[wolverine876]

> Technology and innovation has made people’s lives better at the same time that politicians and bankers have made them worse.

That's the SV fantasy!: I'm awesome and a super-genius, everyone else is useless, dumb and annoying, and therefore I should be all-powerful!. It's like they're all still 13 year olds hacking on their computers, where they finally feel really powerful. It's almost as if they've never learned anything more about the world - humanities are just entertainment for the wealthy - leaving themselves vulnerable to the most obvious self-deception.

One might say that technology and innovation have turned our world into a hellscape, with massive social and political breakdown, massive mis/disinformation, and climate change. Maybe some innovation can build us new supersonic jets, better oil extraction, more effective automated online persuasion, or some snazzy financial tech - like CDOs, crypto, and private equity.

On the other hand, our political institutions did an amazing job of getting the US through a global pandemic without even a recession. There are serious problems, such as housing and education prices, but I don't think anyone could have predicted how well things went economically.

[kortilla]

Technology is the only reason the economy could somewhat continue during the pandemic. Did you hear about working from home?

Technology is how we got a vaccine so quickly.

Technology is how we tracked the spread. Technology is how we notified of potential exposure.

Nobody with a humanities background did anything meaningful to help compared to the last pandemic. It was all technology, engineering, medicine, and science that let us approach this one differently.

[wolverine876]

> Nobody with a humanities background did anything meaningful

If you learned a bit about it, you wouldn't show off rigid tunnel vision or you might express yourself clearly and without the blind destruction of hyperbole.

Why did people make or not make vaccines? Humanities (and social science). How were they funded, regulated, etc.? Ditto. What is the scientific method? Humanities (really). Why did the US and EU as expected, but not, e.g., Russia make the most effective vaccines? Humanities. Why did people take or not take vaccines? Humanities, or not enough humanities, or they were owned by people who mastered messaging and mass political communication, which is humanities.

[kortilla]

They were funded by other scientists and medical professions who became heads of the CDC, etc. People from humanities are ill quipped to select grant recipients for any real research.

The scientific method is philosophy, but the majority of humanities never go anywhere near the scientific method other than to convince themselves that doing a qualitative oral survey of some classmates is just as much a “science” as the falsifiable ones.

> Why did people take or not take vaccines? Humanities,

The failure of humanities to produce any meaningful predictive behavior of humans is a pretty good example of why it’s a failed branch of inquiry.

> mastered messaging and mass political communication, which is humanities.

The people who have done this are completely outside of the grasp of the humanities taught in US universities. Every Ivy League economist, sociologist, social psychologist, etc that was in US leadership for the last 20 years has done nothing but flounder.

[cjbgkagh]

I can't tell if this is satire, either way I had a good laugh.

[WinstonSmith84]

Yeah, I was torn but his last paragraph is 100% satire

> On the other hand, our political institutions did an amazing job of getting the US through a global pandemic without even a recession. There are serious problems, such as housing and education prices, but I don't think anyone could have predicted how well things went economically.

Just wait lol ..

[FactKnower69]

As of this week the yield curve has been inverted for a longer period than ever before in history, that's how you know the economy is healthier than ever

[mvc]

Nostradamus will be right eventually

[wolverine876]

I predict that a recession is coming. It's not all bad news though; I also predict really low beer prices.

[nebula8804]

They still running clearance sales on Bud Light? Or are they going to give a free can to another person that annoys their snowflake customers?

[wolverine876]

So no debate on the merits? We agree! :)

Feel free to laugh, if that's what makes you happy.

[cjbgkagh]

I have a feeling that such a debate will not be productive and have decided to abstain.

[wolverine876]

Or you have nothing to say. Either way, why comment?