Niko, I'm running out of superlatives to describe your newsletter! It just keeps getting better and better...
When are you going to accept levels of subscription? I'm totally opposed to paywalls and monetization of the forum... however, some of us I'm sure would love to support this effort you are making... So long as you keep all the information open to all, don't restrict comment privileges and all the other ills that bedevil the substack environment.
Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your kind words. No plans to monetize yet. I do this purely because I enjoy it and want to learn. I do my best, make mistakes, and people correct me. There's a beauty to writing in public.
I feel good enough about my existing employment that I don't feel like I need additional money. I'm probably overcompensated as it is.
I am generally interested in Progress Studies, e.g. what inventions and discoveries yield the greatest benefit for humankind, and trying to understand why. No, I don't think more knowledge is automatically a benefit, or an indication of progress. Lots of papers are technically "new" but are otherwise not useful or important. Another example: Easier access to long, synthesized DNA strands is not necessarily beneficial, especially if it's used to make bioweapons, which seems like a real possibility within the next 5 years.
Those are EXCELLENT questions, Mr. Tanny. We should be asking them. So far as I know economic imperatives are driving the show rather than prudential considerations. The Fifth Industrial Revolution is arriving just as the Sixth Extinction is gaining momentum.. both linked to the explosive growth of human knowledge. We should step back and reflect on these topics. But we don't have a very good track record on restraint when it comes to exploiting new technologies.
Niko, I'm running out of superlatives to describe your newsletter! It just keeps getting better and better...
When are you going to accept levels of subscription? I'm totally opposed to paywalls and monetization of the forum... however, some of us I'm sure would love to support this effort you are making... So long as you keep all the information open to all, don't restrict comment privileges and all the other ills that bedevil the substack environment.
Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your kind words. No plans to monetize yet. I do this purely because I enjoy it and want to learn. I do my best, make mistakes, and people correct me. There's a beauty to writing in public.
I feel good enough about my existing employment that I don't feel like I need additional money. I'm probably overcompensated as it is.
Understand completely. I'm in the same fortunate position, even retired.. 🙂
Hey Phil,
I am generally interested in Progress Studies, e.g. what inventions and discoveries yield the greatest benefit for humankind, and trying to understand why. No, I don't think more knowledge is automatically a benefit, or an indication of progress. Lots of papers are technically "new" but are otherwise not useful or important. Another example: Easier access to long, synthesized DNA strands is not necessarily beneficial, especially if it's used to make bioweapons, which seems like a real possibility within the next 5 years.
Those are EXCELLENT questions, Mr. Tanny. We should be asking them. So far as I know economic imperatives are driving the show rather than prudential considerations. The Fifth Industrial Revolution is arriving just as the Sixth Extinction is gaining momentum.. both linked to the explosive growth of human knowledge. We should step back and reflect on these topics. But we don't have a very good track record on restraint when it comes to exploiting new technologies.