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Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

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Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#31

Post by ben_w »

andsoitis wrote: post #19
ben_w wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moving, especially internationally, is disruptive. Even in bad times, you need to look to where things are going, not where they are in the moment. The USA is dropping on various freedom indices; if you move for this reason, you must ask if will it drop further, will it stabilise, or will it recover? And the same for the destinations you consider. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/human-rights-index-vdem?t...

Great chart! Thanks. I used it to compare a couple of other places too. Yeah I don't see the gap between the US and Singapore closing in the next 5, 10, or 50 years. The current drop in the US is temporary. The lower score for Singapore is structural. EDIT: but these are "just" stats, and do not speak to any person's personal position, like Meng's.

> EDIT: but these are "just" stats, and do not speak to any person's personal position, like Meng's.

Oh indeed. There's unbounded ways to weight the different aspects of freedom that get combined into indices like this.

As for the current drop in the US being temporary… well, we can all hope.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#32

Post by ndr42 »

andsoitis wrote: post #15
ndr42 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the only reason cited, the first one: Meng took the job because she thinks the U.S. has turned away from a commitment to decarbonize its economy. Also: The Trump administration’s immigration policies

> Meng took the job because she thinks the U.S. has turned away from a commitment to decarbonize its economy. If they are mapping that to "reduction in green energy" or "reversal of green energy adoption" I think they are very wrong indeed.

I think there is more to it than just economics of the US.

If your work is not valued, if its more difficult to get grants etc.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#33

Post by jaybrendansmith »

Completely predictable. Science will leave these shores, either due to lack of funding, threat, or ideological disagreement. The amazing post-WWII economy will become stagnant, then start to fail, just like an engine that is starved of oxygen it will begin to sputter and choke. And everybody will be shocked, and try to assert control to change the behavior, which will work briefly then make it worse. We can only hope that no good alternative will exist, so that the gains by the rest of the world are disperse enough to allow the US to recover if the current oligarchy is overthrown politically.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#34

Post by embedding-shape »

delusional wrote: post #13
andsoitis wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And so they chose Singapore, that bastion of human rights? More seriously, it will be interesting to track this person for a few years to see whether they thrive in Singapore. Good luck to her and hope she makes a difference.

That's an ironic comment to see on hackernews, a forum most closely associated with silicon valley. Where creating attention traps and gambling apps while claiming to "make the world better" is accepted with a straight face. That's not to "whatabout" it, but I do find it interesting how blind we are to our own delusions.

It's ironic to me to see comments like these, I've posted commentes on HN since 2013 sometime and never even visited SV, and do my best to reject what I see as the "worst ideas from SV", I'm probably almost purely opposite of that typical person. And there are a lot of people like me here too.

I don't think there are many "make the world better but actually I mean make myself more money" types are left here on the forum, if they are, they're a lot more silent today than they were around 2012-2014.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#35

Post by embedding-shape »

andsoitis wrote: post #25
awakeasleep wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you think of the outlook of the USA, where for example the secretary of health and human services is a crusader against vaccination, do you feel like it’s a country that’s rising to meet the challenges of the future? Because to me it feels like we are in the beginning of a fall of civilization! I don’t have the perspective to really say I know what’s going on, but I trust the scientist knows her business and her…

> Because to me it feels like we are in the beginning of a fall of civilization! That's a bit dramatic!

Yeah, probably seeing it from the "inside" sort of makes it seem like "beginning of a fall of civilization" but for the rest of us on the outside it looks like the slow fall of an empire/hegemony. Still dramatic I guess, but not as dramatic I suppose.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#36

Post by orwin »

awedisee wrote: post #12
embedding-shape wrote: post #3

> I was really searching for a position that would let me do my work, which is to translate the fundamental science into industry impact. I’ve been entrusted with a very high position in my home country, but at the same time, I’m seriously concerned that, if I were asked by the [U.S.] Department of War to perform certain tasks, I probably won’t be able to do it. Things like [making better batteries for] drones, or hu…

This a nice qoute and all but China has a civil-Military program that allows their government to annex any necessary technology for their military but also puts strict building practices on civil made projects. What makes anyone think that China as government won't do exactly what she fears, which is putting this battery technology inside drones, or humanoids for war fighting? The difference here is China won't ask.

This comment have a huge Cotton vibe (48s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLQCfypDLk). Let me guess, you're from the USA?

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#37

Post by Tadpole9181 »

awedisee wrote: post #12
embedding-shape wrote: post #3

> I was really searching for a position that would let me do my work, which is to translate the fundamental science into industry impact. I’ve been entrusted with a very high position in my home country, but at the same time, I’m seriously concerned that, if I were asked by the [U.S.] Department of War to perform certain tasks, I probably won’t be able to do it. Things like [making better batteries for] drones, or hu…

This a nice qoute and all but China has a civil-Military program that allows their government to annex any necessary technology for their military but also puts strict building practices on civil made projects. What makes anyone think that China as government won't do exactly what she fears, which is putting this battery technology inside drones, or humanoids for war fighting? The difference here is China won't ask.

They moved to Singapore, not China. Those are different countries.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#38

Post by maxglute »

awedisee wrote: post #12
embedding-shape wrote: post #3

> I was really searching for a position that would let me do my work, which is to translate the fundamental science into industry impact. I’ve been entrusted with a very high position in my home country, but at the same time, I’m seriously concerned that, if I were asked by the [U.S.] Department of War to perform certain tasks, I probably won’t be able to do it. Things like [making better batteries for] drones, or hu…

This a nice qoute and all but China has a civil-Military program that allows their government to annex any necessary technology for their military but also puts strict building practices on civil made projects. What makes anyone think that China as government won't do exactly what she fears, which is putting this battery technology inside drones, or humanoids for war fighting? The difference here is China won't ask.

The difference here is China is going to use dual tech for productive civil until they can't vs US will use it to murder children immediately. This fundamental difference, US civil-military (i.e. AI) workers have to grapple with the fact that their work will absolutely kill people / collateral damage, usually within the fiscal quarter. In mean time, PRC talent watch drones do marathons, breakdance, or lift building material up mountains. Now eventually it may snap necks, but mean time talent contributing to PRC sleep soundly at night knowing they're not... you know murdering foreign kids.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#39

Post by sergiosgc »

andsoitis wrote: post #30
sergiosgc wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still to be determined if the drop is temporary. From the outside (EU) I see a downward uninterrupted trend since 9/11 and the Patriot Act.

> It's still to be determined if the drop is temporary. It better be! I think it is wrong to root for “downfall”, even if it makes sense to diversify your risk.

Of course. I'm not rooting for the US' downfall. It is a loss of western values. It saddens me, but it is a fact they're veering away from the French Revolution principles.

Re: Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

#40

Post by Paradigm2020 »

sergiosgc wrote: post #39
andsoitis wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's still to be determined if the drop is temporary. It better be! I think it is wrong to root for “downfall”, even if it makes sense to diversify your risk.

Of course. I'm not rooting for the US' downfall. It is a loss of western values. It saddens me, but it is a fact they're veering away from the French Revolution principles.

They are veering away from the American revolution principles... (Which preceded and directly inspired the french revolution principles)
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