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> decelerating our technological progress Deceleration from what velocity? That of the 1800s? the 1900s? It seems obvious to me this isn't the case.
by damon_c 12y ago
> decelerating our technological progress
Deceleration from what velocity? That of the 1800s? the 1900s? It seems obvious to me this isn't the case.
- tomp 12y agoThat of the 1950/60/70s. The last space race and the cold war provided us with plenty technologies (transistor, computers, GPS, internet) that are still the main drivers of progress nowadays.
- jl6 12y agoI think this point of view ignores all the boring, unsexy, non-headline-grabbing progress that has developed 1950s inventions into what we have today. Progress is the aggregate of millions of very small advances.
- damon_c 12y agoYes, and you could also argue that if our progress rate was sampled at a rate proportional to the total duration of human progress, the period from the 1950's to today is really one sample and the curve at this moment is just beginning to look like a hockey stick.
- jchrisa 12y agoHere's a lengthy counter argument. https://libcom.org/library/flying-cars-declining-rate-profit-david-graeber https://libcom.org/library/flying-cars-declining-rate-profit...