4 ms·

The disturbing thing is that the US is not building its own robots to automate the factories, they are being imported. Clearly we aren't as innovative a nation

The disturbing thing is that the US is not building its own robots to automate the factories, they are being imported. Clearly we aren't as innovative a nation as we think we are. Hey, at least we have Uber.

javajosh 10y ago
For a long time now the wisdom was that only suckers make (or fix) real things. Slightly less suckery were the people designing things to be built; but the real winners are the ones that make a living allocating vast sums of other people's money across many firms (often abstracted through derivative instruments). This is a pure information operation, with no expectation of concrete productivity. Business owners, and sometimes leaders, can also be winners in the sense that they make socio-economic decisions related to a given firm. They set high level policy like "culture" and stay aware of the "winner" landscape of flush firms who might be looking to buy you - and the poor performing firms who may about to shed talent. Then there is the professional class, primarily inside lawyers and accountants. The remainder are mostly office drones, who's value is mostly emotional and social. They are the fat that demonstrates health. We all are trying hard to make a living from pure information, but the finance guys are doing it with the most honestly. Engineering guys make things (electron states), so its messy and we can fail. And we affect the real world, with its constant scary existential threat from government, making it even more risky. I mean, it's nice when the money is flowing wide and deep, and you really all you do is give some speeches, keep an eye on projects, make a strategic decision twice a year, and play golf with investors and other CEOs. Sign me up!
jfoutz 10y ago
Pretty sure the us is the world leader in factory automation. We export robots to build washing machines, and import washing machines.
- dahauns 10y ago
  Sorry to burst that bubble - that couldn't be further from the truth, especially when it comes to high-tech automation, i.e. industrial robotics. Japan is still THE undisputed powerhouse in this field (Yasakawa, Kawasaki, Fanuc, Mitsubishi, Epson...), with the EU a distant second (ABB, KUKA, Stäubli, Comau...) and China rising quickly (e.g Siasun, Foxconn).
  - jfoutz 10y ago
    Fair enough. I was thinking Emerson, ge, Rockwell and the like. More industrial processes kinds of things, but thanks for the clarification.

javajosh 10y ago

For a long time now the wisdom was that only suckers make (or fix) real things. Slightly less suckery were the people designing things to be built; but the real winners are the ones that make a living allocating vast sums of other people's money across many firms (often abstracted through derivative instruments). This is a pure information operation, with no expectation of concrete productivity. Business owners, and sometimes leaders, can also be winners in the sense that they make socio-economic decisions related to a given firm. They set high level policy like "culture" and stay aware of the "winner" landscape of flush firms who might be looking to buy you - and the poor performing firms who may about to shed talent. Then there is the professional class, primarily inside lawyers and accountants. The remainder are mostly office drones, who's value is mostly emotional and social. They are the fat that demonstrates health. We all are trying hard to make a living from pure information, but the finance guys are doing it with the most honestly. Engineering guys make things (electron states), so its messy and we can fail. And we affect the real world, with its constant scary existential threat from government, making it even more risky. I mean, it's nice when the money is flowing wide and deep, and you really all you do is give some speeches, keep an eye on projects, make a strategic decision twice a year, and play golf with investors and other CEOs. Sign me up!

jfoutz 10y ago

Pretty sure the us is the world leader in factory automation. We export robots to build washing machines, and import washing machines.

dahauns 10y ago
Sorry to burst that bubble - that couldn't be further from the truth, especially when it comes to high-tech automation, i.e. industrial robotics. Japan is still THE undisputed powerhouse in this field (Yasakawa, Kawasaki, Fanuc, Mitsubishi, Epson...), with the EU a distant second (ABB, KUKA, Stäubli, Comau...) and China rising quickly (e.g Siasun, Foxconn).
- jfoutz 10y ago
  Fair enough. I was thinking Emerson, ge, Rockwell and the like. More industrial processes kinds of things, but thanks for the clarification.