4 ms·

Ask YC: Are You Guilty of Not Solving World's Problems?

11 points by paraschopra 18y ago

noodle 18y ago
yes. but only because the flexibility to solve the world's problems usually comes from having a backbone of less useful or niche-driven apps to fund your world solving work. imo.
Tichy 18y ago
If only it would be more obvious HOW to solve the world's problems. Some photographs I recently saw really touched me, for example that series about child marriage. How do you go about changing something like that, which is going on in a completely different culture, in countries far away? Not saying it is impossible, just that I don't know where to start (yet). Maybe building shiny happy web apps also helps to solve those problems, though, because it provides an incentive for "third world countries" to aspire to our way of life. Also, those touching photographs are being spread over phot sharing apps and blogs... Presumably poverty is also the root cause for child marriage? If the kids were not poor, their parents would not have to sell them away.
- paraschopra 18y ago
  Exactly! How I wish there was some HOWTO of solving the world's problems. But there is none. So, it is upto us only to go out and solve the world. Very little changes by sitting at the desk and making yet another new app. I agree that indirectly we all are doing something to change the world. But don't you think we should be keen on solving something more directly?
  - Tichy 18y ago
    I don't think that only solving the most basic problems is worthwhile. Like, is it OK to make music? It doesn't help against hunger in the 3rd world, so it is a useless activity? But maybe occasionally some guy who is working on solving the hunger problem finds the strength to go on by listening to your music. Or so I imagine... Nevertheless sometimes I wish there was something more direct I could do. I just think the original article was a bit short on suggestions. Hm, that reminds me of an idea of mine, that some people gave me good feedback about. Perhaps some people here like it and want to join in making it? Basically, I envisioned a bug tracker for the whole world: http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/NcJhLLF/ http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/NcJ... (I suggested this for the StartupWeekend in Hamburg, but unfortunately something else was selected...).
    - paraschopra 18y ago
      Yes, I agree with you that it is worthwhile to help someone by making music. But that is a very indirect way. Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully? Your idea is interesting. Maybe http://www.suggestionbox.com/ http://www.suggestionbox.com/ is something like that?
      - Tichy 18y ago
        Suggestionbox looks interesting, will check it out at home when I have more time... I guess it is not the same as the world tracker, but it has some common elements.
      - Prrometheus 18y ago
        >Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully? I think the world would be a better place if people in poor and starving countries could sustainably enjoy a standard of living similar to what we have in the west. Did the west get so rich because of people trying to help us, or was our wealth a by-product of the capitalist system that we never consciously strove for? I would say the second.
        Tichy 18y ago
        There were a couple of bloody wars in history, too, some of them might count as striving for something (freedom)? I think most people in poor countries are also poor because they are being held hostage by their government.
      - bjcook 18y ago
        That's exactly what we're trying to achieve. It's where individuals speak and companies listen. Helping to create an ongoing conversation between companies, groups, Nonprofits and their customers who are individuals or employees is our goal. If we can improve the experiences we have with the things we interact with on a daily basis doesn't that support a better quality of life as well?
gaius 18y ago
I am guilty of not solving the world's problems. On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place. Some more of that I donate myself directly. So I am not completely useless... Just mostly :-/
- Prrometheus 18y ago
  >On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place. When you weigh the negative effects of programs created from spending tax dollars against the positive effects, I suspect the net result is something close to zero or even below that. I wouldn't count on doing good for society by paying taxes.
babul 18y ago
The problems of the world are too big for me. I start trying to solve those with the people and communities I am involved in and know something about (i.e. how to solve their problems). I hope, perhaps naively, the goodwill and network effect propagates and the sum of the whole is greater than that of its parts and certainly that of my initial action. It’s the best I can do and stay sane.
- paraschopra 18y ago
  >The problems of the world are too big for me. I would argue that the problems might be too big but they do have simple solutions. For example take microfinance. The problem this industry is attacking is lack of banking facilities for the poor. The problem is huge but the solution is simple and not too hard to scale. Similarly, don't you think that once we figure out the right model at the fundamental level, it shouldn't be hard to scale up rapidly? >It’s the best I can do and stay sane. I don't know how attacking bigger problems prevents you from being sane. In fact, you become saner as you get out of your comfort shell and experience what world has to offer.
  - Tichy 18y ago
    I don't think setting up Microfinance is simple at all. I would rather have studied the stuff in depth before I tackle it (economics, that is). So far, I am not even fully convinced that Microfinance really improves peoples lives. OK, the Nobel price for that one guy might be an indication, but it is not proof. It could still just be a scam. Then, how do I deal with legal situation on location? There might be civil wars, communism, dictators and what not getting in the way. How do I estimate who is worthy of credit? I don't even speak any weird languages, so I probably couldn't even communicate with the poor..
    - paraschopra 18y ago
      Honestly, I don't know about the country you live in. But here in India there are tons of problems needing to be solved. You name a problem - hunger, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, etc. - and India has it. But despite that, it is surprising that many Indian entrepreneurs are focusing on web2.0 me too startups. Perhaps they can better utilize their time by learning things and doing stuff which helps the country and makes money for them.
martythemaniak 18y ago
Quite so. Its actually quite easy for those of us in technology to make ourselves sound as if we're solving the world's problems, when doing nothing of the sort. For example, my full-time job is working at a company that provides forex for retail investors, yet I can say that (and this language is used in company PR) I am democratizing the forex market and empowering millions of people! A lot of web 2.0 companies are especially guilty. They've the long-term importance and impact of a fashion house, yet their PR is all about revolutionizing this or that.
jobeirne 18y ago
Not my responsibility. I'll just do what makes me content without getting in anyone else's way... Which coincidentally is creating products which benefit the world, for profit.
paraschopra 18y ago
As Umair in his original article suggests, how about an open source list of world's problems and then a wiki for their solutions so that people may collaborate. Any takers for this idea? PS: I understand the irony here that Wiki is sort of web2.0 technology. But that's okay!
- ph0rque 18y ago
  problepedia.com ?
  - paraschopra 18y ago
    yes, something like that. Or maybe, something like open source InnoCentive?
ericb 18y ago
My life plan has been to succeed in business, then spend my time and money trying to make the word better in innovative ways. Step one is just taking longer than I hoped...
- DanHulton 18y ago
  Hey Bill Gates from twenty years ago, how's it going? Seriously, though. This is not a bad approach. I don't know anything at all about bioengineering a more plague-resistant wheat crop. I don't know anything at all about how to calm two nations dead-set on the destruction of each other. And I sure don't know ANYTHING at all about how to practically and easily reduce our dependance on greenhouse-gas-producing oil. That said, if I put my knowledge about how the web works into an application that people use and like and buy, then build up enough capital, I can fund the people who DO know those things, or at least know how to approach learning them. It's not a bad plan. You're life's not wasted unless you waste it. I hardly consider what I do a waste. It's all building towards a larger goal.
  - paraschopra 18y ago
    Maybe, we are just deluding ourselves all the way when we should doing stuff that matters. You know what the irony is. Even if some bioengineer makes a more plague resistant wheat crop, it wont solve world's hunger problem. India produces surplus crops. Even then it imports crops from outside. Even then people are dying here from hunger. So, part of the solution is to come up with right supply channels. This is just an example. We can always find ways where we could contribute more directly instead of waiting for things to get lucky so that we could fund other people.
- wallflower 18y ago
  The classic paradox is 'When I win the lottery, I'll build a hospital, school, homeless shelter'. Of course, you can always start small - volunteer to help the homeless before you have the means to build a shelter. I am already doing that. You can, too.
  - 18y ago
rtf 18y ago
It's something in our society that makes us feel obligated to save the world. But it's not as if our lives can be played like a video game where whoever does the most for others gets a high score. We just live in the world, and pursue our goals as best we can. Put another way: In general, you are probably effecting a positive change if you are making money and are not in trouble for doing so.
mechanical_fish 18y ago
Wake me up when you have an actionable plan to solve a problem. That would be interesting. Striking a dramatic pose, pointing a finger at your peers, and yelling "sellouts!" is not a plan, unless you're a punk musician. Perhaps you should start a band.
rickasaur 18y ago
The best we can really do is to live our lives in such a way as to minimize the impact on others. This means a lot of work on your part, much more than the average lazy American (including myself) wants to deal with. Here is a short list of things you can do in your everyday life to help: 1) Research all brands before you buy in order to make sure they do not support sweat shops or other kinds of unethical behavior. Don't buy Nike shoes and stop drinking Coca-Cola. 2) Stay away from all big chain stores like walmart. They put huge economic stresses on companies which cause these sweat shops to pop up in the first place. 3) Make your carbon footprint as small as possible. This is not only for the sake of the environment. Petrol cartels cause a huge amount of suffering and damage to the countries they operate in. 4) Buy green. Not advertising fake green but as environmentally friendly as possible. This can only be done with brand and product research. 5) Talk about these issues. By bringing them up in your every day life you will help spread awareness. I know that you may not want to be "that guy". The only way to change things really will be through social pressure and cultural change. 6) Read. You have to be aware of what is really going on if you want to know the right thing to do. I suggest John Perkins' newish book: The Secret History of the American Empire. It really opened my eyes.

11 points by paraschopra 18y ago

yes. but only because the flexibility to solve the world's problems usually comes from having a backbone of less useful or niche-driven apps to fund your world solving work. imo.

Tichy 18y ago

If only it would be more obvious HOW to solve the world's problems. Some photographs I recently saw really touched me, for example that series about child marriage. How do you go about changing something like that, which is going on in a completely different culture, in countries far away? Not saying it is impossible, just that I don't know where to start (yet). Maybe building shiny happy web apps also helps to solve those problems, though, because it provides an incentive for "third world countries" to aspire to our way of life. Also, those touching photographs are being spread over phot sharing apps and blogs... Presumably poverty is also the root cause for child marriage? If the kids were not poor, their parents would not have to sell them away.

paraschopra 18y ago
Exactly! How I wish there was some HOWTO of solving the world's problems. But there is none. So, it is upto us only to go out and solve the world. Very little changes by sitting at the desk and making yet another new app. I agree that indirectly we all are doing something to change the world. But don't you think we should be keen on solving something more directly?
- Tichy 18y ago
  I don't think that only solving the most basic problems is worthwhile. Like, is it OK to make music? It doesn't help against hunger in the 3rd world, so it is a useless activity? But maybe occasionally some guy who is working on solving the hunger problem finds the strength to go on by listening to your music. Or so I imagine... Nevertheless sometimes I wish there was something more direct I could do. I just think the original article was a bit short on suggestions. Hm, that reminds me of an idea of mine, that some people gave me good feedback about. Perhaps some people here like it and want to join in making it? Basically, I envisioned a bug tracker for the whole world: http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/NcJhLLF/ http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/NcJ... (I suggested this for the StartupWeekend in Hamburg, but unfortunately something else was selected...).
  - paraschopra 18y ago
    Yes, I agree with you that it is worthwhile to help someone by making music. But that is a very indirect way. Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully? Your idea is interesting. Maybe http://www.suggestionbox.com/ http://www.suggestionbox.com/ is something like that?
    - Tichy 18y ago
      Suggestionbox looks interesting, will check it out at home when I have more time... I guess it is not the same as the world tracker, but it has some common elements.
    - Prrometheus 18y ago
      >Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully? I think the world would be a better place if people in poor and starving countries could sustainably enjoy a standard of living similar to what we have in the west. Did the west get so rich because of people trying to help us, or was our wealth a by-product of the capitalist system that we never consciously strove for? I would say the second.
      - Tichy 18y ago
        There were a couple of bloody wars in history, too, some of them might count as striving for something (freedom)? I think most people in poor countries are also poor because they are being held hostage by their government.
    - bjcook 18y ago
      That's exactly what we're trying to achieve. It's where individuals speak and companies listen. Helping to create an ongoing conversation between companies, groups, Nonprofits and their customers who are individuals or employees is our goal. If we can improve the experiences we have with the things we interact with on a daily basis doesn't that support a better quality of life as well?

gaius 18y ago

I am guilty of not solving the world's problems. On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place. Some more of that I donate myself directly. So I am not completely useless... Just mostly :-/

Prrometheus 18y ago
>On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place. When you weigh the negative effects of programs created from spending tax dollars against the positive effects, I suspect the net result is something close to zero or even below that. I wouldn't count on doing good for society by paying taxes.

babul 18y ago

The problems of the world are too big for me. I start trying to solve those with the people and communities I am involved in and know something about (i.e. how to solve their problems). I hope, perhaps naively, the goodwill and network effect propagates and the sum of the whole is greater than that of its parts and certainly that of my initial action. It’s the best I can do and stay sane.

paraschopra 18y ago
>The problems of the world are too big for me. I would argue that the problems might be too big but they do have simple solutions. For example take microfinance. The problem this industry is attacking is lack of banking facilities for the poor. The problem is huge but the solution is simple and not too hard to scale. Similarly, don't you think that once we figure out the right model at the fundamental level, it shouldn't be hard to scale up rapidly? >It’s the best I can do and stay sane. I don't know how attacking bigger problems prevents you from being sane. In fact, you become saner as you get out of your comfort shell and experience what world has to offer.
- Tichy 18y ago
  I don't think setting up Microfinance is simple at all. I would rather have studied the stuff in depth before I tackle it (economics, that is). So far, I am not even fully convinced that Microfinance really improves peoples lives. OK, the Nobel price for that one guy might be an indication, but it is not proof. It could still just be a scam. Then, how do I deal with legal situation on location? There might be civil wars, communism, dictators and what not getting in the way. How do I estimate who is worthy of credit? I don't even speak any weird languages, so I probably couldn't even communicate with the poor..
  - paraschopra 18y ago
    Honestly, I don't know about the country you live in. But here in India there are tons of problems needing to be solved. You name a problem - hunger, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, etc. - and India has it. But despite that, it is surprising that many Indian entrepreneurs are focusing on web2.0 me too startups. Perhaps they can better utilize their time by learning things and doing stuff which helps the country and makes money for them.

martythemaniak 18y ago

Quite so. Its actually quite easy for those of us in technology to make ourselves sound as if we're solving the world's problems, when doing nothing of the sort. For example, my full-time job is working at a company that provides forex for retail investors, yet I can say that (and this language is used in company PR) I am democratizing the forex market and empowering millions of people! A lot of web 2.0 companies are especially guilty. They've the long-term importance and impact of a fashion house, yet their PR is all about revolutionizing this or that.

jobeirne 18y ago

Not my responsibility. I'll just do what makes me content without getting in anyone else's way... Which coincidentally is creating products which benefit the world, for profit.

paraschopra 18y ago

As Umair in his original article suggests, how about an open source list of world's problems and then a wiki for their solutions so that people may collaborate. Any takers for this idea? PS: I understand the irony here that Wiki is sort of web2.0 technology. But that's okay!

ph0rque 18y ago
problepedia.com ?
- paraschopra 18y ago
  yes, something like that. Or maybe, something like open source InnoCentive?

ericb 18y ago

My life plan has been to succeed in business, then spend my time and money trying to make the word better in innovative ways. Step one is just taking longer than I hoped...

DanHulton 18y ago
Hey Bill Gates from twenty years ago, how's it going? Seriously, though. This is not a bad approach. I don't know anything at all about bioengineering a more plague-resistant wheat crop. I don't know anything at all about how to calm two nations dead-set on the destruction of each other. And I sure don't know ANYTHING at all about how to practically and easily reduce our dependance on greenhouse-gas-producing oil. That said, if I put my knowledge about how the web works into an application that people use and like and buy, then build up enough capital, I can fund the people who DO know those things, or at least know how to approach learning them. It's not a bad plan. You're life's not wasted unless you waste it. I hardly consider what I do a waste. It's all building towards a larger goal.
- paraschopra 18y ago
  Maybe, we are just deluding ourselves all the way when we should doing stuff that matters. You know what the irony is. Even if some bioengineer makes a more plague resistant wheat crop, it wont solve world's hunger problem. India produces surplus crops. Even then it imports crops from outside. Even then people are dying here from hunger. So, part of the solution is to come up with right supply channels. This is just an example. We can always find ways where we could contribute more directly instead of waiting for things to get lucky so that we could fund other people.
wallflower 18y ago
The classic paradox is 'When I win the lottery, I'll build a hospital, school, homeless shelter'. Of course, you can always start small - volunteer to help the homeless before you have the means to build a shelter. I am already doing that. You can, too.
- 18y ago

rtf 18y ago

It's something in our society that makes us feel obligated to save the world. But it's not as if our lives can be played like a video game where whoever does the most for others gets a high score. We just live in the world, and pursue our goals as best we can. Put another way: In general, you are probably effecting a positive change if you are making money and are not in trouble for doing so.

mechanical_fish 18y ago

Wake me up when you have an actionable plan to solve a problem. That would be interesting. Striking a dramatic pose, pointing a finger at your peers, and yelling "sellouts!" is not a plan, unless you're a punk musician. Perhaps you should start a band.

rickasaur 18y ago

The best we can really do is to live our lives in such a way as to minimize the impact on others. This means a lot of work on your part, much more than the average lazy American (including myself) wants to deal with. Here is a short list of things you can do in your everyday life to help: 1) Research all brands before you buy in order to make sure they do not support sweat shops or other kinds of unethical behavior. Don't buy Nike shoes and stop drinking Coca-Cola. 2) Stay away from all big chain stores like walmart. They put huge economic stresses on companies which cause these sweat shops to pop up in the first place. 3) Make your carbon footprint as small as possible. This is not only for the sake of the environment. Petrol cartels cause a huge amount of suffering and damage to the countries they operate in. 4) Buy green. Not advertising fake green but as environmentally friendly as possible. This can only be done with brand and product research. 5) Talk about these issues. By bringing them up in your every day life you will help spread awareness. I know that you may not want to be "that guy". The only way to change things really will be through social pressure and cultural change. 6) Read. You have to be aware of what is really going on if you want to know the right thing to do. I suggest John Perkins' newish book: The Secret History of the American Empire. It really opened my eyes.