18Addresses. They should work just like cell phone numbers, if I get a new cell phone the old number still works. I should similarly have an address "number" (which is mapped to a physical location by the post office). That way, when I move, I don't need to contact every magazine I subscribe to, every friend I have, every bill I pay, EVERYONE. People could continue sending their mail to my "number" and it would still g…
This is very similar to emailing someone the password to their email account. Fine, lets say your address is constant no matter where you move... then how does the post office know where you are? You'd need... yup, a secondary Address. Addresses would still exist, you'd just have a consistent 'alias' for yours. And sure, the post office could update your new 'address' when you move. But they already have that service…
Yes, as I clearly stated in my original post, the post office holds the mapping of "address numbers" to actual "addresses". (The same way that even addresses can be considered mappings to GPS locations). The key difference is that you now only have to update your address in one place (this official mapping). This is not how change of address forms work today. The post office will only forward your mail for one year, which means I still have to inform every single person that has my address that my address has changed, which is really silly in my opinion (like having to give everyone a new email address every time I purchased a new computer). The system I'm proposing is exactly equivalent to phone numbers, in that you don't care about calling a location, you care about calling a person.
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#19Human travel.
You know those moving walkways (Trav O lators?) that they have in airports to speed up travelers?
I'd place those everywhere.
Want to go to the grocery store? Walk there in 5 minutes. Living in LA and need to visit SF for the weekend? Get off your ass and walk there.
The thing that bugs me most about cars, in addition to wasting gas, is that they're isolating devices. They prevent me from admiring scenery, meeting interesting people, and walking more often.
(This idea is more a revolution than a reinvention.)
Re: Ask HN: If you could 'reinvent' anything what would it be?
#20Is it cheating to pick an international policy? I'd like to see completely open borders for non-criminals across the world, with no restrictions on working, schooling, relationships, or associations. Go where you like, when you like, unrestricted, without needing permission from anyone.
This would be great !!