Ask YC: Are You Guilty of Not Solving World's Problems? | Hacker News Reader

Ask YC: Are You Guilty of Not Solving World's Problems?

paraschopra.com

11 pointsparaschopra35 comments

If only it would be more obvious HOW to solve the world's problems.

Some photographs I recently saw really touched me, for example that series about child marriage. How do you go about changing something like that, which is going on in a completely different culture, in countries far away?

Not saying it is impossible, just that I don't know where to start (yet).

Maybe building shiny happy web apps also helps to solve those problems, though, because it provides an incentive for "third world countries" to aspire to our way of life.

Also, those touching photographs are being spread over phot sharing apps and blogs...

Presumably poverty is also the root cause for child marriage? If the kids were not poor, their parents would not have to sell them away.

Exactly! How I wish there was some HOWTO of solving the world's problems. But there is none. So, it is upto us only to go out and solve the world. Very little changes by sitting at the desk and making yet another new app.

I agree that indirectly we all are doing something to change the world. But don't you think we should be keen on solving something more directly?

I don't think that only solving the most basic problems is worthwhile. Like, is it OK to make music? It doesn't help against hunger in the 3rd world, so it is a useless activity? But maybe occasionally some guy who is working on solving the hunger problem finds the strength to go on by listening to your music. Or so I imagine...

Nevertheless sometimes I wish there was something more direct I could do. I just think the original article was a bit short on suggestions.

Hm, that reminds me of an idea of mine, that some people gave me good feedback about. Perhaps some people here like it and want to join in making it? Basically, I envisioned a bug tracker for the whole world: http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/NcJ... (I suggested this for the StartupWeekend in Hamburg, but unfortunately something else was selected...).

Yes, I agree with you that it is worthwhile to help someone by making music. But that is a very indirect way. Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully?

Your idea is interesting. Maybe http://www.suggestionbox.com/ is something like that?

Suggestionbox looks interesting, will check it out at home when I have more time...

I guess it is not the same as the world tracker, but it has some common elements.

>Wouldn't it be more helpful if a better percentage of entrepreneurs worked on projects that help the world directly and powerfully?

I think the world would be a better place if people in poor and starving countries could sustainably enjoy a standard of living similar to what we have in the west. Did the west get so rich because of people trying to help us, or was our wealth a by-product of the capitalist system that we never consciously strove for? I would say the second.

There were a couple of bloody wars in history, too, some of them might count as striving for something (freedom)?

I think most people in poor countries are also poor because they are being held hostage by their government.

That's exactly what we're trying to achieve.

It's where individuals speak and companies listen. Helping to create an ongoing conversation between companies, groups, Nonprofits and their customers who are individuals or employees is our goal. If we can improve the experiences we have with the things we interact with on a daily basis doesn't that support a better quality of life as well?

The problems of the world are too big for me. I start trying to solve those with the people and communities I am involved in and know something about (i.e. how to solve their problems).

I hope, perhaps naively, the goodwill and network effect propagates and the sum of the whole is greater than that of its parts and certainly that of my initial action.

It’s the best I can do and stay sane.

>The problems of the world are too big for me. I would argue that the problems might be too big but they do have simple solutions. For example take microfinance. The problem this industry is attacking is lack of banking facilities for the poor. The problem is huge but the solution is simple and not too hard to scale. Similarly, don't you think that once we figure out the right model at the fundamental level, it shouldn't be hard to scale up rapidly?

>It’s the best I can do and stay sane. I don't know how attacking bigger problems prevents you from being sane. In fact, you become saner as you get out of your comfort shell and experience what world has to offer.

I don't think setting up Microfinance is simple at all. I would rather have studied the stuff in depth before I tackle it (economics, that is).

So far, I am not even fully convinced that Microfinance really improves peoples lives. OK, the Nobel price for that one guy might be an indication, but it is not proof. It could still just be a scam.

Then, how do I deal with legal situation on location? There might be civil wars, communism, dictators and what not getting in the way. How do I estimate who is worthy of credit? I don't even speak any weird languages, so I probably couldn't even communicate with the poor..

Honestly, I don't know about the country you live in. But here in India there are tons of problems needing to be solved. You name a problem - hunger, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, etc. - and India has it. But despite that, it is surprising that many Indian entrepreneurs are focusing on web2.0 me too startups. Perhaps they can better utilize their time by learning things and doing stuff which helps the country and makes money for them.

I live in Germany. I don't think we have the kind of problems you have in India, but of course there are plenty of problems to solve in Germany, too. We do have some homeless people, for example, but I think the cause is usually physical and mental illness, nothing I could help with (I think).

Another problem is that just because I have some money on the bank, doesn't mean I am not still struggling for survival myself. I have wanted for a while to dedicate part of my time to helping the needy, but atm I don't even find the time for my startup aspirations while I work to pay the bills.

Also, I think if an Indian entrepreneur is successful with a web 2.0 startup, it might still improve lots of people's lives, as it strengthens the economy.

I hope with access to internet technology and cheap hardware people in poorer countries are able to increase thier standard of living.

In India, people are focused on web2.0/internet as they know the benefits of being in a global market are much greater and compared to the localised costs (of living, hardware, currency), they only need to make a small impact to create a large dividend.

Also, after years of tech outsourcing, many are most skilled in this area. If they had been involved in years of finance or legal outsourcing (or any other service-based model) then they would do things in those fields. Essentially as humans, we as a whole tend to stick with what we know?

Grameen (http://www.grameen-info.org) founded by Muhammad Yunus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus) was/is not a scam.

RE Problem:

I actually come from, and worked in, Bangladesh where the first micro-finance schemes really evolved and took off i.e. Grameen (http://www.grameen-info.org) founded by Muhammad Yunus.

The solution is by no means simple or even scalable with ease (hence the Noble Prize he won), and each country really has its own set of issues/culture/ politics/other that play big factors.

Taking micro-finance and Bangladesh as an example, you have remember most parts of the country (and in most countries where poverty and hunger and such related issues are rife) is very rural and most people have much difficulty even understanding banking let alone going to banks, which are few and far between (would you travel for one day to go to a bank or work to feed your family?), and even then there are so many sub-issues that need to be addressed.

Ultimately solutions (in any scenario) work when those people affected take ownership and become actively involved.

RE Sanity:

Sometimes big problems are overwhelming and it is actually easier/better to solve smaller problems first that solve specific needs (just like in startup mantra).

My thoughts came down to doing what was feasible within my constraints (I wish I was like Dr. Yunus, but alas). For those that care, this was to setup some mills to help farmer in local village area process their grain for almost free, and fisheries to help provide an alternate source of income/food for poor communities that was sustainable and required little/no effort.

The network effect has been others have now started doing similar community-based things which is helping to raise standard of living of all concerned and in the (localised) wider area.

Wake me up when you have an actionable plan to solve a problem. That would be interesting.

Striking a dramatic pose, pointing a finger at your peers, and yelling "sellouts!" is not a plan, unless you're a punk musician. Perhaps you should start a band.

My life plan has been to succeed in business, then spend my time and money trying to make the word better in innovative ways. Step one is just taking longer than I hoped...

Hey Bill Gates from twenty years ago, how's it going?

Seriously, though. This is not a bad approach. I don't know anything at all about bioengineering a more plague-resistant wheat crop. I don't know anything at all about how to calm two nations dead-set on the destruction of each other. And I sure don't know ANYTHING at all about how to practically and easily reduce our dependance on greenhouse-gas-producing oil.

That said, if I put my knowledge about how the web works into an application that people use and like and buy, then build up enough capital, I can fund the people who DO know those things, or at least know how to approach learning them. It's not a bad plan.

You're life's not wasted unless you waste it. I hardly consider what I do a waste. It's all building towards a larger goal.

Maybe, we are just deluding ourselves all the way when we should doing stuff that matters.

You know what the irony is. Even if some bioengineer makes a more plague resistant wheat crop, it wont solve world's hunger problem. India produces surplus crops. Even then it imports crops from outside. Even then people are dying here from hunger. So, part of the solution is to come up with right supply channels. This is just an example. We can always find ways where we could contribute more directly instead of waiting for things to get lucky so that we could fund other people.

The classic paradox is 'When I win the lottery, I'll build a hospital, school, homeless shelter'. Of course, you can always start small - volunteer to help the homeless before you have the means to build a shelter. I am already doing that. You can, too.

I don't think charity really helps the world much. If you want to help poor people you need to create an economy that creates steady jobs for people that can work and can sustain the dead weight from people incapable of holding down jobs.

Agreed. You can bitch and moan at Bill Gates all you want, but he's directly responsible for creating gigantic amounts of wealth that benefit us all - and that's even without counting any of his not-insignificant charity work.

Thats a good plan! By helping ourselves we become in the best position(s) to help others? ...but what if you never get past step 1?

>My life plan has been to succeed in business, then spend my time and money trying to make the word better in innovative ways. Step one is just taking longer than I hoped...

Step one also makes the world a better place. Most of the phenomenal standard of living that we enjoy comes from people trying to make themselves a buck by improving production and distribution processes and inventing new technology. GE has done more good for the world that any charity ever has.

It's something in our society that makes us feel obligated to save the world. But it's not as if our lives can be played like a video game where whoever does the most for others gets a high score. We just live in the world, and pursue our goals as best we can.

Put another way: In general, you are probably effecting a positive change if you are making money and are not in trouble for doing so.

Not my responsibility. I'll just do what makes me content without getting in anyone else's way... Which coincidentally is creating products which benefit the world, for profit.

Quite so.

Its actually quite easy for those of us in technology to make ourselves sound as if we're solving the world's problems, when doing nothing of the sort. For example, my full-time job is working at a company that provides forex for retail investors, yet I can say that (and this language is used in company PR) I am democratizing the forex market and empowering millions of people!

A lot of web 2.0 companies are especially guilty. They've the long-term importance and impact of a fashion house, yet their PR is all about revolutionizing this or that.

The best we can really do is to live our lives in such a way as to minimize the impact on others. This means a lot of work on your part, much more than the average lazy American (including myself) wants to deal with.

Here is a short list of things you can do in your everyday life to help:

1) Research all brands before you buy in order to make sure they do not support sweat shops or other kinds of unethical behavior. Don't buy Nike shoes and stop drinking Coca-Cola.

2) Stay away from all big chain stores like walmart. They put huge economic stresses on companies which cause these sweat shops to pop up in the first place.

3) Make your carbon footprint as small as possible. This is not only for the sake of the environment. Petrol cartels cause a huge amount of suffering and damage to the countries they operate in.

4) Buy green. Not advertising fake green but as environmentally friendly as possible. This can only be done with brand and product research.

5) Talk about these issues. By bringing them up in your every day life you will help spread awareness. I know that you may not want to be "that guy". The only way to change things really will be through social pressure and cultural change.

6) Read. You have to be aware of what is really going on if you want to know the right thing to do. I suggest John Perkins' newish book: The Secret History of the American Empire. It really opened my eyes.

yes.

but only because the flexibility to solve the world's problems usually comes from having a backbone of less useful or niche-driven apps to fund your world solving work. imo.

I am guilty of not solving the world's problems.

On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place. Some more of that I donate myself directly. So I am not completely useless... Just mostly :-/

>On the other hand, the work that I do do generates economic value, some of which is taxed, some of which does go towards making the world a better place.

When you weigh the negative effects of programs created from spending tax dollars against the positive effects, I suspect the net result is something close to zero or even below that. I wouldn't count on doing good for society by paying taxes.

As Umair in his original article suggests, how about an open source list of world's problems and then a wiki for their solutions so that people may collaborate. Any takers for this idea?

PS: I understand the irony here that Wiki is sort of web2.0 technology. But that's okay!

problepedia.com ?

yes, something like that. Or maybe, something like open source InnoCentive?

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