A company that converts VC dollars into a decentralized, culturally immutable currency, preferably made of some sort of highly conductive, wear-resistant material that people will store and exchange for goods and services.
There is nothing wrong about being a plumber, electrician, carpenter etc, except when your dad is a carpenter, and you see him breaking his knees all day, while the media is flooded by young, good-looking people making twice what he makes working in an air-conditioned building with a gym and bean bags chairs.
Then everyone wants to do it, and suddenly big companies get their pick ivy league applicants, Podunk U gets a pile of cash for selling a dream, and the young adult is left on the hook.
You ell what we want and what we can have are often very different things. This has been true literally since the dawn of time, so I'm not sure what your point is.
I like that term, "valence hijacking" and I don't disagree. Ultimately I think we as a society are approaching a pivotal point where any body (individual or institution) are so afraid of a drag through the public square for their statements/image that we have created de facto censorship on what is "appropriate" and what "is not", which might have negative repercussions on what is allowed under freedom of expression and free discourse.
Well hey, there you have it! That's precisely why you see "mirimir" as the author of this comment. Because, you know, my meatspace persona can't tolerate anything at all controversial. I learned my lesson on Usenet :( And the climate is way^N worse now.
A serious question here, and not trying to ruffle any SV'ers feathers, but why do you see autonomous vehicles to be as valuable as...say transistors, or satellites? In terms of long term usefulness for the 99% who care much more about turning up at work on time and/or transporting things efficiently from one place to another.
My favorite explanation of why autonomous vehicles will be so game changing is this imagined future conversation:
[30 years in the future...]
My son: Wait...you mean to tell me that people used to operate multi-ton machines, with a minimum of training, in a range of different conditions, and relied solely on human reflexes and human attention span to avoid collisions?
Me: Yes
My son: And nobody was killed?!?
Me: Oh no! People died ALL THE TIME!
---
Look at any source you like, and it's as clear as day: the LEADING cause of death for individuals in their prime productive years (late teens through late 30s) is the automobile! If autonomous cars are even a fraction safer than human drivers, the impact it will have on demographics and population productivity will be MASSIVE.
"the LEADING cause of death for individuals in their prime productive years"
No matter how unlikely it is to die in your prime, something will be the leading cause. Since it is very unlikely to die in your prime in modern first world countries, why focus on that? Are we going to go on a crusade to eliminate bathtubs next? I may be biased, because I'm now too old to die young...
You are thinking of scheduled flights. But general aviation is 80 times more dangerous. So we have refrained from applying an extreme safety culture to all flying. Obviously because there is a trade-off between people being able to do it and safety.
Autonomous vehicles could optimize routes and driving to get things to places faster, reduce stress while driving, and create safer roads. If the tech was widespread enough, there could be autonomous lanes that can drive at very fast speeds too.
Great Post!
I'm probably a similar age. I grew up learning how to use a bandsaw, compound miter saw and generally learning how to do woodwork that could hold it's own. I grew up with computers and electronics and turned that into a professional career.
But after helping my Dad build a wooden spiral staircase with nothing more than his experience/intuition, I have immense respect for people who don't need a reference like Youtube to make something remarkable.
As a side note, it really pays to sit down sometimes and assess what I can do personally without the safety net of a reference or guidelines.
