Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?

Post by jl2718 » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 4:28 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #259

jl2718 wrote: post #114

I see a huge trend coming in “DIY Medicine”. Doctors, insurers, and the FDA are way too expensive for mere gatekeeping, and technology is developing new treatments and dropping equipment costs an order of magnitude faster than they can respond. For example, I can buy all of the equipment necessary for a PRP injection for less than the cost of a single treatment, and the doctor that does it knows no more about how to…

This got me thinking about ideas for a product that would work internationally vs. just in one country and if that signal means much about the viability of a product. In terms of work being "promising", wouldn't I want to takle a global problem, not one unique to a specific country?

Post by johnmorrison » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 4:31 AM UTC

deanCommie wrote: post #687

johnmorrison wrote: post #685

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The most pressing problem for humanity is global climate disruption. I don't believe most would agree here. There are a lot of problems humanity faces, and humanity is a lot of different people. Those still living in extreme poverty today probably don't care about our worries of climate disruption. > Arguably, working on anything that doesn't help there is not just wasted effort, but actively harmful. Why is this?…

> Those still living in extreme poverty today probably don't care about our worries of climate disruption. Tell that to 100Million people in poverty in Bangladesh that will become climate refugees if the sea level rises in any meaningful way. In the west, sea-side living is a privilege for the richest. And sea level rise is mostly ignorable with the virtue of new seawalls. In the developing world, the most poverty-st…

Post by jacobwilliamroy » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 4:39 AM UTC

codesushi42 wrote: post #334

starpilot wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very common when you do tech work in a non-tech industry. Comes up a lot with coding-inclined mechanical engineers. Zed Shaw's words are really true: > Programming as a profession is only moderately interesting. It can be a good job, but you could make about the same money and be happier running a fast food joint. You're much better off using code as your secret weapon in another profession. People who can code in th…

I don't buy it. There are tons of software "engineers" who try to escape fintech for FAANGs or even startups, coming from top tier firms like Goldman and McKinsey. Likewise, bioinformatics generally pays a lot less than traditional SWE roles. So what I have seen is the exact opposite in practice: people with minimum coding skills in other fields trying to jump into tech firms.

Post by mellosouls » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 4:41 AM UTC

K0SM0S wrote: post #679

dilippkumar wrote: post #470

I listened to Robert Green's talk at Google recently [0] He proposes the following idea: - Everybody born within 22 years of each other belong to a "generation" - Generations follow a cycle: - There is a rebellious generation - The next generation is trying to keep the ideals of the rebellious generation alive - The third generation is very conservative - The fourth generation is a "crisis" generation that will event…

He was probably drawing from the Strauss-Howe generational theory[1], which is more than 20 years old now. He (or you) should have credited the original thinkers for these ideas. Their 1997 book "The Fourth Turning" is considered pseudoscience but nonetheless great food for thought, imho. Note that the cycle may sometimes be shorter (3 gens) or longer (5). It's not really a theory, more like empirical observation. Un…

Post by no_bikeholes » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 4:45 AM UTC

kortilla wrote: post #683

ncmncm wrote: post #542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most pressing problem for humanity is global climate disruption. Arguably, working on anything that doesn't help there is not just wasted effort, but actively harmful. Wind, solar power, energy storage still have huge room for improvement. Direct solar or wind -> liquid fuel will be essential to adapting fast. Windmills can drive production of liquid ammonia on farms (needing only air and water inputs), for use d…

> Without massive progress in the next decade, civilization will probably collapse by 2035. This is a joke not backed by any scientific consensus or evidence. Maybe some more instability in some countries, but nothing close to the collapse of civilization.