Sheril KirshenbaumMay 26

The jobs of 2035 don't exist yet—but the #science that will foster them is being discovered today.

Think about it: Data scientists didn't exist when we invented the internet. Genetic counseling wasn’t a career when we first discovered DNA's structure. Solar panel installers weren't needed before we figured out how to harness sunlight efficiently. 1/

Show threadSheril Kirshenbaum

Every underfunded scientific lab and institution may become a future industry we're giving away to competitors.

Each PhD student who leaves for better opportunities abroad takes tomorrow's breakthroughs with them. America built its booming economy by betting on science before we knew where it would lead.

Basic research feels expensive until it creates trillion-dollar industries. #uspol /2

May 26 at 8:25pmMetatext
Show thread🌱@ambiguous_yelp:ahimsa.chatMay 26
@Sheril Most jobs td existed in some form 100y ago technology doesnt create new jobs economics pushes technology 2b used 2 minimise jobs required 2 do a task Redundant workers of the 20th century didnt all become genetic consultants and computer programmers and we shouldnt want them to the point of life isnt 2 endlessly come up with busywork 2 satisfy the economy: automation should reduce work hours not increase the skills required to earn a living #anarchism #communism #antiwork #degrowth
Show threadVery Human RobotMay 26
@Sheril I mean, seems unlikely that feminist theology studies would spawn a new worldwide productivity boom, even if there's still philosophy to discover there...
Show threadBlahsterMay 26
@StompyRobot @Sheril as they make the majority of the students, you're absolutely right and every scientific research should be halted immediately.
Show threadVery Human RobotMay 27
@Blahster @Sheril if that's what you believe I was saying, then so be it!
Show threadBlahsterMay 27
@StompyRobot @Sheril enlighten me the ln wise man of the internet.
Show threadnotsoloudMay 27
@StompyRobot
It could perhaps help us focus on the jobs really worth doing?
@Sheril
Show threadVery Human RobotMay 27
@notsoloud @Sheril not a bad idea
Show threadSimMay 26
@Sheril Einstein's E=MC2 still stands today. The only reason he came to the USA was the nazis. The same may happen to us.
Show threadPaul ArmstrongMay 27

@Sheril Probably not common knowledge: Before world war 2, Germany was the centre of progress and German was one of the top languages of science (shared with English and French). Then the nazis came and most of the researchers moved out of Germany.

One of the biggest reasons the US bloomed in R&D after world war two is that most of the researchers went there.

Show threadZephyr Leif RennerMay 27
@psa The temptation for power to create its own reality is perennial and humans so happily endorse it when it appears to serve their own interest. Doesn’t work on reality of course and education is the study of reality which gets in the way of the Emperor’s mind creation. Even worse education tends to deliver people who have power that can compete against the Emperor instead of deriving from his magnificence. @Sheril
Show threadJohnMasheyMay 27
@Sheril
At Bell labs long ago, we knew much research goes nowhere, but if you stop doing it, the lost time is very hard to recover.
https://archive.nytimes.com/dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/r2-d2-and-other-lessons-from-bell-labs/
'R2-D2' and Other Lessons From Bell Labs

Dot Earth Blog
Show threadOliver D. ReithmaierMay 27

@Sheril America built its booming economy on foreign labour, a batshit crazy minimum wage, low social standards, exploitative hustle culture and, last but not least, WW2.

But other than that, you're right. The US is gambling away their leading role in research.