Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

It’s the classic American route of attempting a technical solution to a societal problem.
 help



Technology is what solutions are made of. The "nontechnical solutions to societal problems" are the things like "wishful thinking", "pretending the problem doesn't exist", "wishing it away", etc.

(Which is fine when the problem is bullshit and there is nothing to solve, which actually may be the case here.)


ever heard of things like laws? like culture? like changing procedures instead of means?

unless you want to argue semantics and go 'actually they're all part of technology', but that makes your argument even less meaningful.


Right, I would argue they are part of technology, because bureaucracy clearly is, laws move in scope of what's possible and economically feasible, and culture is entirely downstream of that.

Or, put another way, you cannot "just change culture", not any more than you can make a river flow uphill by pushing water with your hands. You can splash some water around and make a little puddle, but it'll quickly flow back to rejoin the river and continue on its way.

Culture is always seeking a dynamic equilibrium, in a landscape defined by economics and technology constraints. The only way to achieve lasting change is to change the landscape.


>Right, I would argue they are part of technology, because bureaucracy clearly is, laws move in scope of what's possible and economically feasible, and culture is entirely downstream of that.

then you’re using different definition that everyone else, and bring nothing into discussion other than confusion.

>Or, put another way, you cannot "just change culture"

it isn't shaped just by technology. There are economic factors and cultural exchanges between different cultures.

This is purely tautological line of thinking, that brings nothing to discussion.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: