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I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

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Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#71

Post by sidlls »

astrodust wrote: post #51
arcanus wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point, but I'll note that many cities have technology companies that just don't get the press and hype you see for VC backed software companies in SF. There aren't that many articles about biotechnology in Boston, for instance. The software paradigm has captured a great deal of mindshare.

Oh, don't worry, in twenty years we'll all be talking about the Good Old Days when computer tech got respect and money, not like all those biotech firms with their trillions in funding and ridiculously hyped valuations. Genetic engineers will be the new software engineers and software engineers will be the new plumbers.

Plumbers can do significantly better than software engineers even today. We are paid relatively poorly for the economic value the companies we work for receive from our labor.

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#72

Post by [deleted] »

WalterBright wrote: post #70
shruubi wrote: post #17

As someone who is outside of SF looking in, to me the whole startup culture there seems utterly insane. To me, it seems as though there is some kind of reality distortion field that convinces us all that no matter what we is being worked on or created, it is in some way world changing or "disruptive", despite how stupid it is, or how viable a market there is for what is being made. The funny thing is, organizations t…

> milk a market for every last penny. The reason they are able to make money is because they created value that people are voluntarily willing to hand over money for. It is not stealing. If you don't think what they created has value, don't buy it.

[deleted]

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#73

Post by WalterBright »

samysaadi wrote: post #7

Let’s not forget that Elon Musk’s first company was a site that made city guides for newspapers. It’s much easier to start companies that solve small less impactful problems first, and then move onto the big important ideas. I think the problem is that a lot of the low hanging fruit has been picked. It’s pretty hard for a CS student out of college to tackle a healthcare problem with no experience in the matter..

> I think the problem is that a lot of the low hanging fruit has been picked.

I've heard that sentiment constantly for the last 40 years. I guarantee you that there's low hanging fruit dangling right in front of us, and there's a billion dollar company forming in a garage right now to pick it. It'll all be obvious in hindsight, and we'll kick ourselves for not seeing it.

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#74

Post by Animats »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #65
forgetsusername wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The building of cheap houses isn't the problem. Who maintains them? Who enforces the code? Who insures them? Who is liable for them? These are things that "SV" sometimes ignores. That's why these are bigger problems.

Google "Tiny homes homelessness". The project I'm fond of "A Tiny Home For Good" in upstate NY purchases cheap city lots (or takes land donations), has volunteers build the tiny homes, and then provides them to the homeless to get them back on their feet. The regulations aren't hard. Simply put down your JavaScript framework of the week and go out to do real work that effects change. Prepare to work long days and not…

[flagged]

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#75

Post by toomuchtodo »

Animats wrote: post #74
toomuchtodo wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google "Tiny homes homelessness". The project I'm fond of "A Tiny Home For Good" in upstate NY purchases cheap city lots (or takes land donations), has volunteers build the tiny homes, and then provides them to the homeless to get them back on their feet. The regulations aren't hard. Simply put down your JavaScript framework of the week and go out to do real work that effects change. Prepare to work long days and not…

[flagged]

It doesn't work in high cost of living areas without government subsidies; them the breaks of capitalism.

I'm not against giving drug users a safe place to use with a roof over their head, as long as they're not a danger to others; I would like to see dedicated social, mental health, and addiction counseling services provided for those who want the help.

How do we make land less valuable? That's the question. Where you live should not constrain or restrict your quality of life.

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#76

Post by bootload »

simplemath wrote: post #44
bootload wrote: post #21

"Find a problem you really care* about solving and pursue that. Even if the likelihood of success is slim, put your head down and go."* I'm interested in startup idea patterns, Care isn't one I've seen or heard before. Are there any examples of startups using this pattern and succeeding?

What's your definition of success?

"success"

Not dying.

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#77

Post by dash2 »

candiodari wrote: post #35
M_Grey wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of people who think that governments need to be smaller, often for ideological reasons. Those people won't or can't accept the scale of problems which require those governments, and are too involved in their own mythology of "bootstraps" and the like to see beyond that. This is often also the reason why people who in no way stand to benefit from the status quo, deny AGW; the solution is ideologically…

The economic counterargument would be that any solution to a problem that is not a Nash-equilibrium cannot be implemented. Pretending otherwise is popular, expensive, painful, and doomed to failure as consuming all economic resources on the planet (or any finite amount) cannot fix the underlying problem. But a government can grow, grow, grow while pretending to solve the problem, failing, and "correcting" for the pro…

" any solution to a problem that is not a Nash-equilibrium cannot be implemented."

This is empirically false. For example, voluntary contributions to a public good are not a Nash equilibrium, but we observe substantial contributions in experiments with real humans.

It's also weird to argue this and then argue against govt intervention. If you don't think non-Nash solutions to public goods problems such as global warming work, then what alternative is there but government intervention?

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#78

Post by lucaspiller »

jwatte wrote: post #62
M_Grey wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's all about people who've seen how absurdly rich you can get, and want a piece of that. That's all there is to it. The rest is window dressing and empty words to facilitate an IPO, selling the company, or hitting that lucky lottery win in some other way. When it inevitably, eventually implodes, nothing of lasting value will be lost.

Twitter, Facebook, Google, and a bunch of other previous startups do have value. Also more, like Electronic Arts, Oracle, Intel, Salesforce, Apple, ... It's just that the 1000:1 ratio between startup and final enterprise is brutal!

Twitter and Facebook may have value in dollar signs (OK maybe not Twitter right now), but I'd really question how much value they have provided to society as a whole. It seems like all Facebook wants to do is built an ecosystem, lock you in it, and milk you for data they can sell to advertisers.

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#79

Post by sthatipamala »

Animats wrote: post #74
toomuchtodo wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google "Tiny homes homelessness". The project I'm fond of "A Tiny Home For Good" in upstate NY purchases cheap city lots (or takes land donations), has volunteers build the tiny homes, and then provides them to the homeless to get them back on their feet. The regulations aren't hard. Simply put down your JavaScript framework of the week and go out to do real work that effects change. Prepare to work long days and not…

[flagged]

Are you seriously advocating implementing social Darwinism by giving homeless people tainted drugs?

Re: I’m Done Pretending SF Tech Is Visionary

#80

Post by _9vpl »

pascalxus wrote: post #42
shruubi wrote: post #17

As someone who is outside of SF looking in, to me the whole startup culture there seems utterly insane. To me, it seems as though there is some kind of reality distortion field that convinces us all that no matter what we is being worked on or created, it is in some way world changing or "disruptive", despite how stupid it is, or how viable a market there is for what is being made. The funny thing is, organizations t…

Entrepreneurs and companies that get started are utterly desparate for solvable problems to solve. The ideas may seem "stupid" to you, but that's only because biggest problems have way too many barriers to entry and are typically guarded by rent seeking government lobbying legislation. Take homelessness. I'm sure there's a technical way to build housing for cheap enough to get people back into houses. But, the govern…

Homelessness has a multitude of problems, not all are because of government regulation.

But yes, in many places (SF and SV), homelessness is at least caused in part by local zoning that mostly comes from entrenched interests (existing homeowners) and blocks most new building of housing. Local zoning in the US seems to be where democracy is at it's strongest, and capitalism at it's weakest, often to detriment of most people (renters).

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