4 ms·

Every six months, some startup guy invents public transit, or some other amenity that has existed for over a 100 years.

by bparsons 4y ago

eru 4y ago
Paid public toilets are banned in large parts of the US.
- rdtwo 4y ago
  Yeah it’s unfortunate, post covid a lot of previously accessible bathrooms are no longer available and with no public options is a huge inconvenience
  - eru 4y ago
    Yes. But the silly bans on paid toilets stem from the 1970s. See eg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/why-the-u-s-should-give-pay-toilets-another-chance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/why-the-u...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
xyzzy123 4y ago
A lot of amenities "worked" before because of aggressive social norm enforcement. For example, people experiencing persistent mental health issues would literally be locked up "for the common good". I think what we are seeing is people trying to use technology to replace earlier (primarily social) technologies of control like shaming, religious instruction, tighter communities, aggressive policing etc. It's not the amenities themselves being reinvented, it's new techniques of social control to uphold good behaviour and care for shared resources.
- rdtwo 4y ago
  Yeah everyone is just trying to thread the needle off social Justice by using technology discriminate in ways that are not socially acceptable in highly liberal areas.
- coffee_beqn 4y ago
  > For example, people experiencing persistent mental health issues would literally be locked up "for the common good". I don’t know that we’re doing much better now. Is it so great that now the same people spend a few decades self-medicating and living like rats on the streets because they can’t escape their inner demons without extremely intense intervention? Do people really look at a person having a violent psychotic breakdown for the 10th time this year in the street and pat society on the back that at least he’s not in a mental institution..
- bparsons 4y ago
  Somehow, other OECD countries don't have these problems. They just properly fund public amenities and they magically function.
singhrac 4y ago
I am ok with startups attempting to innovate in products that meet the needs of humans beyond wealthy tech workers; sure they deserve criticism when being discriminatory or having bad societal effects, but can we really rely on the public sector to build and deploy new technology? I’d much rather see brainpower being spent on thinking about innovation in cleanliness than on the next “open source DataDog clone”. Let’s encourage people to go after hard but important problems (but not shy away from valid criticism, of course).

Every six months, some startup guy invents public transit, or some other amenity that has existed for over a 100 years.

eru 4y ago

Paid public toilets are banned in large parts of the US.

rdtwo 4y ago
Yeah it’s unfortunate, post covid a lot of previously accessible bathrooms are no longer available and with no public options is a huge inconvenience
- eru 4y ago
  Yes. But the silly bans on paid toilets stem from the 1970s. See eg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/why-the-u-s-should-give-pay-toilets-another-chance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/why-the-u...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

xyzzy123 4y ago

A lot of amenities "worked" before because of aggressive social norm enforcement. For example, people experiencing persistent mental health issues would literally be locked up "for the common good". I think what we are seeing is people trying to use technology to replace earlier (primarily social) technologies of control like shaming, religious instruction, tighter communities, aggressive policing etc. It's not the amenities themselves being reinvented, it's new techniques of social control to uphold good behaviour and care for shared resources.

rdtwo 4y ago
Yeah everyone is just trying to thread the needle off social Justice by using technology discriminate in ways that are not socially acceptable in highly liberal areas.
coffee_beqn 4y ago
> For example, people experiencing persistent mental health issues would literally be locked up "for the common good". I don’t know that we’re doing much better now. Is it so great that now the same people spend a few decades self-medicating and living like rats on the streets because they can’t escape their inner demons without extremely intense intervention? Do people really look at a person having a violent psychotic breakdown for the 10th time this year in the street and pat society on the back that at least he’s not in a mental institution..
bparsons 4y ago
Somehow, other OECD countries don't have these problems. They just properly fund public amenities and they magically function.

singhrac 4y ago

I am ok with startups attempting to innovate in products that meet the needs of humans beyond wealthy tech workers; sure they deserve criticism when being discriminatory or having bad societal effects, but can we really rely on the public sector to build and deploy new technology? I’d much rather see brainpower being spent on thinking about innovation in cleanliness than on the next “open source DataDog clone”. Let’s encourage people to go after hard but important problems (but not shy away from valid criticism, of course).