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What I learned at work this year

gatesnotes.com

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Re: What I learned at work this year

#111

Post by Retric »

koheripbal wrote: post #106
Retric wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though still missing the mark. Nuclear’s biggest issue is cost. If it was cheap enough companies would have built more and scaled them up and down to meet demand, instead France only got mostly Nuclear by exporting its excess and nobody else really got very close to full nuclear. The problem today is wind costs less. But, when you add a lot of wind during times of high wind your nuclear becomes useless. This ends up…

This is like punching someone in the face, and then accusing them of having a nose-bleeding problem. Nuclear is expensive because the rampant fear-mongering generates massive amounts of litigation, construction delays, and outdated/unreasonable regulations. If you look at the cost of reactors in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, etc, they are one-tenth the US cost for the exact same reactor design.

None of the counties you mentioned use a higher percentage of nuclear power than the US. Russia plans to eventually hit 35% but unlike most of the rest of the world they can’t rely on cheap solar.

We already use nuclear power around the world, but to displace fossil fuels it needs to become cheaper without subsides.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#112

Post by amvalo »

kinkora wrote: post #47
ssivark wrote: post #3

> [...] we are also going to be focusing more on improving the quality of life. I think this will be the thrust of many big breakthroughs of the future. For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating better, and help you use your time more efficiently. Seems like a retrofitted use case that is more of an answer t…

I preface my statement below with a disclaimer that I live in a "developed" or "1st-world" country but have previously lived and experienced other less developed economies. Anyway, it feels to me Gates is fixing a real problem but with very 1st world solutions? > For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating bet…

> For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating better, and help you use your time more efficiently.

I'm sorry, I can't let you do that Dave.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#113

Post by rococode »

peteretep wrote: post #16
gamma-male wrote: post #13

Are there other great and insightful blogs from important personalities like this one? Maybe warren buffet's blog?

Warren Buffet writes very insightful letters to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway which you can find online

Here's a link: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

Re: What I learned at work this year

#114

Post by Retra »

ensiferum wrote: post #77
thecanman wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I or others shouldn't have to pay more for sugar because of others inability to limit themselves. There's already several other "taxes" we have to pay. No one wants to add another thing on that list.

But as a tax payer you will pay for the enormous cost on the (public) health care system created by this epidemic of high sugar consumption. Personally I'm not sure why I should have to pay for the type II diabetes bills for the people who ruined their health with bad choices.

Your society taught them to how to make choices. Most people work at a job which ultimately derives income from sales and marketing folks who go out of their way to encourage people to make poor decisions. The vast majority of advertising shows a savy, intellegent, attractive, funny buyer committing to continually poor decisions.

There is very little in the world encouraging people to make good decisions.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#115

Post by specialist »

rcates wrote: post #52
kinkora wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I preface my statement below with a disclaimer that I live in a "developed" or "1st-world" country but have previously lived and experienced other less developed economies. Anyway, it feels to me Gates is fixing a real problem but with very 1st world solutions? > For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating bet…

I am sad to agree with you. We in tech love to believe - with our inflated egos due to recent successes improving the world - that every problem is solved through more tech. I think we need to watch tech fail to solve some problems and experience that failure first hand to really believe that some problems are rooted in culture and social norms, not in a lack of guidance or convenience from some app. I feel like we'v…

"We in tech love to believe ... that every problem is solved through more tech."

As a recovering technophile [1], I remind you that Arabic numerals, alphabets, double entry accounting, and a zillion other things are also technologies.

Technology is more than modern hardware and software and algorithms.

Sometimes it's just a new take on old problems.

Sometimes it's starting with a new set of assumptions.

Sometimes it's revisiting problems after the economics have changed, identifying new opportunities.

[1] Postman's Technopoly, Wright's Nonzero.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#116

Post by DeRock »

plasticchris wrote: post #86
scarface74 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

History is that the iPhone project started in early 2005 and before that Apple was already prototyping touch screen tablets but decided on releasing a phone first.

They released the iPod touch before the iPhone, and it was arguably a touch screen tablet. That's how I used it.

No, they didn’t. iPhone was released in June 2007, iPod touch in September 2007. Perhaps you are thinking of outside of the US? (First iPhone was sold in the US only)

Re: What I learned at work this year

#117

Post by robot01 »

richmarr wrote: post #101
kinkora wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I preface my statement below with a disclaimer that I live in a "developed" or "1st-world" country but have previously lived and experienced other less developed economies. Anyway, it feels to me Gates is fixing a real problem but with very 1st world solutions? > For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating bet…

> software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down This feels dystopian to me too, not least because in order for software to diagnose this problem you'll need to spend sufficient time generating relevant usage data... usage that will (if existing social media are anything to go by) be a net contributor to problems with self-esteem, fitness, sleep, etc. I'm not going to pretend to know exactly what he means,…

This reminds me of the movie _Elysium_. In it, Matt Damon's character is talking to a robot, and when he shows frustration the robot responds, "You seem to be experiencing elevated levels of anger. Would you like an antidepressant?"

Re: What I learned at work this year

#118

Post by lostmsu »

kieckerjan wrote: post #26
lostmsu wrote: post #14

IMHO, what he thought at 25 is more useful than what he thinks now.

Say that again when he has eradicated polio or malaria.

Many would like to eradicate polio or malaria. The methods are known. Problem is to get resources to do that. Those resources were created by the work of 25yo Bill Gates.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#119

Post by handelaar »

irq-1 wrote: post #79
Retric wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though still missing the mark. Nuclear’s biggest issue is cost. If it was cheap enough companies would have built more and scaled them up and down to meet demand, instead France only got mostly Nuclear by exporting its excess and nobody else really got very close to full nuclear. The problem today is wind costs less. But, when you add a lot of wind during times of high wind your nuclear becomes useless. This ends up…

Nationalize any nuclear plant that has an "accident". Investors would have a financial justification to spend on safety.

They'd have a much larger financial incentive to reduce safety protection at older facilities.
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