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Bill Gates: Why I Decided to Edit an Issue of TIME

38 points by dustinupdyke 9y ago

cvaidya1986 9y ago
Because he had the TIME?
codingdave 9y ago
Just because the world is a better place than it was 50 years ago does not mean it is a better place than it was 2 years ago.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  And even if it were a better place in some aggregate measure than 2 years ago doesn't mean that it's better for most people than it was 2 years ago, and even if it is better for most people, it doesn't mean it's better for most people in some particular country, say THE USA, and even if it's better for most people in your country, it doesn't mean it's better for you.
johnwheeler 9y ago
Two things have always been true about human beings. One, the world is always getting better. Two, the people living at that time think it`s getting worse. Penn Jillette
- gt_ 9y ago
  And there are enough versions of ‘better’ for both assessments to be right.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  The viewpoint that things are getting better is usually reserved for those that were pretty lucky in the birth lottery to begin with.
- Letmesleep69 9y ago
  I thought things always getting better is a relatively recent phenomenon. Things didn't get better for hundreds of years for the native Americans when Columbus came to America. Or after the fall of the roman empire was Europe as good the next few hundred years? Maybe there has been a general trend up but if the trend can drop drastically for the few years you're living in does the general trend up make a difference?
  - johnwheeler 9y ago
    I think it’s meant to be figurative more than literal.
    - charlesism 9y ago
      Is that a euphemism for "I think it’s wrong"?
    - chickenfries 9y ago
      You won't even defend the quote you posted from it's most obvious criticism?
      - grzm 9y ago
        To everyone in this thread: please step back and ask yourself why you're continuing to comment. Are you looking to be understood? To understand? To prove or show that someone else wrong? If it's not one of the first two, please just stop. If it is one (or both! which is what it should be) of the first two, take another step back and ask yourself what's the most constructive way of accomplishing that goal. Right now you're all just talking past each other, commenting at each other rather than with each other. It doesn't matter how any one else is commenting or how wrong they are: you can only change how you yourself do.
        chickenfries 9y ago
        I like the quality of discussion on HN. I think we should discourage things like posting pithy quotes from comedians. Especially if you won't even stand behind the point you're trying to make. And yes, I would like my perspective to be understood.
goalieca 9y ago
> So why does it feel like the world is in decline Because our environment is on the decline. Our oceans are full of plastic, our forests are converted to farmland for cattle, pollution from electronics is rising, and our global climate is changing for the worse. Even optimistic areas like health care are being confounded by obesity and malnutrition. It’s great that global health care and poverty rates are improving. But in some of our own countries things are getting worse. There’s a growing income inequality and an obesity epidemic. My generation may be the first in a while to have a lower life expectancy than my parents’. Many of my friends are feeling hopeless because their university degrees are buying them 20 hours a week at minimum wage (which has not adjusted for inflation too well) while the cost of housing sky rockets.
- faitswulff 9y ago
  Health care is also confounded by climate change and global warming as flu season strikes earlier and more viciously: https://globalbiodefense.com/2013/01/31/global-warming-and-the-effect-on-seasonal-influenza/ https://globalbiodefense.com/2013/01/31/global-warming-and-t... Just like starfish are being laid low by a virus normally kept at bay by lower ocean temperatures (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/scientists-now-link-massive-starfish-die-off-warming-ocean/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/scient...), I expect there to be higher rates of unexpected disease in human populations as well.
- vinhboy 9y ago
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  - krapp 9y ago
    No, less than a third of eligible voters voted for the racist con-man. The majority of Americans voted against him or not at all. Not that that actually matters.
  - GuiA 9y ago
    Trump got 62,979,636 votes. That's 46% of voters, but 24% of the population eligible to vote (and 20% of the total population).
thallukrish 9y ago
Human race has evolved from that sub-atomic particle of star dust since eons and reached this point where we are typing this comment. Obviously this cannot happen without the necessary checks and balances throughout history and it will be this way going into the future. So no need to spell doom, though the cautious gene in us still keeps vigil.

38 points by dustinupdyke 9y ago

cvaidya1986 9y ago

Because he had the TIME?

Just because the world is a better place than it was 50 years ago does not mean it is a better place than it was 2 years ago.

dragonwriter 9y ago
And even if it were a better place in some aggregate measure than 2 years ago doesn't mean that it's better for most people than it was 2 years ago, and even if it is better for most people, it doesn't mean it's better for most people in some particular country, say THE USA, and even if it's better for most people in your country, it doesn't mean it's better for you.

johnwheeler 9y ago

Two things have always been true about human beings. One, the world is always getting better. Two, the people living at that time think it`s getting worse. Penn Jillette

gt_ 9y ago
And there are enough versions of ‘better’ for both assessments to be right.
jacquesm 9y ago
The viewpoint that things are getting better is usually reserved for those that were pretty lucky in the birth lottery to begin with.
Letmesleep69 9y ago
I thought things always getting better is a relatively recent phenomenon. Things didn't get better for hundreds of years for the native Americans when Columbus came to America. Or after the fall of the roman empire was Europe as good the next few hundred years? Maybe there has been a general trend up but if the trend can drop drastically for the few years you're living in does the general trend up make a difference?
- johnwheeler 9y ago
  I think it’s meant to be figurative more than literal.
  - charlesism 9y ago
    Is that a euphemism for "I think it’s wrong"?
  - chickenfries 9y ago
    You won't even defend the quote you posted from it's most obvious criticism?
    - grzm 9y ago
      To everyone in this thread: please step back and ask yourself why you're continuing to comment. Are you looking to be understood? To understand? To prove or show that someone else wrong? If it's not one of the first two, please just stop. If it is one (or both! which is what it should be) of the first two, take another step back and ask yourself what's the most constructive way of accomplishing that goal. Right now you're all just talking past each other, commenting at each other rather than with each other. It doesn't matter how any one else is commenting or how wrong they are: you can only change how you yourself do.
      - chickenfries 9y ago
        I like the quality of discussion on HN. I think we should discourage things like posting pithy quotes from comedians. Especially if you won't even stand behind the point you're trying to make. And yes, I would like my perspective to be understood.

goalieca 9y ago

> So why does it feel like the world is in decline Because our environment is on the decline. Our oceans are full of plastic, our forests are converted to farmland for cattle, pollution from electronics is rising, and our global climate is changing for the worse. Even optimistic areas like health care are being confounded by obesity and malnutrition. It’s great that global health care and poverty rates are improving. But in some of our own countries things are getting worse. There’s a growing income inequality and an obesity epidemic. My generation may be the first in a while to have a lower life expectancy than my parents’. Many of my friends are feeling hopeless because their university degrees are buying them 20 hours a week at minimum wage (which has not adjusted for inflation too well) while the cost of housing sky rockets.

faitswulff 9y ago
Health care is also confounded by climate change and global warming as flu season strikes earlier and more viciously: https://globalbiodefense.com/2013/01/31/global-warming-and-the-effect-on-seasonal-influenza/ https://globalbiodefense.com/2013/01/31/global-warming-and-t... Just like starfish are being laid low by a virus normally kept at bay by lower ocean temperatures (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/scientists-now-link-massive-starfish-die-off-warming-ocean/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/scient...), I expect there to be higher rates of unexpected disease in human populations as well.
vinhboy 9y ago
----------
- krapp 9y ago
  No, less than a third of eligible voters voted for the racist con-man. The majority of Americans voted against him or not at all. Not that that actually matters.
- GuiA 9y ago
  Trump got 62,979,636 votes. That's 46% of voters, but 24% of the population eligible to vote (and 20% of the total population).

thallukrish 9y ago

Human race has evolved from that sub-atomic particle of star dust since eons and reached this point where we are typing this comment. Obviously this cannot happen without the necessary checks and balances throughout history and it will be this way going into the future. So no need to spell doom, though the cautious gene in us still keeps vigil.