Have We Stopped Inventing Futures Worth Predicting?
Robert Sapolsky argues that everything is deterministic, but I wonder if human unpredictability comes from our rare ability to act outside of incentive structures—choosing struggle, chaos, and creative risk even when it makes no sense. We already have the science and technology to tackle existential challenges—climate change, AI risk, even human longevity—but nobody seems to believe the future will be better than the present. Dystopia is the default narrative, and this nihilism has killed the moonshot culture that defined the early 20th century. Instead of building the 22nd century in 2030, we’re stuck in incrementalism. Where are the orbital solar power stations? The permanent Moon bases? The AIs designed to elevate us rather than pacify us? These ideas feel like science fiction only because no one is crazy enough to try. Alan Kay said the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Maybe the real “veil of computability” - our blind spot - is that we’ve stopped imagining futures worth predicting. Question: What would a new moonshot culture look like today—and who’s still crazy enough to build it? 0 comments on Hacker News.
Robert Sapolsky argues that everything is deterministic, but I wonder if human unpredictability comes from our rare ability to act outside of incentive structures—choosing struggle, chaos, and creative risk even when it makes no sense. We already have the science and technology to tackle existential challenges—climate change, AI risk, even human longevity—but nobody seems to believe the future will be better than the present. Dystopia is the default narrative, and this nihilism has killed the moonshot culture that defined the early 20th century. Instead of building the 22nd century in 2030, we’re stuck in incrementalism. Where are the orbital solar power stations? The permanent Moon bases? The AIs designed to elevate us rather than pacify us? These ideas feel like science fiction only because no one is crazy enough to try. Alan Kay said the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Maybe the real “veil of computability” - our blind spot - is that we’ve stopped imagining futures worth predicting. Question: What would a new moonshot culture look like today—and who’s still crazy enough to build it?
Robert Sapolsky argues that everything is deterministic, but I wonder if human unpredictability comes from our rare ability to act outside of incentive structures—choosing struggle, chaos, and creative risk even when it makes no sense. We already have the science and technology to tackle existential challenges—climate change, AI risk, even human longevity—but nobody seems to believe the future will be better than the present. Dystopia is the default narrative, and this nihilism has killed the moonshot culture that defined the early 20th century. Instead of building the 22nd century in 2030, we’re stuck in incrementalism. Where are the orbital solar power stations? The permanent Moon bases? The AIs designed to elevate us rather than pacify us? These ideas feel like science fiction only because no one is crazy enough to try. Alan Kay said the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Maybe the real “veil of computability” - our blind spot - is that we’ve stopped imagining futures worth predicting. Question: What would a new moonshot culture look like today—and who’s still crazy enough to build it? 0 comments on Hacker News.
Robert Sapolsky argues that everything is deterministic, but I wonder if human unpredictability comes from our rare ability to act outside of incentive structures—choosing struggle, chaos, and creative risk even when it makes no sense. We already have the science and technology to tackle existential challenges—climate change, AI risk, even human longevity—but nobody seems to believe the future will be better than the present. Dystopia is the default narrative, and this nihilism has killed the moonshot culture that defined the early 20th century. Instead of building the 22nd century in 2030, we’re stuck in incrementalism. Where are the orbital solar power stations? The permanent Moon bases? The AIs designed to elevate us rather than pacify us? These ideas feel like science fiction only because no one is crazy enough to try. Alan Kay said the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Maybe the real “veil of computability” - our blind spot - is that we’ve stopped imagining futures worth predicting. Question: What would a new moonshot culture look like today—and who’s still crazy enough to build it?
Hacker News story: Have We Stopped Inventing Futures Worth Predicting?
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Reviewed by Tha Kur
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July 29, 2025
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