zetamax

I think perhaps more people are attempting this path then back in the late 60s through 70s. However, as opposed to the mainstream vs counterculture, we have influencer culture mixed in, e.g. vanlife or travel bloggers.

It's sort of conceptually hard to be an independent thinker/doer, and also emulate others, even if emulating someone like Steve. For all those that drop out of the mainstream yet still let themselves be known via social media, probably even fewer probably drop out completely; I suspect there are still many. I hunt for obscure artists on Spotify/Youtube, and if I find a small concert, this sort of community still seems within reach.

Ultimately, it's the devices Steve had a hand in innovating that are obscuring aspects of the old school vibes of being off the grid in the present. However, perhaps our current variation of hippie vibes will feel event more quaint to those looking back from 2060 or so.

I can't be certain what khloto meant, but reading their comment I envisioned them meaning connect with a founder of another company that the new startup team (like the op) would mutually "vibe with." I imagined that other founder to maybe have already raised money before and could mentor you a bit, but that really the hope is that you just keep meeting other founders and some of these relationships could go different ways, some stay mentoring, some become customers, some become partners in some promotional initiative. Basically I interpreted khloto to be nudgding a first time startup entrepreneur to take the first step to a mini yc of their own doing (i.e. build business relationships with other founders that go beyond just schmoozing and networking, and doing it with a three month or so timeline to start).

Other than the reference to SpaceX this post left the "engine" out of engineering more than I think is a viable amount of creative license.

Engineering, or science for that matter, doesn't include all the values that individually or collectively motivate human beings to do anything.

An engine can be the core component of what an airplane or rocket is, and science can help us optimize fuel type or efficiency, or make a more stable flight, but science and engineering will not lead us to decide whether to use that airplane for leisure or war. Perhaps in a perfectly technocratic society it is arguable that engineering and science are the ultimate guiding values and principles, but that is not the society or societies we live in.

As far as software, it seems to me its engine is the microprocessor, but much if not most software is not working in tandem with some engine on the other end, exceptions being cars, planes, 3d printers etc.

Rather, software is very malleable and although end users want things to work well, they also are accustomed to a steady if not daily flow of updates, which the author of this blog post has some expertise with (I would consider the development if continuous delivery an engineering endeavor).

All that to say is I think the author should look more deeply elsewhere than science and engineering as to the why and what to build, or ironically the epistemology, ontology, methodology and axiology will sort of just be pulled out of the air ad hoc, perhaps the least scientific way of operating.

I don't think it would look that much different, in many ways it would just be less people using it, and for those that have it, they would be getting less out of it. If the prices had remained flat, even less productivity would have resulted. Consider how little a microwave oven, washing washing machine, or refrigerator has really changed, and how (relatively speaking) society questions that lack of change.

If we had been stuck in a cd-rom, dvd-rom, 56k world, I suppose we would would have seen quite a bit of improvement in user interface, graphic design, and market integration of those tools. However, I think we still in many ways will see micro-renaissances in areas with a similar vibe. If you look at a map of cell phone coverage in America, it's basically 1994 most places on the map, and those areas basically go far underdeveloped for what a middle class person could take advantage of in a post covid-19 America. In that sense, I think your overall question is more an invitation of what the potential of those areas is, rather than a "what if" alternative universe.