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This is the "stick my head in the sand" techno-optimist take. The physics of our world defines what is possible, and no amount of "trying to innovate" can overc
by Invictus0 3y ago
This is the "stick my head in the sand" techno-optimist take. The physics of our world defines what is possible, and no amount of "trying to innovate" can overcome, for instance, the poor economics of the Hyperloop or flying cars. This author makes a compelling argument that the physics underlying the human vestibular system is unable to handle the Omni treadmill, even with a technically perfect implementation. You can't just "innovate" past physics.
- CBarkleyU 3y agoDon't use poor economics with physical impossibilities interchangeably. It's something that my late ICE professor did all the time about EVs in the mid 2000s up until his death in the mid 2010s. He was extremely bright, very knowledgeable and pretty much "the" in his little ICE niche and yet he was always talking about how EVs wouldn't be teh future because [physically possible but outlandish thing]. Energy density, price per kwh, weight, battery management, charging infrastructure. All things that he was all to happy with going on national TV to declare that EVs were a pipe dream. Unfortunately he died at a young age and didn't get to see the EV revolution and the Tesla Model Y selling more units than his beloved Golf in Europe. The thing is, and that's my actual point, you can't innovate past physics, but you sure can innovate past poor economics.