I am sure to the French the English and Americans seem insincere. With its false politeness and friendliness to people you don't know.
As an American who lives in the North East section of the country, I often find people who are in the Southern Regions a bit too friendly to be trustworthy. My Culture has taught me, If someone you don't know is too friendly with you, they are probably trying to sell you something, the more friendly they are the more they are going to rip you off. That said, as an American, there are standards of politeness and well defined areas considered acceptable. Talk to people with at least a 1 meter gap between the other, but no more then 2 meters. Give people a firm handshake with eye contact, smile while introducing yourself. Ask "How Are You" when asked you answer you are "Doing Well" or "Good" even if you are not. When asked to be somewhere at a particular time, I am allowed +/- 5 minutes until I am considered late.
But these are cultural norms. In other countries and even areas of the United States, may either seem overly friendly and getting too close to a stranger, or to others may make you seem distant, and combative.
You know if you don't tailgate the car in front of you, you don't get fumes in your face, also you have a few more seconds to react to change in driving patterns. The guideline is 3 seconds of space between you and the car ahead of you. (6 seconds in inclement weather). So at a slow 30 mph you have 40+ feet between you and the car. Plenty of space for the fumes to dissipate.
Well it isn't going be be like a limo ride. The Smell is mostly in your head, the probably is your car that you commute back an forth too reeks far more then the Public Transport does. But you have gotten use to it, and you would get use to Public Transport as well. In terms of comfort. The real question comes down to distance. The Car seat even for small cars are designed for sitting for hours comfortably. but for public transit. a 10-15 minute trip would not be such a painful experience. Public transit seating is often just as conformable if not more so, then the seating at a 5 star restaurant. As you just sit on wooden chairs.
It seems like a lot of companies are pulling this crap, And I don't know why either. I have worked as a developer for such companies, and they don't know why they are doing it either. It is like all the PC users who use this software that is installed on their system, is for the most part massively overpowered, and can handle these requests perfectly fine by themselves. Adding a server component adds complexity to the host software, and adds headache at the server side too as now we have to make sure all this data is extra secure. Because it is traveling over the internet and not just bouncing around the PC memory.
Just as long as Netflix keeps on expanding its non original content as well, it will keep its advantage. The problem with CBS all access and Disney (to a lesser extent) is that we when we want to watch media normally doesn't care too much on who produced it, If I am paying 13 a month, and I am getting a good set of shows I want to watch then that is good. However for CBS I am paying 10 for one perhaps two shows I would want to watch, and that isn't as much of a value for me. And at least for my sensibilities there isn't a single TV show worth that much, especially on a reoccurring bill, on where if I want to cancel it, I will need to overcome my anxieties to talk on the phone with a pushy sales person to cancel it, which then as far as I am concerned is one of those hidden expenses I just don't want to deal with.
I put more blame on the Cable TV Stations, then on the Cable Company themselves (with the exception for the ones that own stations)
Back in the early-mid 1990's Cable TV had stations that were actually more focused, and less general trying to meet the general market.
The Discovery Channel was full of documentaries, covering a wide range of topics. Not reality TV about fishermen. The History Channel covered historical events (at the time I thought it was a bit heavy on WWII) but that is better then fake history and covering possibility of aliens. Cartoon Network showed a bunch of classic cartoons (in the early 2000's they had a good set of their own work too)
While the exact show you wanted to watch may not be on, there was probably something interesting to see at the moment. Now it seems each channel had found the few shows that it makes the makes the most money on and shows them over and over again. Which is a shame, because every once in a while they make some good content, which no one really sees, because they stop looking at that channel to see what is on.
Cable channels seems to be fighting Netflix with Bing watching, by making their shows in binges as well. Which just really isn't a good use of the medium. Cable TV is better for exploring new things, and Netflix is to get you Nostalgia fix.
Are you asking for a Logical response. Then I expect it would be at a point where unemployment is 0%, and everyone has the ability to live the way they want to. If you are asking for the emotional Response. 'merica #1! we need to show the world that we are right about everything and show the errors in their way.
I personally don't care of the US rank in economy, however I like to see continuous improvement over time, if every generation is getting a better quality life, and the amount of suffering is down, we could be in last place. Because if we are always getting better then things are good.
I read the title, and I was thinking of Chilie's Bar and Grill, (a somewhat popular food chain in the US). I was picturing some early 20 something store manager, just getting tricked by this guy. Then I read a little further realize it was the country.
The United States has the worlds most powerful economy. China is second but growing much faster then the US one is. Our instinct is What is the US doing wrong, we are falling behind. But the real question is what is China doing wrong to be second to the United States. In terms of geography China has roughly the same size as the United States, with access to a lot of resources. Their population (about 10x of the United states) is huge, they have a higher available working base. They are located next to many countries with large economies, Japan, Korea, India, and Russia.
In short China has the capacity to eclipse the American Economy, but it is still a distant second. So what are they doing wrong, that America should avoid. Vs America changing its methods, just because China is catching up to them. Because if America follows the wrong things, we will just be putting ourselves in a disadvantage.
I think Google is doing something similar to what the Interstate did with America.
Older roads use to go into small towns, where drivers will fill up, have a meal, check out a little of the local culture. Then they put in the interstate system, which connected big cities together, and drive by small towns, sometimes without an exit to them. With the promise of a fast MPH speed on the road, you can get from Point A to Point B much faster, but the small towns have been left out and are now shadows of their former self.
For your statement #1, there aren't many good options for you to advance your career without a college degree. America needs to enhance its vocational training to many white collar jobs and the jobs that may need specialized skills but not the particular rigors of a college degree.
For statement #2 Schools already try to hard to make sure patients pass college. (Basically due to lack of career options without a degree). And undergrad degree should actually really mean something, because a lot of students should be washed out of college, or be sure if you go to college you are ready for the rigors. Now colleges should do more then the 100 students in a lecture hall, with a professor who doesn't speak the language common with students, ranting for 2 hours. Only to have students then just read the book and hope they read the material that will allow them to pass the test. But in college there is too much of a curve grading, and simplifying of information so students can pass.
They are still subprime loans going out. But I think the next recession will probably be due to different problems. Mostly due to closing off borders and trade. Current policies and actions seems to be cutting business off from a customer base (Other countries are avoiding US goods and services to avoid Tariffs, and looking for countries to partner with who have a better trade deals). This will not be a overnight thing, as it takes time to change vendors and find replacements, also early on some new local customers will come in because they cannot buy a foreign goods. But overall this is going to cut down on the customer base. Which then will lower corporate profits. Where these companies will buy less goods (hurting B2B goods) and laying off workers who will not be customers for other goods and services. Which causes a feedback loop onto itself, which drags into a recession.
Now the real scary part, is the fact there are cuts in the budget towards government services, and safety net options. So when the next recession hits, there is less the government can do to help recover. Interest rates are still too low, there is lack of effort in creating large government infrastructure projects. And a push to make people who take Social Safety net services to seem like they are just bad people, and cutting these services so they cannot withstand a recession.
So while the next recession may not be in a Crash like in 2008, I don't see a quick recovery. Even if they pull back all the mistakes of the last couple of years, it will take a long time to get the customer base back.
If I were a CEO I would task the CIO/CTO to worry about Cyber Security, just make sure you have enough money set aside to help pay for their recommendations. But the CEO should be more worried about recessions. Because Recessions cut the number of customers, a cut in customers cuts profit and growth.
This is something I don't think Microsoft really gets.
The Average person don't need PC's anymore. Most of their computing experience can be done with a phone or tablet. For the people who do need PC's need them for real work. Microsoft is continuously making the UI meant for tablet and home users, while frustrating people who need to do real work. When I am on a PC, I am expecting to want to use multiple apps at the same time, take advantage of the big screen to have all the apps available visible and usable at once. I have a full keyboard, I am going to want to use it as much as possible, also I will still have a mouse or a pointer, the work layout doesn't allow for touch screen to be all that useful.
Oddly enough, for me, I wish all the major OS's were not Windows (as in the UI methodology) based or full screen App. But had a good Frame type interface, where I can layout all my apps, resize the content where they are usable, but may be smaller then designed. Windows just get messy. and full screen, is just unproductive.
That was a great feature, the phone was designed to mold itself to the owners butt, making it more comfortable to carry over time.
However I never got why people put their phone in their back pocket. It is like hold on a moment while I pull something from my butt and put it next to my face.
Ah the I love Retro, however I want all the modern features post.
The Razr was a top of the line consumer phone at the time. Not because of its features, but because how thin it was. During its time we had smart phones such as the blackberry and other that were darn close to blackberries running Windows CE and Windows x Mobile. Which gave a lot of features. However they were larger and bulky, and expensive. So the Razr was popular.
Now I am tired of the rectangle glass screen design for a phone. But I don't see the Razr as being an upgrade, because as you are pointing out, you will need the modern features on the phone, we can't go back to just having a number pad.
These messenger apps, have been doing the same thing for the past 20+ years? I never really see a reason to switch other then the fact the people who I want to chat with are on an other service? I remember doing ICQ, to AOL Instant Messenger, Then to Facebook messenger. Over the decades I havn't really seen any killer feature in them. The biggest features I have seen was Group Chats, and image and video attachments. They all seem to want to give us Ads, an or collect my data, and have to go via some sort of centralized server where any message could be spied upon.
You mean small cold blooded animals, who had adapted for millions of years for a particular climate have trouble to a rapidly changing climate?
The problem with global Climate change, isn't that the Climate is changing, but the speed of the change. While many of these animals can deal with fluctuations of weathers and seasons. The change in climate means the number of bad seasons for them outweighs the number of good ones, so it just leads to long term pressure on their survival. While there are other issues such as toxic pollution and insecticides, these type of problems are more localized, and it issues diminish further away from the source. While Climate change affects the world.
The problem is although it is happening very fast in terms of climate, it is still too small for humans who are not looking at data to notice that much, and we will generally react to the weather. Look a Record Cold day where your Global Warming!, or It is a really Hot day because of global warming. Humans as an animal are rather tolerant to changing climates, as we are able to successfully survive and thrive in most climates, so if there is a 4c average difference in temperature, it isn't a big deal for us. But other animals don't have the same tolerance as us. Especially Animals without such an advance heating and cooling system to keep our internal body at the right temperature.
What is your hate against Startups? Do you just want to keep the big heartless corporations, and oppose all new ideas and products. Where thousands of people can get fired off because their unit has slightly less profit then the other?
The startup and small business is really the heart and sole of most economies. While the big companies may get all the political attention, because if they go out of business thousands of people would effect the community, that they are in. But the small business and startups actually hold the lion share of the economy. While each startup is higher risk then a big company, overall on on the Macro level they allow the economy to be far more robust.
The history of the wheel never really focused on the idea, look we are making these crazy shaped objects and trying to use them as a wheel, and they just don't work better. The nature of rolling and round things was understood well before the invention of the wheel. Where people would be rolling things on logs. The invention of the wheel is actually the invention of the Axel, where people no longer had to pick up the logs and move it to the front only to roll to the back. The Axel which was smaller radius then the wheel, lowered the amount of friction thus allowed it to roll with less effort then having to move logs, as the axle will be fixed.
Now the early Wheel and Axel had a lot of problems, where it couldn't replace sleds, or rolling logs. Because it may break too often, or the wheels were to narrow for the terrain, and sinking into the ground. The principal of the wheel and axle was understood, but the materials at hand and infrastructure made it impractical. Until advancements in metallurgy to cut down friction even further, and strengthen weak spots. and Infrastructure, roads paved with stones to prevent the wheel from sinking. Made the Wheel a practical tool for society.
Even thousands of year later with constant advancements in the wheel. We sometimes will need to roll back to a sled or rolling logs, because there are environments (such as soft muddy soil) where the wheel would get stuck and the weight carried is too much for it. I am sure any 4 wheel ATV user may realize that sometimes you get into a spot that you just cannot drive out. And you may need to cut down a small tree, or use some boards to create a road, or sled to get you ATV unstuck.
AI isn't rubbish, it is Over Hyped though. The problem with robotics and AI. In order for them to match the capabilities of humans, many of their superior attributes will need to be cut back in order to get these traits. So we end up with something in theory just like a human without any real benefit.
I have a Rumba. It does its jobs and keeps my floor clean, but it isn't as good as if I were to do it myself. As I can vacuum my whole house in about 30 minutes, while the Rumba just does the first floor in about an hour (and misses spots). But what it is good at is the fact that it does this scheduled daily. Where I only have the time to do this weekly. So the spots it misses, it will get the next day. So a Robot designed to just vacuum the house, doesn't do a better job then a human. But it doesn't get tired of doing it, and it is its only purpose so it will be less efficient but overall more effective. Now the Rumba basically has the AI of Pong. But to the point unless a persons only job is to vacuum a house once a day, AI will not be taking their jobs. Because if a Maid's employer did get a Rumba, the Maid would still be performing other tasks, and probably will be picking up tasks that she wasn't able to perform as well at before. Such as more time dusting areas, or cleaning other areas. So the Employers house is overall cleaner without having to fire anyone.
They have experts for a reason other then just being a well spoken advocate for "The Man" One of the biggest issue I have with our current state of things, Experts are just ignored or discredited because they have found that some things may not be convenient for the person, worse conflict with their world view, or even worse going against your aligned parties talking points.
Nuclear Energy really should be in America energy play book, to supplement and support other forms of green energy as well. That said Nuclear Energy is dangerous and need proper oversight and controls, with a clear disaster plan ready. It isn't a Clean, Safe to Cheap to Meter energy. But it is a powerful source of energy with its current environmental trade offs not conflicting with the largest problem we have now which is CO2 emissions.
Some of the biggest problems there are too many people who just want energy at any cost, and people who are thinking of a Utopian free energy with no trade offs. Proper planning is knowing the trade-offs, understand if an area can deal with it and if the energy created is worth the risk.
There are a lot of women gamers out there, who are playing the same rough and tumble games the guys are, being that their gender can be remain anonymous, no one really knows who bested them or not.
Slashdot Mirror
I am sure to the French the English and Americans seem insincere. With its false politeness and friendliness to people you don't know.
As an American who lives in the North East section of the country, I often find people who are in the Southern Regions a bit too friendly to be trustworthy.
My Culture has taught me, If someone you don't know is too friendly with you, they are probably trying to sell you something, the more friendly they are the more they are going to rip you off.
That said, as an American, there are standards of politeness and well defined areas considered acceptable. Talk to people with at least a 1 meter gap between the other, but no more then 2 meters. Give people a firm handshake with eye contact, smile while introducing yourself. Ask "How Are You" when asked you answer you are "Doing Well" or "Good" even if you are not. When asked to be somewhere at a particular time, I am allowed +/- 5 minutes until I am considered late.
But these are cultural norms. In other countries and even areas of the United States, may either seem overly friendly and getting too close to a stranger, or to others may make you seem distant, and combative.
You know if you don't tailgate the car in front of you, you don't get fumes in your face, also you have a few more seconds to react to change in driving patterns.
The guideline is 3 seconds of space between you and the car ahead of you. (6 seconds in inclement weather). So at a slow 30 mph you have 40+ feet between you and the car. Plenty of space for the fumes to dissipate.
Well it isn't going be be like a limo ride. The Smell is mostly in your head, the probably is your car that you commute back an forth too reeks far more then the Public Transport does. But you have gotten use to it, and you would get use to Public Transport as well.
In terms of comfort. The real question comes down to distance. The Car seat even for small cars are designed for sitting for hours comfortably. but for public transit. a 10-15 minute trip would not be such a painful experience. Public transit seating is often just as conformable if not more so, then the seating at a 5 star restaurant. As you just sit on wooden chairs.
It seems like a lot of companies are pulling this crap, And I don't know why either. I have worked as a developer for such companies, and they don't know why they are doing it either.
It is like all the PC users who use this software that is installed on their system, is for the most part massively overpowered, and can handle these requests perfectly fine by themselves. Adding a server component adds complexity to the host software, and adds headache at the server side too as now we have to make sure all this data is extra secure. Because it is traveling over the internet and not just bouncing around the PC memory.
Just as long as Netflix keeps on expanding its non original content as well, it will keep its advantage.
The problem with CBS all access and Disney (to a lesser extent) is that we when we want to watch media normally doesn't care too much on who produced it,
If I am paying 13 a month, and I am getting a good set of shows I want to watch then that is good. However for CBS I am paying 10 for one perhaps two shows I would want to watch, and that isn't as much of a value for me. And at least for my sensibilities there isn't a single TV show worth that much, especially on a reoccurring bill, on where if I want to cancel it, I will need to overcome my anxieties to talk on the phone with a pushy sales person to cancel it, which then as far as I am concerned is one of those hidden expenses I just don't want to deal with.
I put more blame on the Cable TV Stations, then on the Cable Company themselves (with the exception for the ones that own stations)
Back in the early-mid 1990's Cable TV had stations that were actually more focused, and less general trying to meet the general market.
The Discovery Channel was full of documentaries, covering a wide range of topics. Not reality TV about fishermen.
The History Channel covered historical events (at the time I thought it was a bit heavy on WWII) but that is better then fake history and covering possibility of aliens.
Cartoon Network showed a bunch of classic cartoons (in the early 2000's they had a good set of their own work too)
While the exact show you wanted to watch may not be on, there was probably something interesting to see at the moment. Now it seems each channel had found the few shows that it makes the makes the most money on and shows them over and over again. Which is a shame, because every once in a while they make some good content, which no one really sees, because they stop looking at that channel to see what is on.
Cable channels seems to be fighting Netflix with Bing watching, by making their shows in binges as well. Which just really isn't a good use of the medium. Cable TV is better for exploring new things, and Netflix is to get you Nostalgia fix.
Are you asking for a Logical response. Then I expect it would be at a point where unemployment is 0%, and everyone has the ability to live the way they want to.
If you are asking for the emotional Response. 'merica #1! we need to show the world that we are right about everything and show the errors in their way.
I personally don't care of the US rank in economy, however I like to see continuous improvement over time, if every generation is getting a better quality life, and the amount of suffering is down, we could be in last place. Because if we are always getting better then things are good.
I read the title, and I was thinking of Chilie's Bar and Grill, (a somewhat popular food chain in the US). I was picturing some early 20 something store manager, just getting tricked by this guy. Then I read a little further realize it was the country.
The United States has the worlds most powerful economy. China is second but growing much faster then the US one is.
Our instinct is What is the US doing wrong, we are falling behind.
But the real question is what is China doing wrong to be second to the United States.
In terms of geography China has roughly the same size as the United States, with access to a lot of resources.
Their population (about 10x of the United states) is huge, they have a higher available working base.
They are located next to many countries with large economies, Japan, Korea, India, and Russia.
In short China has the capacity to eclipse the American Economy, but it is still a distant second. So what are they doing wrong, that America should avoid. Vs America changing its methods, just because China is catching up to them. Because if America follows the wrong things, we will just be putting ourselves in a disadvantage.
I think Google is doing something similar to what the Interstate did with America.
Older roads use to go into small towns, where drivers will fill up, have a meal, check out a little of the local culture. Then they put in the interstate system, which connected big cities together, and drive by small towns, sometimes without an exit to them. With the promise of a fast MPH speed on the road, you can get from Point A to Point B much faster, but the small towns have been left out and are now shadows of their former self.
For your statement #1, there aren't many good options for you to advance your career without a college degree. America needs to enhance its vocational training to many white collar jobs and the jobs that may need specialized skills but not the particular rigors of a college degree.
For statement #2 Schools already try to hard to make sure patients pass college. (Basically due to lack of career options without a degree). And undergrad degree should actually really mean something, because a lot of students should be washed out of college, or be sure if you go to college you are ready for the rigors. Now colleges should do more then the 100 students in a lecture hall, with a professor who doesn't speak the language common with students, ranting for 2 hours. Only to have students then just read the book and hope they read the material that will allow them to pass the test. But in college there is too much of a curve grading, and simplifying of information so students can pass.
They are still subprime loans going out. But I think the next recession will probably be due to different problems. Mostly due to closing off borders and trade.
Current policies and actions seems to be cutting business off from a customer base (Other countries are avoiding US goods and services to avoid Tariffs, and looking for countries to partner with who have a better trade deals). This will not be a overnight thing, as it takes time to change vendors and find replacements, also early on some new local customers will come in because they cannot buy a foreign goods. But overall this is going to cut down on the customer base. Which then will lower corporate profits. Where these companies will buy less goods (hurting B2B goods) and laying off workers who will not be customers for other goods and services. Which causes a feedback loop onto itself, which drags into a recession.
Now the real scary part, is the fact there are cuts in the budget towards government services, and safety net options. So when the next recession hits, there is less the government can do to help recover. Interest rates are still too low, there is lack of effort in creating large government infrastructure projects. And a push to make people who take Social Safety net services to seem like they are just bad people, and cutting these services so they cannot withstand a recession.
So while the next recession may not be in a Crash like in 2008, I don't see a quick recovery. Even if they pull back all the mistakes of the last couple of years, it will take a long time to get the customer base back.
If I were a CEO I would task the CIO/CTO to worry about Cyber Security, just make sure you have enough money set aside to help pay for their recommendations. But the CEO should be more worried about recessions. Because Recessions cut the number of customers, a cut in customers cuts profit and growth.
This is something I don't think Microsoft really gets.
The Average person don't need PC's anymore. Most of their computing experience can be done with a phone or tablet.
For the people who do need PC's need them for real work.
Microsoft is continuously making the UI meant for tablet and home users, while frustrating people who need to do real work. When I am on a PC, I am expecting to want to use multiple apps at the same time, take advantage of the big screen to have all the apps available visible and usable at once. I have a full keyboard, I am going to want to use it as much as possible, also I will still have a mouse or a pointer, the work layout doesn't allow for touch screen to be all that useful.
Oddly enough, for me, I wish all the major OS's were not Windows (as in the UI methodology) based or full screen App. But had a good Frame type interface, where I can layout all my apps, resize the content where they are usable, but may be smaller then designed. Windows just get messy. and full screen, is just unproductive.
That was a great feature, the phone was designed to mold itself to the owners butt, making it more comfortable to carry over time.
However I never got why people put their phone in their back pocket. It is like hold on a moment while I pull something from my butt and put it next to my face.
Ah the I love Retro, however I want all the modern features post.
The Razr was a top of the line consumer phone at the time. Not because of its features, but because how thin it was. During its time we had smart phones such as the blackberry and other that were darn close to blackberries running Windows CE and Windows x Mobile. Which gave a lot of features. However they were larger and bulky, and expensive. So the Razr was popular.
Now I am tired of the rectangle glass screen design for a phone. But I don't see the Razr as being an upgrade, because as you are pointing out, you will need the modern features on the phone, we can't go back to just having a number pad.
These messenger apps, have been doing the same thing for the past 20+ years?
I never really see a reason to switch other then the fact the people who I want to chat with are on an other service?
I remember doing ICQ, to AOL Instant Messenger, Then to Facebook messenger. Over the decades I havn't really seen any killer feature in them. The biggest features I have seen was Group Chats, and image and video attachments.
They all seem to want to give us Ads, an or collect my data, and have to go via some sort of centralized server where any message could be spied upon.
You mean small cold blooded animals, who had adapted for millions of years for a particular climate have trouble to a rapidly changing climate?
The problem with global Climate change, isn't that the Climate is changing, but the speed of the change. While many of these animals can deal with fluctuations of weathers and seasons. The change in climate means the number of bad seasons for them outweighs the number of good ones, so it just leads to long term pressure on their survival.
While there are other issues such as toxic pollution and insecticides, these type of problems are more localized, and it issues diminish further away from the source. While Climate change affects the world.
The problem is although it is happening very fast in terms of climate, it is still too small for humans who are not looking at data to notice that much, and we will generally react to the weather. Look a Record Cold day where your Global Warming!, or It is a really Hot day because of global warming. Humans as an animal are rather tolerant to changing climates, as we are able to successfully survive and thrive in most climates, so if there is a 4c average difference in temperature, it isn't a big deal for us. But other animals don't have the same tolerance as us. Especially Animals without such an advance heating and cooling system to keep our internal body at the right temperature.
What is your hate against Startups?
Do you just want to keep the big heartless corporations, and oppose all new ideas and products. Where thousands of people can get fired off because their unit has slightly less profit then the other?
The startup and small business is really the heart and sole of most economies. While the big companies may get all the political attention, because if they go out of business thousands of people would effect the community, that they are in. But the small business and startups actually hold the lion share of the economy. While each startup is higher risk then a big company, overall on on the Macro level they allow the economy to be far more robust.
The history of the wheel never really focused on the idea, look we are making these crazy shaped objects and trying to use them as a wheel, and they just don't work better. The nature of rolling and round things was understood well before the invention of the wheel. Where people would be rolling things on logs. The invention of the wheel is actually the invention of the Axel, where people no longer had to pick up the logs and move it to the front only to roll to the back. The Axel which was smaller radius then the wheel, lowered the amount of friction thus allowed it to roll with less effort then having to move logs, as the axle will be fixed.
Now the early Wheel and Axel had a lot of problems, where it couldn't replace sleds, or rolling logs. Because it may break too often, or the wheels were to narrow for the terrain, and sinking into the ground. The principal of the wheel and axle was understood, but the materials at hand and infrastructure made it impractical. Until advancements in metallurgy to cut down friction even further, and strengthen weak spots. and Infrastructure, roads paved with stones to prevent the wheel from sinking. Made the Wheel a practical tool for society.
Even thousands of year later with constant advancements in the wheel. We sometimes will need to roll back to a sled or rolling logs, because there are environments (such as soft muddy soil) where the wheel would get stuck and the weight carried is too much for it. I am sure any 4 wheel ATV user may realize that sometimes you get into a spot that you just cannot drive out. And you may need to cut down a small tree, or use some boards to create a road, or sled to get you ATV unstuck.
AI isn't rubbish, it is Over Hyped though.
The problem with robotics and AI. In order for them to match the capabilities of humans, many of their superior attributes will need to be cut back in order to get these traits. So we end up with something in theory just like a human without any real benefit.
I have a Rumba. It does its jobs and keeps my floor clean, but it isn't as good as if I were to do it myself. As I can vacuum my whole house in about 30 minutes, while the Rumba just does the first floor in about an hour (and misses spots). But what it is good at is the fact that it does this scheduled daily. Where I only have the time to do this weekly. So the spots it misses, it will get the next day. So a Robot designed to just vacuum the house, doesn't do a better job then a human. But it doesn't get tired of doing it, and it is its only purpose so it will be less efficient but overall more effective. Now the Rumba basically has the AI of Pong. But to the point unless a persons only job is to vacuum a house once a day, AI will not be taking their jobs. Because if a Maid's employer did get a Rumba, the Maid would still be performing other tasks, and probably will be picking up tasks that she wasn't able to perform as well at before. Such as more time dusting areas, or cleaning other areas. So the Employers house is overall cleaner without having to fire anyone.
Sounds Ghastly!
You don't Fire Daleks, Daleks Fire at YOU!
They have experts for a reason other then just being a well spoken advocate for "The Man"
One of the biggest issue I have with our current state of things, Experts are just ignored or discredited because they have found that some things may not be convenient for the person, worse conflict with their world view, or even worse going against your aligned parties talking points.
Nuclear Energy really should be in America energy play book, to supplement and support other forms of green energy as well. That said Nuclear Energy is dangerous and need proper oversight and controls, with a clear disaster plan ready. It isn't a Clean, Safe to Cheap to Meter energy. But it is a powerful source of energy with its current environmental trade offs not conflicting with the largest problem we have now which is CO2 emissions.
Some of the biggest problems there are too many people who just want energy at any cost, and people who are thinking of a Utopian free energy with no trade offs. Proper planning is knowing the trade-offs, understand if an area can deal with it and if the energy created is worth the risk.
There are a lot of women gamers out there, who are playing the same rough and tumble games the guys are, being that their gender can be remain anonymous, no one really knows who bested them or not.