Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by tromp | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

tromp

The quote that struck me was

> I foresee exciting times ahead, provided we still have a functioning civilization in which to enjoy them.

View on HN

If you are shocked by this, I suggest not reading his other recent topics.

Spent an hour going through his blog. Wild and unpleasant ride.

The comments section of that blog is truly a wild ride.

As it should be.

> For most of my professional life, this blog has been my forum, where anyone in the world could show up to raise any issue they wanted, as if we were tunic-wearing philosophers in the Athenian agora.

https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=6576

It's interesting to see someone who seems to describe themself as anti-woke try desperately to convince the generally anti-academic movement to fund academics. Sadly I don't think he'll succeed in this.

I don't agree with many of his posts but I think the blog is interesting in how personal it feels. Often I feel like all media is very cultivated but he seems very willing to put his own anxieties and foibles on the web.

FWIW, it's unclear how the NSF ends up. Musk needs scientists to make rockets go. The defense industry needs a broad spectrum of scientists to make all kinds of things happen. Scientists (and especially the schools producing said scientists) need funding to operate, or there will no longer be accredited scientists.

Does Musk understand this? Maybe not. It's not evident so far. He certainly lives in a fictional world of the right wing's devising. Will someone else be able to penetrate that bubble to make him understand it? Will he care if they do? Guess we'll find out.

Why do all schools need public money? The big ones have huge endowments, why not use those? They also make a ton of money from students. Much of it is wasted on layers of administrators, but the administrators will just fire the scientists for not bringing in grants

I found his blog to be candid and well thought out usually

> If you are shocked by this, I suggest not reading his other recent topics.

Given that this is Scott Aaronson, does he suggest we'll break cryptography and destroy the foundations of the modern internet?

AI takeover is what he's referencing.

Also distress at various political developments.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com