Lots of reading about a range of disruptions over the last week.
Reinventing fire actually gives a blueprint for its stronger economy based on efficiency and renewables. After the disappointment of Tim Jackson’s book (which said that we need a non-growth economy, but failed to describe what it was other than we would work fewer hours for slower growing or static wages), this is a positive thing.
WhatsApp is a great little chat service which avoids SMS costs for $1.99/year. Great pricing model, too. Surprising number of people on it: my first time not as an early adopter for a while…
3D printing: surprisingly it isn’t illegal to copy the design of, e.g., a cup you liked. Copyright protects purely aesthetic items, but not useful ones. Who knew?
Local food isn’t necessarily an effective use of resources. There is tension between local food and self-sufficiency and being able to feed the world. In related news, we are at the top (and worst) end of CO2 emission scenarios.
Eliminate bonuses for risk-takers who are protected by the state. I loved the quote from Hammurabi’s code:
Nearly 4,000 years ago, Hammurabi’s code specified this: “If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction firm, and the house which he has built collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death.â€