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Now imagine if this was written about the first steam engines being used inefficiently to pull coal up out the ground and pump out the water. It's so expensive

Now imagine if this was written about the first steam engines being used inefficiently to pull coal up out the ground and pump out the water. It's so expensive -- is this really more effective than just hiring 50 men? We all know how that ended up...

krupan 2mo ago
It ended with global warming from burning too much coal. I'm not sure that's the comparison you are trying to make though
simonw 2mo ago
> We all know how that ended up... It ended up with investors losing their shirts time and time again - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893 for example - but we did get some very useful infrastructure out of it.
- Gud 2mo ago
  That's not really how it "ended up"? Yes, there are always losers when investing in new technologies. But the steam engine was an amazing invention, and ended up propelling humanity forward.