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Zach Weinersmith@zachweinersmith.bsky.social |
Vertical farming is probably top of my list for technologies that are objectively awesome, but for which the economic math doesn't work very well. What's yours?
20 replies 0 reposts 53 likes
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@stidmatt.bsky.social
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Except in Minecraft where it is awesome!
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Ed Huyer
@arcanum3000.bsky.social
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Orbital solar power. You know, the whole thing with giant collectors in orbit using microwave beams to send the power back to Earth.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Viridian Lakes
@viridianlakes.bsky.social
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Good question. I guess sea platforms for hydroponics, etc. But it'd be just as well to build them on land really.
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Andrew Robinson (no, not Garak)
@andrewr.bsky.social
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Supersonic Passenger Transports. (Also not environmentally friendly).
0 replies 0 reposts 5 likes
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Fletch (🔬+🐝)
@fletch.online
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SSTO vehicles, and associated suborbital commercial flight through hybrid air-breathing rocketry (e.g. the SABRE engine). Truly incredible and feasible engineering, potentially way faster and more efficient than airliners for extreme long haul… and will never be economically viable. :/
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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@bunshonokai.bsky.social
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Animal protein bioreactors. I mean I love the idea of just pouring sugar and such into a tank and getting chicken tenders out of it. But there's no real path to economic viability there without some insane world changing tech breakthroughs.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Zeal Wierslee
@zealws.bsky.social
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Therapies for rare diseases. Also vaccines. They are clearly one of the best medical advances of the last century but don't usually bring in a ton of cash for companies so they only get made if they're subsidized and affect a lot of people.
2 replies 0 reposts 7 likes
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Nathan
@paleblue.bsky.social
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Hydrogen fuel cell cars are *amazing* technology. We can make a car that runs on water, man! It's just a shame the economics don't - and fundamentally can't - stack up compared to BEVs.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Seer Snively
@seersnively.bsky.social
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Capitalism
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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THECapedCaper
@tccschreiner.bsky.social
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I think I've only ever seen good use (economical) cases for leafy vegetables and vine fruits, but even then the land and cost savings are extraordinary.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Profit Greenly
@profitgreenly.bsky.social
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I have a doomer friend who drank the Zeihan kool aid and goes on and on about how world shipping will go away in coming years. I don't think he's right, but if he is I expect tech like this along with replacement materials to advance quickly to fill the void.
www.amazon.com/End-World-Ju...
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Zach Weinersmith
@zachweinersmith.bsky.social
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Having enjoyed Hannah Ritchie's recent book, I'm now convinced one of the big ruiners of cool technology is the fact that over-sea container shipping is extremely efficient and cheap. So, local (e.g. vertical farms in cities, 3D printed local goods) is generally overrated.
3 replies 3 reposts 48 likes
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Carolinaskies
@carolinaskies.bsky.social
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On its face, economics of math valuation only consider the singular application ROI. Innovations in this low ROI project may lead to higher ROI elsewhere. Ie, the Kennedy space program ROI wasn't monies from getting to the moon, but creation of generational change in thinking of what's possible.
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Chris Weisiger
@byobattleship.bsky.social
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Geothermal heat pumps: they *do* work, but they're expensive, and in many places will break down before they break even.
0 replies 0 reposts 1 likes
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Jim McFadden
@jimmcfadden.bsky.social
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Arcology thinking in general is a nice concept but unworkable at scale.
1 replies 0 reposts 4 likes
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si oppington
@stillwellgray.ca
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Human society.
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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@samweiss.bsky.social
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Nuclear fusion?
0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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odbol
@odbol.bsky.social
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Kite-powered container ships that harness the jetstream to traverse the ocean at high speed without burning fuel, like in that Paolo Bacigalupi book
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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L-TRAIN
@l-train.bsky.social
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nuclear power. the closest thing humans have to forbidden magic. you build it right and the fuel just magically heats up on its own! and gets too hot if you build it slightly wrong
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Dieterjosef
@dieterjosef.bsky.social
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Most things with hydrogen except where it's really necessary or brings great benefit like in steel production replace coke. We should try methanol instead, so we could keep using the petrol infrastructure. Methanol can be produced (not very efficient but it still new) by solar energy.
2 replies 0 reposts 1 likes