5 ms·

Homeless, poverty, cancer, or war are all people problems, and people are complicated. We do have flying cars but they're not very good at flying or driving.

freehunter 7y ago
The “we don’t have flying cars” argument always strikes me as begging for something to complain about. We could easily have flying cars if there was literally one reason to have a flying car. There is not a single reason to have a flying car, so no one has put in the time to make one because no one would buy it because it’s pointless.
- gpm 7y ago
  Flying cars would be a great solution to congestion. Assuming perfect reliability, reasonably low sound levels, super high efficiency engines, and flying pigs.
  - dotancohen 7y ago
    Flying cars would move the congestion from the surface roads to the skies. Over your house, over your children's heads. And those 1000 KG bullets would be, on average, piloted by someone with the skill of the average driver today. No thank you.
- js2 7y ago
  I don't actually want flying cars. It's a metaphor for "how we imagine some problem of today will be solved in the future."
- aasasd 7y ago
  Have you seen the 90s? Cool things don't need a reason.
- tty2300 7y ago
  Just put wheels on a helicopter and now you have a flying car.
- WillPostForFood 7y ago
  if there was literally one reason to have a flying car I'll give two: reduce traffic jams, and less need to build/maintain roads. The average commute time* is about an hour a day. Giving people back that time to spend with their family, to work, to play would be an amazing boon to society. The real issue is that the technology to make practical (cheap, fast, quiet, safe) flying cars doesn't exist. A practical flying car would also solve the housing price crisis in cities as people could fly in from the exurbs. * https://www.npr.org/2018/09/20/650061560/stuck-in-traffic-youre-not-alone-new-data-show-american-commute-times-are-longer https://www.npr.org/2018/09/20/650061560/stuck-in-traffic-yo...
  - stordoff 7y ago
    > A practical flying car would also solve the housing price crisis in cities as people could fly in from the exurbs. Doesn't this just reinvent the problem? You're currently spending a long time commuting due to congestion; you'll now spend a long time commuting due to sheer distance.
    - WillPostForFood 7y ago
      People are already driving from the exurbs, so a 2 hour commute from Pittsburg, CA to Downtown San Francisco (30 miles) would drop to 15 minutes in a car flying at 120mph. That's better than a typical intra SF commute. If you look at a 30 mile radius it is a tremendous area for living potential.
      - freehunter 7y ago
        If we had the ability for humans to safely pilot a flying car at 120mph, we'd have the ability for humans to safely pilot a on-the-ground car at 120mph. All the traffic collisions that currently happen in 2 dimensions (changing lanes without looking, failure to yield, rear-end collisions) would happen with flying cars but now in three dimensions. And when a collision happens that completely disables the car, it won't just crash in two dimensions, it will plummet to the ground. To prevent that, we'd need dedicated air lanes that cars would have to merge in and out of, and on-ramps where they're only allowed to move up or down at dedicated spots to help with merging. Which we have on the ground already. Yes planes fly fast. They're also piloted by professionals who dedicate their lives to piloting them, controlled by a central ATC tower, and heavily regulated by a governing body. And we still have air disasters. There is zero reason to move cars into a third dimension of travel. If you want "cars but faster", we have a solution for that: cars. But faster.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
ghostbrainalpha 7y ago
I agree but would also add that poverty is sort of a moving goal post, so I don't know if it will ever be completely eradicated.
otikik 7y ago
Computer problems are also people problem. The subsection of computer problems which are interesting to humans at least.
drewg123 7y ago
With credit reports and landlord background checks, I think homelessness will be a rising problem because everything now goes into a database that sticks with you for 7 years. I have an acquaintance who was evicted (due to property damage caused by her ex boyfriend). She was given a 3 day notice to vacate, and now she has an eviction on her record. The eviction basically means that she cannot rent a property in her own name for the next 7 years, even though she's gainfully employed and can pay rent. After over a month living in a hotel, she finally found an off-lease sublet. But that's only temporary.

freehunter 7y ago

The “we don’t have flying cars” argument always strikes me as begging for something to complain about. We could easily have flying cars if there was literally one reason to have a flying car. There is not a single reason to have a flying car, so no one has put in the time to make one because no one would buy it because it’s pointless.

gpm 7y ago
Flying cars would be a great solution to congestion. Assuming perfect reliability, reasonably low sound levels, super high efficiency engines, and flying pigs.
- dotancohen 7y ago
  Flying cars would move the congestion from the surface roads to the skies. Over your house, over your children's heads. And those 1000 KG bullets would be, on average, piloted by someone with the skill of the average driver today. No thank you.
js2 7y ago
I don't actually want flying cars. It's a metaphor for "how we imagine some problem of today will be solved in the future."
aasasd 7y ago
Have you seen the 90s? Cool things don't need a reason.
tty2300 7y ago
Just put wheels on a helicopter and now you have a flying car.
WillPostForFood 7y ago
if there was literally one reason to have a flying car I'll give two: reduce traffic jams, and less need to build/maintain roads. The average commute time* is about an hour a day. Giving people back that time to spend with their family, to work, to play would be an amazing boon to society. The real issue is that the technology to make practical (cheap, fast, quiet, safe) flying cars doesn't exist. A practical flying car would also solve the housing price crisis in cities as people could fly in from the exurbs. * https://www.npr.org/2018/09/20/650061560/stuck-in-traffic-youre-not-alone-new-data-show-american-commute-times-are-longer https://www.npr.org/2018/09/20/650061560/stuck-in-traffic-yo...
- stordoff 7y ago
  > A practical flying car would also solve the housing price crisis in cities as people could fly in from the exurbs. Doesn't this just reinvent the problem? You're currently spending a long time commuting due to congestion; you'll now spend a long time commuting due to sheer distance.
  - WillPostForFood 7y ago
    People are already driving from the exurbs, so a 2 hour commute from Pittsburg, CA to Downtown San Francisco (30 miles) would drop to 15 minutes in a car flying at 120mph. That's better than a typical intra SF commute. If you look at a 30 mile radius it is a tremendous area for living potential.
    - freehunter 7y ago
      If we had the ability for humans to safely pilot a flying car at 120mph, we'd have the ability for humans to safely pilot a on-the-ground car at 120mph. All the traffic collisions that currently happen in 2 dimensions (changing lanes without looking, failure to yield, rear-end collisions) would happen with flying cars but now in three dimensions. And when a collision happens that completely disables the car, it won't just crash in two dimensions, it will plummet to the ground. To prevent that, we'd need dedicated air lanes that cars would have to merge in and out of, and on-ramps where they're only allowed to move up or down at dedicated spots to help with merging. Which we have on the ground already. Yes planes fly fast. They're also piloted by professionals who dedicate their lives to piloting them, controlled by a central ATC tower, and heavily regulated by a governing body. And we still have air disasters. There is zero reason to move cars into a third dimension of travel. If you want "cars but faster", we have a solution for that: cars. But faster.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

ghostbrainalpha 7y ago

I agree but would also add that poverty is sort of a moving goal post, so I don't know if it will ever be completely eradicated.

otikik 7y ago

Computer problems are also people problem. The subsection of computer problems which are interesting to humans at least.

drewg123 7y ago

With credit reports and landlord background checks, I think homelessness will be a rising problem because everything now goes into a database that sticks with you for 7 years. I have an acquaintance who was evicted (due to property damage caused by her ex boyfriend). She was given a 3 day notice to vacate, and now she has an eviction on her record. The eviction basically means that she cannot rent a property in her own name for the next 7 years, even though she's gainfully employed and can pay rent. After over a month living in a hotel, she finally found an off-lease sublet. But that's only temporary.