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I really enjoy reading Charlie's thoughts on just about anything, I loved Accelerando, and definitely don't mean to take a shot at him here. When I encounter a

by Ryanmf 15y ago

I really enjoy reading Charlie's thoughts on just about anything, I loved Accelerando, and definitely don't mean to take a shot at him here. When I encounter a title which includes the phrase "A Modest Proposal" I assume the words that follow are generally facetious. Swift wasn't actually advocating for the devouring of delicious Irish adolescents; I'm certain Charlie is well aware of that fact (in the case of other writers who invoke the title, I am sometimes less confident). TPB's LOSS initiative is probably absurd enough to meet the requirements, as is Charlie's ratbot counter proposal. Except it seems he's sort of serious? Then he concludes by posing to his readers what appears to be a completely honest request for their dream implementations of Raspberry Pi. Many commenters both on his blog and in this HN thread have apparently taken the post at face value. It could be that this was just a slam dunk bit of satire, achieving exactly the desired result. If that's the case, to me this post doesn't exactly live up to its namesake. Charlie's identified a ridiculous plan, and suggested an equally ridiculous alternate plan, without so much as a wink or a nod. Now what?

rictic 15y ago
I read it as an exercise in science fiction, and imagining what will be possible with stuff that's not far beyond the current state of the art. Yes all of these ideas are unworkable right now. The shocking thing, when I stopped to think about it, is how much closer they are to being realistic than my gut instinct felt like they were. Sufficiently powerful computation, storage, and solar power are cheap and miniaturized. Hobbyists have used cameras tied to balloons to take video of the edge of space. Research projects have produced robots that can power themselves from biomass and sugars. All science fact. Ten years ago these ideas would have been obvious science fiction. Now it takes a bit longer to establish what parts are outlandish because so much of it is so much more plausible. It makes me think about how things will look in 2022. I don't have a strong expectation that any of these ideas in particular will come true. The future will likely be stranger still.

by Ryanmf 15y ago

rictic 15y ago

I read it as an exercise in science fiction, and imagining what will be possible with stuff that's not far beyond the current state of the art. Yes all of these ideas are unworkable right now. The shocking thing, when I stopped to think about it, is how much closer they are to being realistic than my gut instinct felt like they were. Sufficiently powerful computation, storage, and solar power are cheap and miniaturized. Hobbyists have used cameras tied to balloons to take video of the edge of space. Research projects have produced robots that can power themselves from biomass and sugars. All science fact. Ten years ago these ideas would have been obvious science fiction. Now it takes a bit longer to establish what parts are outlandish because so much of it is so much more plausible. It makes me think about how things will look in 2022. I don't have a strong expectation that any of these ideas in particular will come true. The future will likely be stranger still.