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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

#61

Post by pjc50 »

credit_guy wrote: post #44
bluquark wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole section is kind of strange. First he says that he believes only technology breakthroughs can solve the climate crisis, despite the expert consensus that the technology is mostly there if the political will can be found to disruptively deploy it. So, presumably, he thinks that mustering the political will is intractable. Then, a few paragraphs later, he admits that his preferred fix of nuclear energy is also…

This note was quite short, so Bill Gates didn't go into much details. The details are: * Bill believes in a new nuclear fission technology that addresses the concern of nuclear waste, traveling wave reactor [1]. * He financed a startup called TerraPower [2] to demonstrate and then to put in use this technology * Being aware of the strong anti-nuclear sentiment in the US and of the more friendly attitude in China, he…

Hmm. No working examples, "maintenance free" (in reality this translates to "maintenance impossible"), and uses liquid sodium as a coolant.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#62

Post by cyrilllllll »

In the same way that windows is not bug-free, nuclear plants are not safe, at all. And they will never be.

Without considering accidents, for only 50 years of comfort, we have shamefully produced deadly waste, that future generations will have to keep confined at all costs for thousands and thousands and thousands of years.

Unlike CO2, uranium pollutes in the very long term, destroying all bacteria in the environment. It is high time to get up-to-date with renewable sources of energy.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#63

Post by pjc50 »

thecanman wrote: post #54
ensiferum wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. Ultimately the reason is eating unhealthy food that throws the nature's built-in weight control system off balance and allows the accumulation of fat (which is actually not a problem per se, it's symptom of the underlying cause which is far more troublesome, i.e. metabolic syndrome). People however like to blame other things and external factors. I'm X because of Y. It's time to take the pi…

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.

If you're not overconsuming it, then it will cost you only a tiny amount overall?

Re: What I learned at work this year

#64

Post by ArcMex »

ratsimihah wrote: post #29

> Did I devote enough time to my family? Did I learn enough new things? Did I develop new friendships and deepen old ones? These would have been laughable to me when I was 25 I'm almost 30 and those are my priorities, maybe that's why I am not as "successful" as Bill Gates?

I was thinking something similar. I'm 28 and 2018 was a difficult year because I had to end many, many friendships because it became harder and harder for me to relate to them on a level I desire for my personal growth but I digress. The fact that Gates mentions that he thinks about these things now as opposed to his 20s makes me wonder if I am making the right decisions here. Still, I have made great progress. Sober and cigarette free for over a year, in a committed relationship for the first time since 7 years ago and a stable income and some savings in there somewhere. So maybe there is benefit to be had from being old young.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#65

Post by arnoooooo »

cyrilllllll wrote: post #62

In the same way that windows is not bug-free, nuclear plants are not safe, at all. And they will never be. Without considering accidents, for only 50 years of comfort, we have shamefully produced deadly waste, that future generations will have to keep confined at all costs for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Unlike CO2, uranium pollutes in the very long term, destroying all bacteria in the environment…

Also, climate change promises a lot of trouble, I'm not sure we want so many nuclear power plants lying around.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#66

Post by [deleted] »

ensiferum wrote: post #19

"We still need a lot of innovation to solve problems like malaria or obesity ..." There's really no innovation needed for the latter. Just educate people and when that fails implement better controls, i.e. sugar taxes on sodas and food. Fundamentally the goal should be get rid of refined sugars in foods, especially high fructose corn syrup.

[deleted]

Re: What I learned at work this year

#67

Post by rtx »

> Nuclear is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day. The problems with today’s reactors, such as the risk of accidents, can be solved through innovation.

So refreshing to see someone with his reach pushing for nuclear.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#68

Post by lexpar »

cyrilllllll wrote: post #62

In the same way that windows is not bug-free, nuclear plants are not safe, at all. And they will never be. Without considering accidents, for only 50 years of comfort, we have shamefully produced deadly waste, that future generations will have to keep confined at all costs for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Unlike CO2, uranium pollutes in the very long term, destroying all bacteria in the environment…

You say "without considering accidents", but I'd argue that accidents are usually negligible to begin with. Yes there were the "big" incidents early in the history of nuclear power, but besides being huge public relation disasters, these disasters are not so "big" compared to other energy production accidents (e.g. offshore drilling, mining, etc).

Yes 100% solar/wind would be virtually accident free, but if you argue this point too hard you let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

I always like to point out to people (it often surprises them) that the province of Ontario gets more than half of its energy from nuclear plants [1]. How often do you hear about horrible accidents in Ontario? Not so often - there hasn't been a major clean up required since the mid 90s. And these are facilities built in the 60s! Anecdotal, but this is the sort of "quiet evidence" of nuclear safety that is easy to ignore.

[1] https://www.ontario.ca/document/2017-long-term-energy-plan-d...

Re: What I learned at work this year

#69

Post by will4274 »

bluquark wrote: post #32
mattzito wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mere sentences later he says that they would like to do a pilot in the US but regulatory constraints make it impossible.

The whole section is kind of strange. First he says that he believes only technology breakthroughs can solve the climate crisis, despite the expert consensus that the technology is mostly there if the political will can be found to disruptively deploy it. So, presumably, he thinks that mustering the political will is intractable. Then, a few paragraphs later, he admits that his preferred fix of nuclear energy is also…

> the expert consensus that the technology is mostly there if the political will can be found to disruptively deploy it.

Citation needed. This may be the case for a few rich Western countries but if we expect China, India, and Africa to gain a modern quality of life (which seems likely), global energy consumption will continue to increase. My understanding was we didn't even have enough raw materials to scale solar that far with current technology.

Re: What I learned at work this year

#70

Post by kamaal »

ArcMex wrote: post #64
ratsimihah wrote: post #29

> Did I devote enough time to my family? Did I learn enough new things? Did I develop new friendships and deepen old ones? These would have been laughable to me when I was 25 I'm almost 30 and those are my priorities, maybe that's why I am not as "successful" as Bill Gates?

I was thinking something similar. I'm 28 and 2018 was a difficult year because I had to end many, many friendships because it became harder and harder for me to relate to them on a level I desire for my personal growth but I digress. The fact that Gates mentions that he thinks about these things now as opposed to his 20s makes me wonder if I am making the right decisions here. Still, I have made great progress. Sober…

>>I had to end many, many friendships because it became harder and harder for me to relate to them

>>I desire for my personal growth but I digress.

>>The fact that Gates mentions that he thinks about these things now as opposed to his 20s makes me wonder if I am making the right decisions here.

A few days back some one on HN mentioned that most people on earth, are not going to terrible failures or spectacular successes.

Once you come to this realization. You will take your health, mental health, friendships, relationships and hobbies far more seriously.

After a while all you want is a peaceful, normal life with happy relationships and healthy body. After a while you can earn enough. And you are going to be eating the same burgers, as a billionaire eats to fill stomach. The beef ain't exactly going to come from heaven for trading extra efforts for sure failure.

>> Still, I have made great progress.

That which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at the goal.

— as recounted by Aristotle, Physics VI:9, 239b10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno%27s_paradoxes#Achilles_an...

For a lot of things in life, there are indeed infinite sub tasks you need to complete. Most of us aren't going to make it. Bail out while you have time.

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