All of Coleman Foley's Comments + Replies

The Bridge to Boundless Human Development

Thanks Donald, good feedback. I agree about maximizing good over minimizing bad. Curing aging, or extending healthspan, is a great one. Certainly an easier sell than becoming a multiplanetary species.

The Foundational Tech Manifesto: What it will take to break through to America 2.0

Coleman Foley2y2

Strong piece. I love the art. It really enhances the message. It's interesting that you make it America-centric. This kind of stuff tends to be very global. I think it makes sense as a way to make the project a little more tightly scoped.

I like that you present both a worst-case future and a best-case future. It's more engaging than a simplistic techno-optimistic vision. It creates a narrative of a grand challenge that needs all the help it can get. Overall, I like how it's a very grand vision, but it is grounded in an array of concrete actions and specific areas to focus on.

3Gary Sheng2yI really appreciate the kind words, Coleman. Means a lot. Glad you got a lot out of the art. Very intentionally created + placed. And yes, the problem with "techno-optimism" is that it loses people immediately by communicating a sense of naivety about how challenging building a better future really is. Finally, yes, the America-centricity is mainly about tightening the scope. Here are some other reasons I share in the comments of the original posting [https://garysheng.substack.com/p/manifesto].

Introductions thread (please introduce yourself)

Coleman Foley2y4

Hi everyone. My name is Coleman. I'm a software engineer for a genetic testing company. I'm based in San Diego, California. I guess I could say my hobby is what Jason might call the philosophy of progress. I've been a big fan of Jason's writing for a while now (my favorites are the review of Where's My Flying Car and We Need a New Philosophy of Progress). I'm a big fan of Balaji Srinivasan's thinking, too.

I have been kind of obsessed for a while now with the question of how we accelerate technological progress. I like trying to imagine a better future and ... (read more)