Questions
&gt;Why do there seem to be more examples of rapidly-completed major projects in the past than the present?<p>I&#x27;m no historian so this is probably misguided, but I feel like this is an indicator for a society on the decline. Corruption is increasingly rampant in both the public and private sectors, and money is being siphoned off at every step. If we don&#x27;t figure out how to fix it, mounting costs and inefficiencies could put and end to our era prosperity soon. We&#x27;ve allocated power to people interested in screwing others for short-term (e.g. their lifetime) gains. Rah rah doom and gloom.<p>&gt;Could there be more good blogs?<p>&gt;Are there incentive structure tweaks that yield more good blogging?<p>The missing validation mechanisms like Facebook likes the author mentioned are largely filled by link aggregators. Posts on HN and Reddit have a score which acts as a similar dopamine drip to likes. I feel validated and encouraged to write more when my blog generates discussion around the net (though often with an equal sum of embarassment when my flames make it to my colleague&#x27;s desks).<p>&gt;Why are programming environments still so primitive?<p>This guy should try working with plan9 and acme for a few months. Author, if you&#x27;re reading these comments, you should install 9front, spend a weekend grokking it and becoming comfortable in a workflow there, then set up a Linux VM with vmx(3) and a 9P mount to your host system to get your Real Work done while continuing to learn about the plan9 model. Be prepared for your entire workflow to be turned on its head and to have to find creative ways out of your problems. Maybe today is one of those days where you change your life in a big way :)