Our Decadent Society Peter Thiel review

[Pwns]

https://www.firstthings.com/article/202 ... the-future

Because we're living in a year that starts with a 2 and we ought to live like the Jetsons, right? I think Thiel and Douthat ignore that there are very real constraints that nature itself puts on what's possible.

Take the example of air travel (which Thiel has pointed out hasn't gotten faster in decades). How do you do make it faster? There's a ceiling to how much energy you can get per pound of combustible fuel. You can only make materials to make commercial aircraft so light while they're still strong enough to not get torn apart in the air.

It's the same thing with CPU speed. Processor speed on personal computers isn't slowing down because Intel is decadent, it's because it's harder to make transistors much smaller without quantum effects making them useless.

Basically, you can't create a science fiction-y world just by envisioning it, and frontiers in science and engineering are harder than they used to be.

Thoughts?

[CAA Flagship]

"The future ain't what it used to be."
- CAA Flagship

[kalm]

"The future ain't what it used to be."
- CAA Flagship

“Shellfish, danish cheeses, and fruit are good on pizza”

- kalm

[CAA Flagship]

"The future ain't what it used to be."
- CAA Flagship

“Shellfish, danish cheeses, and fruit are good on pizza”

- kalm

^^^ "The man's a menace."
- Judge Elihu Smails

[kalm]

“Shellfish, danish cheeses, and fruit are good on pizza”

- kalm

^^^ "The man's a menace."
- Judge Elihu Smails

“I like you, Flaggy”

[Ivytalk]

Thiel’s review is almost as long as Douthat’s book.

[CAA Flagship]

^^^ "The man's a menace."
- Judge Elihu Smails

“I like you, Flaggy”

"I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you."