Unless you're suggesting that social media outrage is productive and helps people to accomplish something meaningful in their own way, you're not actually addressing the OP's comment, you're addressing an unrelated idea that you've heard in the past.
HFT is the perfect example of the benefits of being fast, literally by trading faster, not necessarily better, billions in profit are made. In other fields, first-movers often have a massive advantage, AWS for example.
Just look at Europe, things are slow and rather relaxed here... and as a result they've missed out on about the last 3 generations of technology.
I think many people won't be able to keep up, but the future of evolution is probably people who can sit still for days on end, just consuming information non-stop, with the ability to react very quickly as soon as the information signals opportunity for a reward. Some sort of really autistic apex predator stuff.
Ironically, even though computers can do so many tasks faster and better than humans, one would think we could all relax and let the computers work, but instead the trend seems to be, that we constantly have to be even faster in the remaining fields where computers are not yet superior.
The result of for-loops and automation hasn't been that humans no longer have to rush around doing mundane tasks, but rather that now we have to rush around writing for-loops and fixing all the bugs introduced by rushing... and so it continues...
When I was visiting (5 years ago):
- The trains didn't work
- People printed out google maps instructions instead of using a network connection because data connections were bad/expensive
- I had to sign my name to pay with a card at gas stations. I couldn't use an electronic payment card, only credit cards worked.
Now these are just examples off the top of my head. In my home country of Finland, the trains work, internet and utilities work (we don't have blackouts), payment is usually done by NFC for small amounts, card readers (with pin) for larger amounts.
If you're talking about industrial technology, I don't have enough information to compare. But I would assume Europe has better manufacturing. After all, Germany makes all the cars that end up in the US.
I just pulled up a list of the top 25 selling cars in the US and there are 0 German brands on that list. Plus most of the 'German' cars sold in the US are also made in the US.
The export is substantial though:
https://www.acea.be/publications/article/eu-us-automobile-tr...
they've never broken 500k (at least going back to 2005).
edit: Volkswagen Group sell in the 500k-650k cars range
Lack of same day/instant money transfers between bank accounts so everyone uses paypal which is not a real bank and it can block your money for 180 days for their "investigations"
Casinos make billions in profits too, but just like HFT they contribute nothing to the productive economy and are a blood-sucking leech.
People living in these "slow", offline first places are self selecting, and it's not for everyone.
My parents moved to a tropical island, have been there for decades now, they love it and will never go back. I also grew there but left at the first occasion and more than half of my schoolmates did the same.
IMO living there requires a distance from fast paced, online, strongly information based social discourse. If you don't have that you're in for a bad time.
Folks work pretty hard in Caribbean, but when I was there (a fair while ago), I also worked dang hard. But you absolutely felt like you were in a bubble. You really could imagine that Israel and the Palestinians would have an intifada / war and no one would notice.
You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons), you ate larger group meals, you spent a lot more time outside. I'm just spitballing some impressions. Some of this was efficiency, (group meals are more cost effective?) etc.
There is also an attitude difference. There is a story (probably made up - please fill in correct details) that a group "conquered" one of the islands (maybe Saba?). They took over whatever building, raised whatever flag. And everyone just ignored them. They eventually left.
One thing that's an adjustment is ignoring the rules if they are silly - no one thinks anything of it. And yes, in part because of corruption and rent seeking there are some silly rules so maybe you have to.
Absolute downsides as well no question. But I wonder if the folks not on internet just don't care as much about what someone said to someone as the rest of us.
In the West, this is a conventional thing that many people expect.
It's like you've never been to a Western country`
Your right - I should have said US (and maybe just progressive areas).
I would guess it made up, because when people conquer stuff, they tend to have actual material goals and need. Starting from basic - their army needs to eat. The way you get that food is to take it from people who are there. They need wood and what not, if you are the armed one, you force local population to get it for you. When people used to run from incoming armies, it was not for fun. It was because the armed men tend not to ignore you.
The miracle there is not island people ignoring incoming people. The miracle there is the supposed conquerors being content with raising flag, without trying to take actual benefit from it. I guess in some rare situations they would conquer thing for trolling/emotional purposes, but generally the goal is control and things.
All it takes is one moron with delusion of grandeur.
Pretty reasonable cause to start a war I could imagine, back then.
> Russia with Crimea, whose ownership value is enormously negative?
Russia does not see expansion of own territory as negative value. Also, Russians are very much making changes in Crimea.
I heard that Travis Kalanick coded the initial code base of Uber in Varkala beach in Kerala[1],[2].
[1] https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/guess-what-uber-ceo-tra...
IMHO, if that person who was working their ass off was a genius and an outlier, then their contributions are a huge net benefit to society and we/society should reward and applaud them.
However, most people are average or below average, so their contributions are extremely unlikely to move the needle. So from the point of view of the person chilling on the beach, yeah sure, do whatever makes you happy, but as far as real accomplishments go, its a wash between them and the non-genius hard-worker. Just my opinion! :)
(Writing this as a non-genius average person)
if i just knew where that corner is ...