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The Price of Intelligence Is Falling Rapidly

81 points · 85 comments · gotmedium

  1. silverFork · · focus · HN ↗
    Price of human intelligence is also falling rapidly. I suspect looking pretty is going to go up in value more rapidly.
    1. jordanb · · focus · HN ↗
      In my career I've worked with people with PHDs in Physics. People with advanced degrees in fluid dynamics and turbine engineering, people with chemistry and ChemE degrees, postdocs in Geology.

      All were working alongside me, a self-taught programmer making websites.

      I've long thought that there's an oversupply of smart people in the world but for the field of software development, which was hiding that fact by soaking all of them up.

      If SDE is collapsing as a field, a whole bunch of people who thought their intelligence and credentials guaranteed them a comfortable life are in for a shock.

      1. mrdependable · · focus · HN ↗
        This is really looking at the problem from the wrong angle. It’s not that we don’t need all those degrees. The problem is that tech companies are making so much money that it makes other industries practically irrelevant when it comes to return on investment. It has thrown the economy completely off balance.
        1. deepfriedchokes · · focus · HN ↗
          Strongly agree. Perhaps an economy shouldn’t be organized around money.
          1. ericmay · · focus · HN ↗
            How would you propose an economy not be organized around money? Any examples you could think of that have worked well? I would also ask that in doing so if you can consider how these changes would work with today's nation states and the scale of 8 billion people or so too.
            1. dragontamer · · focus · HN ↗
              Let's start with the basics. Let's ban unlimited money from politics first (ban SuperPacs and return to 90s era political rules).

              If rich people want to influence politicians, there should be hard caps on money and advertising.

              There's nothing wrong in saying too much money is now destroying too much of the good parts of our country. Starting one step at a time is better than trying to build a massive reform that goes no where.

              Once money in politics calms down, the next steps should become more obvious as the noise from the Billionaires no longer drown out our attention.

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