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comment by veen
veen  ·  3718 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Neotechnological Luddism

    I've seen a growing trend around here towards the Singularity. Towards 3D printing. Towards transhumanism. Hyperloops. Thorium fusion. Rose-tinted Jetsons stuff. And, recognizing my nasty tendency to spoil everyone's fun, I hereby foreswear any participation in these threads. It's no fun for anyone - I piss in everyone's cheerios and the dreams die a little. Meanwhile I grump about wondering why nobody pays attention.

C'mon, do we really need to tell you that your comments are valued? Ignorance might be bliss, but it ain't the truth.

I think people have the need to dream. Projects like those are easy to dream about. Which is fine and okay if it's not too realistic, but not if millions of research dollars are spent on a lost cause. On the other hand, we really do need to think of new ways to produce energy, to improve health and reduce our pressure on the planet. Finding the balance between ambition and realism is damned hard.