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Lee Kuan Yew on what made Singapore successful: “Air conditioning. … It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics. W

Lee Kuan Yew on what made Singapore successful: “Air conditioning. … It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics. Without air conditioning you can work only in the cool early-morning hours or at dusk. The first thing I did upon becoming prime minister was to install air conditioners in buildings where the civil service worked. This was key to public efficiency.”

lezojeda 1y ago
[dead]
matheusmoreira 1y ago
Popular joke here in Brazil: Why don't we have mafias? Too hot to wear suits.
- thaumasiotes 1y ago
  Is it too hot to wear Arab-style robes? (I'm not saying that those are a Mafia hallmark, but I do wonder whether the robes would make sense in Brazil. As far as I'm aware they are the gold standard of heat-adapted clothing. They probably don't do much about humidity.)
  - sdeer 1y ago
    I am from eastern India, not Brazil. It is definitely too humid to wear robes. Arabia is dry and hot, very different from humid and hot.
    - thaumasiotes 1y ago
      Really? Here's an image of what I take to be some Indian clothing: https://www.lerevecraze.com/product/mep14377/ https://www.lerevecraze.com/product/mep14377/ And here's some Arab clothing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dishdasha.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dishdasha.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thawb#/media/File:Sheikh_Mohammed_Bin_Rashid_and_Mohammad_Al_Gergawi_during_World_Government_Summit.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thawb#/media/File:Sheikh_Moham... They don't look very different, to me. I pulled this from a Bangladeshi newspaper's website: https://cdn.bd-pratidin.com/public/news_images/2025/09/29/1759124098-9bf4989c13221da464270f151d4201b2.jpg https://cdn.bd-pratidin.com/public/news_images/2025/09/29/17...
yen223 1y ago
As someone who grew up in a tropical country and has moved to a temperate one, this rings very true. It is significantly easier to walk in 20C, 50% humidity than to walk the same distance in 28C, 100% humidity. You get lethargic really quickly in a hot humid area. Every physical action just feels easier in a temperate climate than in a tropical one. Which is why air-conditioning is such a big deal - it lets you get temperate conditions in a tropical location.
schiffern 1y ago
Combining AC with some of the modern low-cost roof coatings could be a game changer for reducing the total global amount of AC this will require. https://www.habitat.org/emea/stories/how-excel-coolcoat-making-life-cooler-india https://www.habitat.org/emea/stories/how-excel-coolcoat-maki... https://www.xlcoatings.com/cool-roof-paint-cool-coat https://www.xlcoatings.com/cool-roof-paint-cool-coat
- adolph 1y ago
  Cue the Tech Ingredients episode: Revolutionary Paint: How to Make Surfaces Stay Cool in the Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk
  - schiffern 1y ago
    I love this video, and similar by NightHawkInLight,[0] but (as they would agree) it's not a commercial product just yet. For a while I've thought the first thing to coat with a fancy "Free AC" paint should be... the AC! For most sky-cooling rigs the main cost is pipes or panels on the roof to move heat from inside to outside, but AC is already moving heat. AC units operate at a higher temperature, so it should emit more IR radiation as T^4 (meaning a small increase makes a big difference). Most AC has a pretty good sky view, but maybe not as ideal as the roof. It seems ironic to use "No AC" paint on your AC, but the physics and economics doesn't lie. Per square inch it's probably the most effective place! [0] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1a2HkcVbmAWExiWT__qQypLEwkvijnIM https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1a2HkcVbmAWExiWT__qQ...
layman51 1y ago
How do we square this with what happened when imperialist people went into areas with much hotter weather to establish colonies? Were the colonists less efficient back then when air conditioning didn't exist yet? Or could it be that these area weren't as hot in earlier centuries as they are today? Also, what are the implications for countries with imperialist pasts that are getting hotter due to climate change?
- DougN7 1y ago
  My guess is the answer involves slavery/forced labor.
  - captn3m0 1y ago
    https://scroll.in/article/1028513/amidst-uk-heatwave-a-reminder-of-how-british-colonials-exploited-punkah-walas-in-indias-summers https://scroll.in/article/1028513/amidst-uk-heatwave-a-remin...
    - layman51 1y ago
      Thank you for sharing this article. I had never learned of this type of fan before, but I always wondered about how the people from Europe who weren't used to the heat would have coped with it, especially with how in recent times there has been news coverage about heat domes and infrastructure that might have been designed for a different climate.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- sigwinch 1y ago
  We see Egypt colonizing its hotter neighbors, but it seems no administrator considered himself lucky to have the job.
yreew 1y ago
I wish it is that simple. AC is everywhere now and my country is still poor.

lezojeda 1y ago

[dead]

matheusmoreira 1y ago

Popular joke here in Brazil: Why don't we have mafias? Too hot to wear suits.

thaumasiotes 1y ago
Is it too hot to wear Arab-style robes? (I'm not saying that those are a Mafia hallmark, but I do wonder whether the robes would make sense in Brazil. As far as I'm aware they are the gold standard of heat-adapted clothing. They probably don't do much about humidity.)
- sdeer 1y ago
  I am from eastern India, not Brazil. It is definitely too humid to wear robes. Arabia is dry and hot, very different from humid and hot.
  - thaumasiotes 1y ago
    Really? Here's an image of what I take to be some Indian clothing: https://www.lerevecraze.com/product/mep14377/ https://www.lerevecraze.com/product/mep14377/ And here's some Arab clothing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dishdasha.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dishdasha.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thawb#/media/File:Sheikh_Mohammed_Bin_Rashid_and_Mohammad_Al_Gergawi_during_World_Government_Summit.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thawb#/media/File:Sheikh_Moham... They don't look very different, to me. I pulled this from a Bangladeshi newspaper's website: https://cdn.bd-pratidin.com/public/news_images/2025/09/29/1759124098-9bf4989c13221da464270f151d4201b2.jpg https://cdn.bd-pratidin.com/public/news_images/2025/09/29/17...

yen223 1y ago

As someone who grew up in a tropical country and has moved to a temperate one, this rings very true. It is significantly easier to walk in 20C, 50% humidity than to walk the same distance in 28C, 100% humidity. You get lethargic really quickly in a hot humid area. Every physical action just feels easier in a temperate climate than in a tropical one. Which is why air-conditioning is such a big deal - it lets you get temperate conditions in a tropical location.

schiffern 1y ago

Combining AC with some of the modern low-cost roof coatings could be a game changer for reducing the total global amount of AC this will require. https://www.habitat.org/emea/stories/how-excel-coolcoat-making-life-cooler-india https://www.habitat.org/emea/stories/how-excel-coolcoat-maki... https://www.xlcoatings.com/cool-roof-paint-cool-coat https://www.xlcoatings.com/cool-roof-paint-cool-coat

adolph 1y ago
Cue the Tech Ingredients episode: Revolutionary Paint: How to Make Surfaces Stay Cool in the Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk
- schiffern 1y ago
  I love this video, and similar by NightHawkInLight,[0] but (as they would agree) it's not a commercial product just yet. For a while I've thought the first thing to coat with a fancy "Free AC" paint should be... the AC! For most sky-cooling rigs the main cost is pipes or panels on the roof to move heat from inside to outside, but AC is already moving heat. AC units operate at a higher temperature, so it should emit more IR radiation as T^4 (meaning a small increase makes a big difference). Most AC has a pretty good sky view, but maybe not as ideal as the roof. It seems ironic to use "No AC" paint on your AC, but the physics and economics doesn't lie. Per square inch it's probably the most effective place! [0] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1a2HkcVbmAWExiWT__qQypLEwkvijnIM https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1a2HkcVbmAWExiWT__qQ...

layman51 1y ago

How do we square this with what happened when imperialist people went into areas with much hotter weather to establish colonies? Were the colonists less efficient back then when air conditioning didn't exist yet? Or could it be that these area weren't as hot in earlier centuries as they are today? Also, what are the implications for countries with imperialist pasts that are getting hotter due to climate change?

DougN7 1y ago
My guess is the answer involves slavery/forced labor.
- captn3m0 1y ago
  https://scroll.in/article/1028513/amidst-uk-heatwave-a-reminder-of-how-british-colonials-exploited-punkah-walas-in-indias-summers https://scroll.in/article/1028513/amidst-uk-heatwave-a-remin...
  - layman51 1y ago
    Thank you for sharing this article. I had never learned of this type of fan before, but I always wondered about how the people from Europe who weren't used to the heat would have coped with it, especially with how in recent times there has been news coverage about heat domes and infrastructure that might have been designed for a different climate.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
sigwinch 1y ago
We see Egypt colonizing its hotter neighbors, but it seems no administrator considered himself lucky to have the job.

yreew 1y ago

I wish it is that simple. AC is everywhere now and my country is still poor.