Here's a meta thread of my World's Biggest Problems (neilthanedar.com/worlds-biggest):
1 tweet per problem + 1 tweet per solution.
16 Problems + 84 Solutions = 100 Tweets:
Conversation
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Problem #1 is Maximize Human Potential:
This is the meta problem.
"Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not."
How do we give everyone the resources to reach their highest potential?
The solutions to the World's Biggest Problems will come from these people.
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Solution #1 is Personal Capital:
*Fund people, not projects*
How can we get funding directly to high-potential people?
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We know that Personal Capital works best for funding scientific research: twitter.com/patrickc/statu
We should be funding Founders and Creators like this too.
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Solution #2 is Hamming Questions:
We should all be asking ourselves these two key questions:
1. “What are the World’s Biggest Problems?”
2. “Why aren’t you working on them?"
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My World's Biggest Problems project is inspired by the famous Richard Hamming quote from his You and Your Research speech: paulgraham.com/hamming.html
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Solution #3 is Utopiaforming:
Terraforming is cool, but what if there's something better than Earth?
We shouldn't just replicate our nature, we should also create utopic environments de novo.
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Solution #4 is Open Metaverse:
In 20 years, will we all be using the Facebook, Apple, or Google Metaverse?
Or will our metaverse be built on an open standard?
A key to maximizing human potential is ensuring that the winning metaverse is an open one.
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Solution #5 is Maximize Chaotic Good:
Give people the freedom to take more risks.
We should maximize shots on goal even if it means more misses:
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Gretzky's sentence after his famous quote might be even more important:
“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Even though there is only a 1-5% probability of scoring.”
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Solution #6 is Legalize Psychedelics:
It's hard to create utopias when you've never seen one.
And psychedelics can treat many of the world's biggest mental health problems.
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Problem #2 is Optimize Science For Good:
We're on the verge of a new scientific revolution, especially in genetic modification.
Will these advances benefit everyone equally, or will they be monopolized by an elite few?
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Solution #7 is for Biology:
Like with AI, we need to ensure that the power of Biology is not monopolized by a few corporations or governments.
The risks are too high:
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A classic Silicon Valley parlor game is to ask "Which is more likely to destroy humanity: AI or Biology?"
I've always been on team Biology.
COVID and cell therapies reinforce my conviction here.
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Solution #8 is DNA Composer:
Even CRISPR is 'just' cut-and-paste.
What if humans and/or AI could invent *novel* genetic sequences?
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The biggest breakthrough of this century will be when someone figures out how to compose DNA/RNA.
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Solution #9 is Biotech Studios:
There are hundreds of new therapeutics that need to be validated and brought to market ASAP.
We need more studios like attacking the biggest problems in biotech.
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Solution #10 is Petrochemical Alternatives:
Petrochemicals account for one-third of the world's oil consumption (and growing).
EVs are just Step #1 in our transition off fossil fuels:
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Problem #3 is Optimize Government For Good:
We need to recruit more ambitious optimists to lead our government institutions.
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
— Plato
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Solution #11 is US Digital Dollars:
We need a public digital payments system.
USDD could facilitate a more progressive form of quantitative easing.
Minted currency could be distributed via universal basic income and other direct welfare programs instead of through banks.
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Solution #12 is a New Voting Rights Act:
* Ban gerrymandering nationwide.
* Make it easy for all eligible voters to vote.
* Eliminate the Electoral College and partisan primaries.
* Enact ranked-choice popular voting in all elections.
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Solution #13 is Progressive Regulation:
New ideas and startups should be allowed to launch with minimal regulations.
Government regulations should progressively increase as people and companies get richer and gain power.
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Solution #14 is a New Efficiency Movement:
We need to maximize our limited resources.
Wherever possible, we should aim to first reduce consumption vs. increasing production.
Government is a major source of this inefficiency (see #15).
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Solution #15 is Redistribute Spending:
Governments could fund many key new programs if we first reduced or ended many wasteful government programs (see #16).
This would unite Moderates and rapidly improve our countries without raising taxes.
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Solution #16 is End Corporate Warfare:
The military-industrial complex controls too much of our global budget and causes many of the World's Biggest Problems.
We need to redirect a lot of these resources and invest in our people and infrastructure at home.
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Problem #4 is Scale Clean Energy Cheaply:
We need to transition all energy usage to sustainable sources.
(I would have this problem higher up if wasn't already working on it.)
We're so close to an energy revolution:
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Technological revolutions are unlocked by energy revolutions.
A big reason why we didn't get flying cars this generation is that the last generation blocked nuclear power.
Solar power is the key to unlocking long-distance space travel. Let's not make the same mistake again.
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Solution #17 is Modern HVAC:
Upgrading your HVAC and insulation is one of the most impactful personal actions you can make to reduce CO2:
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Solution #18 is Decentralized Utilities:
As solar panels become ubiquitous (see #20), we'll soon be able to create decentralized networks of energy producers and consumers.
Cryptocurrencies can be used to meter production and consumption.
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Solution #19 is Normalize Nuclear Energy:
We should have had ubiquitous nuclear energy by now, but fear and misinformation blocked over a generation of progress in clean energy.
We need to loudly prove the safety and efficacy of nuclear energy and scale it globally ASAP.
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Solution #20 is Solar Panel Roofing:
Solar power is getting cheaper really fast (see #21).
The future of clean energy is solar panels everywhere connected by decentralized utilities (see #18).
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Solution #21 is Swanson's Law:
The learning curve in photovoltaics is so steep that costs are currently dropping 75% every 10 years: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanson's
This will make solar power much cheaper than fossil fuels in <20 years, simplifying the transition to sustainable energy.
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Problem #5 is Scale Quality Healthcare Cheaply:
Every country on Earth can afford to provide Universal Healthcare if we redistribute spending (see #15), change how we make pharmaceuticals (#23) and medical devices (#24), and make it easier to validate new therapies (#25 & #26).
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Solution #22 is Universal Healthcare + Private Options:
Universal healthcare would be easier to pass in the US if it was connected to the guarantee of private healthcare availability.
Democrats have the trifecta now. 2021 is the year to pass Universal Healthcare.
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Solution #23 is Nonprofit Pharmaceuticals:
Mission: End the global shortage of medicine.
Governments should manufacture medications and distribute them for free/cheap to everyone.
If they won't do it, then an independent nonprofit should take the lead here.
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Solution #24 is Nonprofit Medical Devices:
We started work on this solution last year with .
Our mission is to provide safe affordable medical devices to all.
The biggest challenge with launching these nonprofits is funding initial R&D through first product launch.
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Solution #25 is Decentralized Clinical Trials:
Conduct clinical trials virtually using continuous health monitors and remote checkups.
Lower Costs: Make it easier to perform reproducibility studies.
Better Data: Track larger populations for longer times in natural settings.
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