I used to do work with chitosan, synthetic nacre, and keratin-based biomaterials. While they will have their direct uses we will need a cultural shift if they are to substantially replace petroleum-based materials.
301 karma · joined June 2, 2016
Especially in a urban area where everyone is stuck trying to get to home/work/etc, most cars appear to be looking for opportunities. Opportunities to get ahead, to squeeze through a left turn lane before oncoming traffic, to find an empty bike lane to drop off an uber eats order. With that opportunity, get ahead” mindset, cyclists do not register. Until, of course, something happens.
I find this sentence interesting in comparison to the phrase "dumb people talk about people, average people talk about things, smart people talk about ideas" that I've seen in various forms on the internet.
Hot take: People are over-optimizing for grand impact, while neglecting the more profound impact on the local level. Most people will not be senators, but I think many people, with some work, can run for office as an alderman, mayor, or county representative.
https://breakingsmart.substack.com/p/against-waldenponding
I highly recommend reading both.
Also, the author quotes Peter Thiel, claiming that the current cynicism towards self-driving technology is a type of "indefinite optimism" that hampers people's ability to plan the future. This is juxtaposed with the 1950's-1960's America, where Thiel claims "definite optimism" reigned. That type of indefinite optimism, at least in 1960's America, did not account for minorities, people of color, people of disabilities, etc. There was no future plan for them. Indefinite optimism, though it may appear lethargic and slow, at least is able to investigate the multitudes of edge-case scenarios that any $technology will face.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/gunned-down/
edit:grammar
(The following is my opinion taken from anecdotes about myself and reading about other philosophical works. I am not an expert on this subject).
The idea of "having a soul" is a core belief that is needed to hold up ideas of morals and debt. It's an idea perpetuated because people want to be flattered and people in positions of power can use it to influence the masses. As an example, think about when a person refuses to vote "for the lesser of two evils" in the US presidential election. From a utilitarian perspective, voting for the lesser does have benefit: it mitigates damage. But to the voter, it doesn't feel that way. "Having a soul" Does provide social value. Not voting for the lesser of two evils preserves ones integrity.
Granted I'm not saying people should transition to Realpolitik.
On a different note, this article reminds me of the book Walkaway. Unfortunately, we aren't at a place where hardware (meat space). Has the same instantaneous iteration, and recycling of elements as software.
Can someone please offer me a counterpoint, or counter-perspective?
Foe just an electronic whiteboard there are Boogieboards.
The good
- It's 13", so I can read/annotate full-size documents.
- Very little eye strain.
- Battery lasts almost a full week*
- There's a little bit of that "magic" when using it.
Neutral
- Syncing with computer and app is OK, nothing special.
The Bad
- It's fragile. Chipped plastic, and dead lines of pixels a year in.
- * Writing drains the battery faster than zooming/flipping pages. At a conference I barely lasted lasted a few hours of heavy writing.
Ten is a lot.
What are the chances of reviving something like it?
I’m a really big fan, even though build quality is sadly lacking.
I'm interested in reading more about this. Do you have books/research papers you recommend?
I use it on occasion instead of doing the 2 minute search dance.