Re: Fwd: You just went to the Google homepage. What actually happened?
Posted by
Robert J. Cordingley on
Mar 21, 2013; 10:41pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Fwd-You-just-went-to-the-Google-homepage-What-actually-happened-tp7582191p7582205.html
At the risk of hijacking the thread... I liked the comment on the
ycombinator:
PeterisP
There exists a viewpoint that in case of a cataclysm (which would
involve man-made objects disappearing*) we would never, ever
progress past 18th century tech again.
The argument is that getting from animal-powered devices to
solar/nuclear/whatever powered devices while at the same time
switching from 90%-agricultural workforce to anything more
progressive can happen only if there is a cheap source of energy
available - and we already have mined and spent all of easily
available fossil fuels.
Even if all kinds of fancy devices are available and constructed
by rich enthusiasts, the lack of cheap steam power ensures lack of
cheap steel/etc, and all the technologies don't get the mass
adoption required for their improvements, there are almost no
advantages for industrialization, so the world gets stuck in
feudal-agriculture systems as the local optimum.
which suggests the
Knowledge Ark
would be largely a waste of time.
* refers to a preceding comment.
Robert C
On 3/21/13 11:00 AM, Owen Densmore
wrote:
From
HN, a pointer to a delightfully clever essay that would be
loved by Nick and others who are often bewildered by the
hacker alphabet soup of acronyms and buzz words.
Well,
what _does_ happen when you got to a web page?
This has the possibility of
a new book that somehow makes it all reasonably clear. Maybe.
-- Owen
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