A new era of innovation? When COVID-19 hit, a disturbing fact loomed: historically, it has taken more than a decade on average to develop new vaccines. What most people didn’t learn until late 2020 was that cutting-edge mRNA technology had enabled scientists to develop an effective vaccine, not in decades or even years, but in two days.
Human ingenuity is the ultimate source of progress, but the environment in which ingenuity operates sets our era apart from other historical periods. Today's incredible diversity and depth in the division of labor (better called the "division of production") is unmatched in history. This increasing specialization requires prior progress, a large interdependent and cooperative society ("globalism"), and, most critically, economic freedom. In other words, human ingenuity cannot thrive without freedom in all markets - markets in goods, services, and most critically, in ideas. So it's great and right to praise and thank the innovators, but they will only rise to the top if we safeguard the fertile political and economic field on which they thrive.
What moves the world forward--the creative mind. Thank you for this excellent and desperately needed project. Indeed, "The future's so bright. I gotta wear shades". The true magic of life is the human mind, and the magic of it is that it's not magic.
Good article, though I am not sure we have a good measure of economic activity since government spending is included in the GDP and tends to throw things off. But you have a good answer -- in a word Freedom and individual rights are foundational to ingenuity.
I am really glad to see you are taking on this project. It is badly needed.
Isn't the point about Silicon Valley (with the emphasis on "silicon") that it did great things back when Intel and Hewlett Packard were young and growing, but today they and many other US silicon focused companies are either gone or struggling. What changed? The short answer is: what made these Silicon Valley companies successful was misunderstood and hated.
In the place of the old guard, a new generation of silicon focused companies like Apple, AMD, Qualcomm and TSMC (in Taiwan) have taken over. Will the new guard survive and thrive? That depends on what how they address the same issues that faced the old guard before them.
Today people think mostly about Silicon Valley from the software based startups created there, but there are at least two generations of silicon focused companies before them to learn from.
Good stuff.
Confused about the line about rising CO2, especially as it’s coupled with extreme poverty.
I love this. You’re in a good position to become my new favorite newsletter!
The connection, exploration, and environment framework is very nice.
I've been waiting for a while! Glad you are finally here!
The "decade to two days" narrative seems like faulty logic, but looking forward to more of your content.
Does the eg. of Alibaba work? It came up in a not so free country.
Human ingenuity is the ultimate source of progress, but the environment in which ingenuity operates sets our era apart from other historical periods. Today's incredible diversity and depth in the division of labor (better called the "division of production") is unmatched in history. This increasing specialization requires prior progress, a large interdependent and cooperative society ("globalism"), and, most critically, economic freedom. In other words, human ingenuity cannot thrive without freedom in all markets - markets in goods, services, and most critically, in ideas. So it's great and right to praise and thank the innovators, but they will only rise to the top if we safeguard the fertile political and economic field on which they thrive.
Great proposal! I hope to learn how to work in the field of biomedical engineering and accelerate progress.
What moves the world forward--the creative mind. Thank you for this excellent and desperately needed project. Indeed, "The future's so bright. I gotta wear shades". The true magic of life is the human mind, and the magic of it is that it's not magic.
https://youtu.be/s1GWg8Ugim4
Good article, though I am not sure we have a good measure of economic activity since government spending is included in the GDP and tends to throw things off. But you have a good answer -- in a word Freedom and individual rights are foundational to ingenuity.
I am really glad to see you are taking on this project. It is badly needed.
Isn't the point about Silicon Valley (with the emphasis on "silicon") that it did great things back when Intel and Hewlett Packard were young and growing, but today they and many other US silicon focused companies are either gone or struggling. What changed? The short answer is: what made these Silicon Valley companies successful was misunderstood and hated.
In the place of the old guard, a new generation of silicon focused companies like Apple, AMD, Qualcomm and TSMC (in Taiwan) have taken over. Will the new guard survive and thrive? That depends on what how they address the same issues that faced the old guard before them.
Today people think mostly about Silicon Valley from the software based startups created there, but there are at least two generations of silicon focused companies before them to learn from.