When an engine idles, it is burning fuel &amp; venting exhaust without creating any force.  It is consuming itself &amp; providing no value.  What is worse is that it&#x27;s polluting while it&#x27;s doing nothing.<p>Idle thought is when a human spends time thinking to no end purpose.<p>This thread is about Bill &amp; Melinda Gates&#x27; opinions on how to fix things.  You&#x27;re here speculating on Paul Graham&#x27;s opinions &amp; then slamming your carefully constructed strawman.  It is thought pollution.<p>You (and some of the children of this thread) should scrutinize your personal values and evaluate just what you think you are hoping to achieve by proposing up this kind of unsubstantiated tangent.