One of the great aspects of working at Red Herring was that I used to get into long discussions with our editor, Jason Pontin. I was reminded of those when I read this most eloquent of essays in MIT Technology Review, which he edits.
It’s not true that we can’t solve big problems through technology; we can. We must. But all these elements must be present: political leaders and the public must care to solve a problem, our institutions must support its solution, it must really be a technological problem, and we must understand it.
Find time to read the whole thing
Maybe part of the problem is we argue too much. Disagreeing and having your own opinion is fine, but at some point we need to learn to agree, or agree to disagree. At time of writing this, 145 people are agreeing and disagreeing with great passion on thoughts from the article. Religion, science, technology, politics, and social issues are all examples of this. It seems impossible that we we will ever all agree, but maybe I’ll disagree with myself. Is it a good thing that we never all agree? Maybe disagreeing (or as JFK in the article does…challenge us) makes us rethink ourselves, our ideas, and our existence.
Sometimes the most simple solutions, are the most brilliant. If you are are struggling with solving a big problem, maybe you are thinking too hard and the solution is right in front of you.
http://www.wimp.com/chimpanzeesolving/