News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Are we living at the 'hinge of history'?. Parent comment

Re:Are we living at the 'hinge of history'? by bserge on Sunday September 27, 2020 @08:08AM (#24606033)
Different kind of improvement. A smartphone (not the bloody iPhone) has fundamentally changed everyone's life directly.

For the vast majority of people, food production is something that just "happens" out there. They don't grow anything, they just get it from a store.

I've seen people on the Internet who can't afford a simple boiler or an indoors toilet (but they have a phone/computer)... and that's sad, but also amazing.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Are we living at the 'hinge of history'? by libraryofbabel on Sunday September 27, 2020 @02:14PM (#24608791)
I agree, they are different kinds of impact. That’s why I like to emphasize the Haber-Bosch process, because it is largely invisible. Mostly people have never heard of it.

Because the impact is different it’s very hard to compare. One interesting thought experiment that can help is to imagine the technology disappearing and think about what the consequences would be. Thinking that through for smartphones and the Haber-Bosch process is left as an exercise for the reader.

[ Parent | on HN ]