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No it isn’t. “Tech” is only slowing down for a very narrow definition of tech. Perhaps we forget that rather recently the world created a vaccine for a novel vi

No it isn’t. “Tech” is only slowing down for a very narrow definition of tech. Perhaps we forget that rather recently the world created a vaccine for a novel virus using cutting edge techniques, that genome sequencing costs continue to fall, that genome construction costs continue to fall, that synthetic meats are on the horizon, that infrastructure for electric vehicles is now present in much of the world. Tech innovation continues to flourish, that growth just isn’t focused in computer hardware any more

mach1ne 4y ago
That’s anecdotal though. For an opposite anecdote, airplanes have been pretty much the same since the 70s.
- buryat 4y ago
  > airplanes have been pretty much the same since the 70s. you need to back your claims
  - fragmede 4y ago
    Since the Concorde was grounded, arguably we've regressed.
- mhandley 4y ago
  They may look the same, but they've changed a lot when it comes to safety: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fatalities_per_revenue_passenger_kilometre_in_air_transport_since_1970.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fa...
- hef19898 4y ago
  Except they aren't. Not when it cmes to noise, fuel consumption or safety. Or weight, or range, or reliability.
- samtho 4y ago
  Airplanes are a relatively poor anecdote. They have advanced in small but steady changes over time. The prevalence of the single aisle, 6 abreast seating of the 737 and A320 came about because airlines could reliably fill short to medium haul flight and were cost effective in other ways. We have more efficient engines, systems have gotten safer, etc. There is a lot of work behind the scenes with aircraft.
  - credit_guy 4y ago
    Wright's brother's first flight happened in 1903. Within 15 years there were dogfights in WW1. In 31 years the first commercial service over the Atlantic started (cargo) and 5 years later (1939) the first commercial passenger transatlantic line was opened. Three decades later, the man got to the Moon. A few years later Concorde started regular supersonic commercial transatlantic flights. After that we got what? Less noise, improved fuel efficiency, increased range? I started flying about 25 years ago. I don't remember that flights were noisier. As for efficiency and range, I don't give a hoot. I care about ticket prices and flights happening on schedule. Prices have gone up, innovative fees piled up on top of them, delays are oh-so-common. As for safety, 25 years ago planes were crashing about as frequently as now. For regular people like me, the advances in safety were imperceptible.
    - Oxidation 4y ago
      A lot more passenger miles are flown then 25 years ago: there are more flights and they go further. Fatalities per passenger mile are something on the order of 5-10 times less than in the 90s. You also hear about every single one of them now, partly as they're rare and exciting to the media and partly because the Internet makes everything "nearby", whereas in the 90s you'd have probably only gotten a quick radio segment and a mid-paper article on a remote air crash. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fatalities_per_revenue_passenger_kilometre_in_air_transport_since_1970.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fatalities_per_reven...
    - sokoloff 4y ago
      I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, but airline flights seem incredibly cheap to me and substantially safer than 40 years ago. It’s true that most of the safety in US scheduled aviation had been achieved by 2000. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, flights were expensive and rarely taken by regular people. Now, they’re readily accessible to most everyone. (I can recall calling to book a “bereavement fare” to attend a family funeral and having to be prepared to send proof of death because a regular fare from BOS to PIT would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. I don’t know if those even exist anymore because the economy fares are so cheap.)
- tfussell 4y ago
  We've improved fuel efficiency by a factor of 8 since 1970: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aviation_Efficiency_(RPK_per_kg_CO2).svg https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aviation_Efficienc...
- nitwit005 4y ago
  > Jet airliners have become 70% more fuel efficient between 1967 and 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#Histo... I'd agree that aviation improvements have slowed way down, but they've certainly gotten dramatically better in that time frame. And, while passenger airplanes do look similar to how they used to, we now have all sorts of drones flying around, some of which would have awed people in the 70s.
tuatoru 4y ago
> genome construction costs continue to fall On the other hand, construction construction costs continue to rise. Housing is of greater practical importance. It's a large chunk of every household's budget. 1. "Does construction ever get cheaper?", https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/does-construction-ever-get-cheaper https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/does-construction...

mach1ne 4y ago

That’s anecdotal though. For an opposite anecdote, airplanes have been pretty much the same since the 70s.

buryat 4y ago
> airplanes have been pretty much the same since the 70s. you need to back your claims
- fragmede 4y ago
  Since the Concorde was grounded, arguably we've regressed.
mhandley 4y ago
They may look the same, but they've changed a lot when it comes to safety: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fatalities_per_revenue_passenger_kilometre_in_air_transport_since_1970.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_safety#/media/File:Fa...
hef19898 4y ago
Except they aren't. Not when it cmes to noise, fuel consumption or safety. Or weight, or range, or reliability.
samtho 4y ago
Airplanes are a relatively poor anecdote. They have advanced in small but steady changes over time. The prevalence of the single aisle, 6 abreast seating of the 737 and A320 came about because airlines could reliably fill short to medium haul flight and were cost effective in other ways. We have more efficient engines, systems have gotten safer, etc. There is a lot of work behind the scenes with aircraft.
- credit_guy 4y ago
  Wright's brother's first flight happened in 1903. Within 15 years there were dogfights in WW1. In 31 years the first commercial service over the Atlantic started (cargo) and 5 years later (1939) the first commercial passenger transatlantic line was opened. Three decades later, the man got to the Moon. A few years later Concorde started regular supersonic commercial transatlantic flights. After that we got what? Less noise, improved fuel efficiency, increased range? I started flying about 25 years ago. I don't remember that flights were noisier. As for efficiency and range, I don't give a hoot. I care about ticket prices and flights happening on schedule. Prices have gone up, innovative fees piled up on top of them, delays are oh-so-common. As for safety, 25 years ago planes were crashing about as frequently as now. For regular people like me, the advances in safety were imperceptible.
  - Oxidation 4y ago
    A lot more passenger miles are flown then 25 years ago: there are more flights and they go further. Fatalities per passenger mile are something on the order of 5-10 times less than in the 90s. You also hear about every single one of them now, partly as they're rare and exciting to the media and partly because the Internet makes everything "nearby", whereas in the 90s you'd have probably only gotten a quick radio segment and a mid-paper article on a remote air crash. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fatalities_per_revenue_passenger_kilometre_in_air_transport_since_1970.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fatalities_per_reven...
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, but airline flights seem incredibly cheap to me and substantially safer than 40 years ago. It’s true that most of the safety in US scheduled aviation had been achieved by 2000. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, flights were expensive and rarely taken by regular people. Now, they’re readily accessible to most everyone. (I can recall calling to book a “bereavement fare” to attend a family funeral and having to be prepared to send proof of death because a regular fare from BOS to PIT would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. I don’t know if those even exist anymore because the economy fares are so cheap.)
tfussell 4y ago
We've improved fuel efficiency by a factor of 8 since 1970: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aviation_Efficiency_(RPK_per_kg_CO2).svg https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aviation_Efficienc...
nitwit005 4y ago
> Jet airliners have become 70% more fuel efficient between 1967 and 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#Histo... I'd agree that aviation improvements have slowed way down, but they've certainly gotten dramatically better in that time frame. And, while passenger airplanes do look similar to how they used to, we now have all sorts of drones flying around, some of which would have awed people in the 70s.

tuatoru 4y ago

> genome construction costs continue to fall On the other hand, construction construction costs continue to rise. Housing is of greater practical importance. It's a large chunk of every household's budget. 1. "Does construction ever get cheaper?", https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/does-construction-ever-get-cheaper https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/does-construction...