Parts wear out, components fail, systems degrade: to keep a machine operating indefinitely will eventually require replacing every part of it, in the fashion of the philosophically debated ship of Theseus. For most systems, this means there comes a point of diminishing returns
Social Media Fragmentation
There is reason to suppose that such specialization may provide more benefit than it does harm.
Manufacturing Commercial Space
So long as government contracts remain the primary revenue source for companies operating in the space industry, commercial space is just a shell.
Space Launch Context
I am far from an Elon Musk flunky, and I don’t have the romantic view of SpaceX that some in the industry maintain, but anyone who has followed the business of space launch since SpaceX entered the business would be hard-pressed to argue that they have not been a boon; quite simply, there wasn’t a space launch business before SpaceX.
Post Post-Scarcity
The answer to our human ills does not lie with limitless energy or a post-scarcity society. If anywhere, it lies within us.
A Quick Introduction to Blockchain
Blockchain is the concept underlying many of the “revolutionary” technologies that have gotten so much buzz in the past couple of years: cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the internet of things (IoT), even the metaverse.
A Crisis of Responsibility
A very good friend of mine recently suggested that we as a society are currently suffering from a crisis of responsibility, and ever since then I have been finding it a remarkably insightful lens through which to analyze current events, perspectives, and opinions that I observe being promulgated.
Saturday Article: Reinvigorating Economic Governance
To me, the problem with this essay is not in the content. Where I think the problem lies in this particular piece, and many similar pieces, is what is not included.
Thoughts on the Publishing Industry
Not my thoughts, for once - I subject you to more than enough of those in the Tuesday blog posts. No, this Saturday I wanted to share with you an article Brandon Sanderson wrote in response to his recent, and unprecedented, Kickstarter campaign.
Space Debris Economics
Why should a private company make a business out of space debris removal? Alternatively, can space debris removal be made into a viable business model? This is one of those complicated questions that I recently saw reduced to a gross oversimplification in a news article. There were a lot of issues with the article, and I don’t want to dwell on it, but I think the biggest problem was its underlying, unstated assumption that the only viable business case for space debris removal as a commercial service was if the government was the customer, or regulated private space industry into becoming customers. The underlying argument of the article, therefore, is that there is no viable business model based on space debris removal.
