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It's time to build: a New World's Fair

cameronwiese.com

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Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#31

Post by mortenjorck »

git_configured wrote: post #3

Was very surprised to not see any mention of Expo2020, which has been hailed as a "World's Fair for the 21st Century". UAE and Dubai put tons of resources and capital into it but obviously had to deal with the issue of in person events in 2020. As I understand it has been rescheduled for the end of 2021... https://expo2020dubai.ae/en/

> Today, World's Fairs have been rebranded as "International Expositions" that occur every 5 years, and are a hollow shell of their former glory. They no longer showcase the promise of the future or celebrate achievement. Instead, they serve as national branding exercises, infrastructure development projects masquerading as innovation, architecture competitions, and an opportunity to promote tourism.

I don't know enough about Expo2020 to agree or disagree, but I assumed the author's assessment above was in reference to the series of which the Dubai exhibition is a part.

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#32

Post by canadianfella »

ipsum2 wrote: post #29

No mention of Expo 2010, which had representation from 65 different countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_2010_pavilions . I didn't go, but the photos of the architecture from the different countries were beautiful. > After the six-month run, the Expo had attracted well over 70 million visitors. The Expo 2010 is also the most expensive fair in the history of World's Fair, with more than 45 billion US dollars…

Was beautiful

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#33

Post by alexchamberlain »

mpalmer wrote: post #13
caslon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't think Expo2020 counts. Rooting the future in the UAE seems like a losing battle, and it seems like the amount of entities that would choose not to participate would outweigh those that would.

Is there a place on Earth where that wouldn't be the case?

Switzerland? The Nordic countries? Even the UK hasn't annoyed most countries to the point we wouldn't welcome guests for something like this.

It's basically the equivalent of the Olympics of the business and science world; of you are granted the honour of hosting, you go out of your way to extend an olive branch.

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#35

Post by poisonborz »

I admire the optimism and motivational tone of the article, but fairs and expos are a thing of the past. We don't need to build elaborate, carefully constructed single-use cities to showcase the scientific advances of the world. Those showcases happen day by day on the internet and mass media.

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#36

Post by camwiese »

lswainemoore wrote: post #24

Nitpicky/unsolicited UI feedback: I do a lot of double/triple clicking to highlight text as I read online (fidgeting, but also helps keep track of where I am). On your site, triple clicking unintentionally hits the twitter share button, which opens a new, unwanted window. Bit annoying. Medium does something similar, but they offset the button so you have to move cursor in between clicks to actually trigger the button…

Thank you — I pieced that feature together. Will tweak!

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#37

Post by [deleted] »

poisonborz wrote: post #35

I admire the optimism and motivational tone of the article, but fairs and expos are a thing of the past. We don't need to build elaborate, carefully constructed single-use cities to showcase the scientific advances of the world. Those showcases happen day by day on the internet and mass media.

[deleted]

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#38

Post by camwiese »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #23
minikites wrote: post #5

We as a species gave up trying to solve difficult problems and now we're only concerned with inflating asset prices to feel "wealthy". Smart engineers are working for HFT firms instead of NASA. We've equated "wealth" with "progress" and we're now discovering how hollow all these fake numbers are.

> We as a species gave up trying to solve difficult problems We live in an era of constant fascinating biological and cosmological discoveries. In the past 3 years we have entered the era of gene therapy healthcare with several genetic treatments recieving approval by he FDA. We are on the cusp of break even if not effective fusion energy. I cannot deny that the financialization of everything has diminished the moral…

Absolutely. Everyone wants to talk stagnation, but we don't realize how much incredible work is being done in the background. Then, because we live in filtered versions of reality, we don't see it. The Fair serves as a showcase of all of the incredible work being done to shape the future to 1) give people hope and 2) inspire more people to help build it.

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#39

Post by kratom_sandwich »

poisonborz wrote: post #35

I admire the optimism and motivational tone of the article, but fairs and expos are a thing of the past. We don't need to build elaborate, carefully constructed single-use cities to showcase the scientific advances of the world. Those showcases happen day by day on the internet and mass media.

I don't think the argument is valid because it can be applied to nearly every event where people come together, including sporting events and concerts. But like with the Olympic Games, the World's Fair can serve as a catalyst for urban development projects.

Also, the "science showcase" is a thing of the past, the BIE switched to "individual country showcase" a couple of years ago, which makes the whole thing a lot less appealing IMHO, but that's another issue.

Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair

#40

Post by camwiese »

minikites wrote: post #26
DubiousPusher wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We as a species gave up trying to solve difficult problems We live in an era of constant fascinating biological and cosmological discoveries. In the past 3 years we have entered the era of gene therapy healthcare with several genetic treatments recieving approval by he FDA. We are on the cusp of break even if not effective fusion energy. I cannot deny that the financialization of everything has diminished the moral…

The fact that every nightly news program includes a report on the stock market (which they invariably conflate with "the economy") but not any of the things you mention is kind of my point. We used to glorify that work. Now the best we can hope for is that it gets ignored lest some senator notice and cut their funding to "eliminate government waste".

One of the largest problems is due to the negative media cycle and focus on things that drive engagement. Hopefully by stepping out of this algorithmically generated world, we can get experiencing the future and imagining their role in it.
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