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Why the Fuck?

raganwald.posterous.com

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Re: Why the Fuck?

#371

Post by ok_craig »

I think one obvious point is that the minds dedicated to increasing ad clickthrough generate the revenue needed for other great minds to embark on projects like self-driving cars, glass, and, you know, only indexing the entire internet.

Also, not everyone on the planet is interested in becoming a doctor. People have different interests. The ones who are not people who want to solve those problems, instead support the economy that allows people who are doctors to do their work and make scientific advances. To simplify, if we were all capable of working on these things, and we all did so, it wouldn't be any better because we'd all die from lack of food, because none of us are doing menial things like being farmers and cashiers.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#372

Post by hawkharris »

Why the fuck does everyone always throw plastic beads in the air, drink tequila and eat catfish? Oh, wait, I'm on Bourbon St. in New Orleans.

Just saying it's easy to make generalizations based on the people, places and industries with which you're familiar. While I agree that too much emphasis is placed on ad-related tech careers, it's a cop out to say that engineers aren't finding important solutions, some of which improve the lives of people with disabilities. Other commenters mentioned Google Flu Trends and driverless cars, which are both great examples.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#373

Post by chaostheory »

I feel that Jolie O'Dell had a more eloquent rant on the same subject:

"However, more and more, I am royally pissed off that so many bright engineers, good entrepreneurs and capable venture capitalists are throwing resources into problems that no one really has. They’re creating “bread and circuses” in a digital format — apps that are wildly popular, infinitely entertaining, and exactly what people want.

The only problem is that they don’t really do anybody any good. They’re not doing what technology is intended to do: Solve problems."

http://blog.jolieodell.com/2010/10/07/bread-and-circuses-the...

Re: Why the Fuck?

#374

Post by derpmeister »

ciupicri wrote: post #167
derpmeister wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if it doesn't, there's a lot more profit in advertising than insulin. The economy would probably function better if diabetes patients were left untreated and die, since the cost saving estimates are quite enormous.

Isn't the treatment paid by the patients?

That's only a fraction of the costs involved. For one, today’s diabetes patients are tomorrows alzheimer patients.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#375

Post by ojr »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #171
oh_sigh wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any indication that education needs geniuses? Does it substantially improve innovation? When America was world dominant in innovation, were its geniuses in academia, or industry?

So Sweden is ranked as the "most innovative" country, with the USA coming in seventh. Switzerland and Singapore beat the US also. Yet I can't think of a single innovation I've seen from them. Good governments, great fashion, cheap furniture, sure. But what is the innovation they speak of? Fwiw, Iceland was number one last year. Was it for their constitution? My point is that I don't think you really have to look into…

I would consider Iceland innovative, 81% of the country runs on renewable energy, making energy ubiquitous

Re: Why the Fuck?

#376

Post by olleicua »

chernevik wrote: post #346
raganwald wrote: post #102

My fellow HNers: It does depress me, daily, that I do not have a career in physics or chemistry or biology or medicine where I could work on "big problems." The simple truth is, I'm not smart enough, I don't work hard enough, and I've been napping when opportunity knocked a few times in my life. That being said, sometimes a man in a saloon has a few drinks and yells at the television, telling the coach of some footba…

Well then shut up and go do something better. I'm not sure how to read this as anything but a passive-aggressive complaint that _other_ people aren't doing more about these problems. You try to disqualify yourself from the responsibilities you imply for others, but the fact is we can all be more diligent, if we like, and we can all do work to improve the lives of others. Guess what? If you _seriously_ try to help oth…

I don't know if you are more closely acquainted with the OP than I but I wouldn't assume that he isn't actually doing anything good in the world. If nothing else he's trying to encourage others to do something good and from the looks of things, you're right, he has gotten a complaint. I really hope he doesn't use it as an excuse to give up and never accomplish anything like the complainer seems to have.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#377

Post by hedgie »

ryanjodonnell wrote: post #45

Diabetes isn't a problem that we need technology to solve. Sure it could help, but that's treating the symptom, when what we really need to do is use preventative care to treat the root of the problem - corn subsidies and education.

the most annoying part about being a type I diabetic is hearing people who haven't even looked up the basics of the disease rant about diet or corn.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#378

Post by brudgers »

My son doesn't trust my recommendations in books. It's justified. He'd been reading a fantasy series. I recommended Sword of Shanara. He thought it sucked. Fair. I thought it sucked when it came out. I was the same age.

Yet, when I pulled Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy off the library last month, the title pulled him in.

"Flying is the art of throwing yourself at the ground" is a hit in middle-school. But that's not the part Reg got me thinking about.

The other two-thirds, of course, stayed at home and lived full, rich, and happy lives until they were all suddenly wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone.

I'm in agreement with Reg. To a point. He is able to share his thoughts with me here, not because someone was seeking a cure for diabetes, but because someone wrote software to automate the building of web storefronts.

While steely eyed missile men took us to the brink of nuclear war, a B-grade actor, a lawyer, a playwright and a longshoreman helped bring down the iron curtain. The idea that we should seek work which matches our nature goes back to Plato's Republic. We don't know in advance phone sanitizers important.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#379

Post by cryptbe »

wamatt wrote: post #304
cko wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you speak like this in real life? I went ahead and read your other comments on other threads and I can't understand what you're writing until I've read the words at least three times.

Interesting that you should pick up on that. It usually depends on the audience. In general if one has a slightly more divergent worldview than that of the company in which he/she finds themselves, it's historically been useful (albeit frustrating at times), to be more considered and precise. Between my best friend, a fellow coder/entrepreneur of ten years, (who has a very different personality), we can communicate i…

You use too many ",", and they make your writing hard to understand. Use shorter sentences, and consider replacing "," with a full stop.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#380

Post by charlieok »

brudgers wrote: post #378

My son doesn't trust my recommendations in books. It's justified. He'd been reading a fantasy series. I recommended Sword of Shanara . He thought it sucked. Fair. I thought it sucked when it came out. I was the same age. Yet, when I pulled Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy off the library last month, the title pulled him in. "Flying is the art of throwing yourself at the ground" is a hit in middle-school. But that's…

I assume the B-grade actor is Ronald Reagan, yes? The lawyer could be almost any politician and I'm drawing a blank on the other two...
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