Multiple causes: 1. vast increase in wealth across the globe ==>...
· Comment — Michael Michalchik's post · View on Facebook · Markdown source
Multiple causes: 1. vast increase in wealth across the globe ==> more money, time, and resources available for innovation, not just survival 2. Internet access ==> nearly free, global access to the scientific literature 3. global free trade ==> increase supply / lower cost of specialized scientific goods and services 4. lengthy period of global peace ==> more resources for innovation, instead of blowing things up or rebuilding from war 5. longer lives ==> longer productive careers 6. increased computing power ==> intellectual productivity amplified manifold 7. increased immigration ==> increased knowledge / skill transfer between companies and universities Many of the above forces are in virtuous spirals. For example, computing innovation enables ever faster computing innovation. Of course, there are still many enemies of scientific progress: religious fundamentalists, AI doomers, nativists, corporate rentseekers, and socialists are all trying to stop / slow progress. Unfortunately, sometimes they succeed. Nuclearphobes almost completely stifled the nuclear industry in the US for 30+ years, for example. The Jones Act + immigration suppression laws destroyed the US shipbuilding industry. AI doomers are trying to do the same to the AI industry. But it's becoming increasingly hard to stop innovation. It's easier now than ever before to just to pull up roots and move to a less stifling legal/government environment. Many California companies have moved to Texas to escape California's insane regulatory environment, for example. And "voting with your feet" only accelerate once seasteading tech is more advanced.