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Please read the source before commenting. I did and I’m surprised by what’s been said so far here. The context for the article is an alien from some other plane

Please read the source before commenting. I did and I’m surprised by what’s been said so far here. The context for the article is an alien from some other planet visiting Earth and taking inventory of human society (really the whole planet) every 50 years. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, I think the summary at the end does a good job of encompassing the perspective: “Visiting the planet every half-century has made her (the alien), unlike her Earth friends, an optimist. Humankind never goes the easy way around, and given the stakes, they could easily mess up—by starting World War III or being unprepared for a more lethal pandemic than COVID-19, unrestrained artificial intelligence, or the deadly consequences of the climate crisis. She reminds herself, and wishes the citizens of the planet could remember, that few living in 1974, 1924, or 1874 could have imagined the extraordinary progress earthlings have made since. Which, perhaps against her better judgment, gives her hope that she will get to visit in 2074 and be impressed once again.”

082349872349872 3y ago
I think many of us did read before commenting, and simply find that Huxley or Pohl or ... had much more interesting things to say about the problem than TFA. Sure, "the pie is big enough, it just needs to be sliced better" is true, and would be a simple technical sol'n, but as a social sol'n? Someone famously attempted to say much the same thing a few thousand years ago, but got nailed to sticks for his trouble.
- dmd 3y ago
  Why would you abbreviate “solution”?
  - 082349872349872 3y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitus_(sociology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitus_(sociology) , in particular signalling that people from my cultural background have historically been strong on the technical side but weak on the social. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39783112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39783112 might be a good intro?)
    - appplication 3y ago
      That layman’s introduction to Bourdieu was a nice read. I am getting a bit of an odd vibe from your claim of cultural technical superiority though. I assume it was intended to be more of a self-aware quip than anything else.
      - 082349872349872 3y ago
        Yes. In fact, the original use of "sol'n" was pure habit, and the habitus stuff is just a post-hoc way to (a) rationalise why I used it, and (b) introduce something I recently found interesting[0]. But it is a gang sign, of sorts — instead of throwing "westside" or some similar geographic allegiance[1], it's declaring (an actual, or a desired?) membership with that gang of people who care about systems, existence and uniqueness of sol'ns, and the distinction between general and particular sol'ns. Are we better at coming up with technical sol'ns than that other gang, those who spend their time finding new ways to tell people what they like to hear? That question I leave as an exercise for the reader. [0] compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_M._Kornbluth#:~:text=When%20Kornbluth%20wrote,on%20the%20'B's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_M._Kornbluth#:~:text=Whe... [1] compare https://external-preview.redd.it/TQRIW7YgWIIzjk4-yrci1V7VMxJhh4IqW6um3iwsJS0.jpg?auto=webp&s=da99c593e4a8800ff71b49864558fce7afa4ca3d https://external-preview.redd.it/TQRIW7YgWIIzjk4-yrci1V7VMxJ...

082349872349872 3y ago

I think many of us did read before commenting, and simply find that Huxley or Pohl or ... had much more interesting things to say about the problem than TFA. Sure, "the pie is big enough, it just needs to be sliced better" is true, and would be a simple technical sol'n, but as a social sol'n? Someone famously attempted to say much the same thing a few thousand years ago, but got nailed to sticks for his trouble.

dmd 3y ago
Why would you abbreviate “solution”?
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitus_(sociology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitus_(sociology) , in particular signalling that people from my cultural background have historically been strong on the technical side but weak on the social. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39783112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39783112 might be a good intro?)
  - appplication 3y ago
    That layman’s introduction to Bourdieu was a nice read. I am getting a bit of an odd vibe from your claim of cultural technical superiority though. I assume it was intended to be more of a self-aware quip than anything else.
    - 082349872349872 3y ago
      Yes. In fact, the original use of "sol'n" was pure habit, and the habitus stuff is just a post-hoc way to (a) rationalise why I used it, and (b) introduce something I recently found interesting[0]. But it is a gang sign, of sorts — instead of throwing "westside" or some similar geographic allegiance[1], it's declaring (an actual, or a desired?) membership with that gang of people who care about systems, existence and uniqueness of sol'ns, and the distinction between general and particular sol'ns. Are we better at coming up with technical sol'ns than that other gang, those who spend their time finding new ways to tell people what they like to hear? That question I leave as an exercise for the reader. [0] compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_M._Kornbluth#:~:text=When%20Kornbluth%20wrote,on%20the%20'B's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_M._Kornbluth#:~:text=Whe... [1] compare https://external-preview.redd.it/TQRIW7YgWIIzjk4-yrci1V7VMxJhh4IqW6um3iwsJS0.jpg?auto=webp&s=da99c593e4a8800ff71b49864558fce7afa4ca3d https://external-preview.redd.it/TQRIW7YgWIIzjk4-yrci1V7VMxJ...