529 karma · joined September 21, 2017
Rich European countries which have solved this problem don't do it by putting all the homeless in Paris or Berlin. They're distributed throughout urban, suburban, and rural areas of the country, which is what we need to do.
I think the reason it hasn't been done is that it would change the character of the city in a way most people wouldn't consider positive.
That's not saying we shouldn't help them, but just that this is a national problem, not one that San Francisco can solve unilaterally.
http://hsh.sfgov.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017SanFranc...
To think this through: very few homeless people were born in San Francisco. Everyone has freedom of movement in this country. If San Francisco commits to house everyone within its municipal boundaries, we'll need to be prepared to house all the homeless from the rest of the state and the country as well.
In other words, the problem has to be solved at a national level.
Very big maybe. Given the extensive track record of human civilizations collapsing (Angkor Wat, Maya, etc) I'd suggest that investing in carbon-neutral tech is no guarantee there won't be more.
http://www.likelihoodofconfusion.com/who-owns-the-copyright-...
I saw a great talk from Alan Kay where he gives an argument that studying historical systems is important for innovation: Imagine all the possible directions computing could move toward over the next 50-60 years. Some will be good (near-optimal), but others will probably be a waste of time and merely pursued out of fashion, while some of today's good ideas will be dropped and forgotten.
Thus in the future, when programmers find they've reached a "dead end" / local maximum, they might study ideas from 2018 and find a way forward. In the same way, someone who wants to innovate today could be advised to explore some of the "paths not taken" from the 1950's and 60's.
To illustrate, there's a scene from "Better Off Dead" where the mother repeatedly says "Frawnch" in place of "French" trying to affect an authentic pronounciation, with predictably disastrous results https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhW7rpFhr2k
In all fairness, how many incidents will it take before boarding a train means 30 minutes of security theater?
Such a utopia: not only do the police have a monopoly on violence, but also private transportation.
In case you want me to answer, there are myriad advantages: the chance to work with your most preferred tools, on a product that's more interesting you, with maximally compatible coworkers, etc. All the normal reasons people go somewhere besides where they were born for a job.
I.e. a steep curve means a high ratio of time spent looking for answers / reading docs; a flat curve means you're proceeding with the task feeling productive.
> The term learning curve with meanings of easy and difficult can be described with adjectives like short and long rather than steep and shallow
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Learning_curve&se...
Opportunity is relative. By giving it to one person, you're taking it away from another.