Glenn Reynolds: Why we still don't have flying cars

After regulation exploded in 1970, innovation hit a sustained speed bump.

"In the United States, which drove most of the “golden quarter’s” progress, 1970 marks what scholars of administrative law (like me) call the “regulatory explosion.” Although government expanded a lot during the New Deal under FDR, it wasn’t until 1970, under Richard Nixon, that we saw an explosion of new-type regulations that directly burdened people and progress: The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, the founding of Occupation Safety and Health Administration, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, etc. — all things that would have made the most hard-boiled New Dealer blanch."

Within a decade or so, Washington was transformed from a sleepy backwater (mocked by John F. Kennedy for its “Southern efficiency and Northern charm”) to a city full of fancy restaurants and expensive houses, a trend that has only continued in the decades since. The explosion of regulations led to an explosion of people to lobby the regulators, and lobbyists need nice restaurants and fancy houses.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that progress suddenly slowed down, but I don’t think so. Indeed, the Obama administration’s brilliantly successful policy for promoting private spaceflight ventures (basically one of benign neglect) can be seen as evidence that we can actually get the kind of progress we used to get, when we regulate lightly, like we used to. Who knows, if we regulated pharmaceuticals like we did in the early 1960s, perhaps we’d get as many major new drugs as we got in the 1960s. (“The time for a new drug candidate to gain approval in the United States rose from less than eight years in the 1960s to nearly 13 years by the 1990s,” notes Hanlon.)

Of course, excessive regulation isn’t just slowing technological progress, it’s also making us poorer. A recent study from the Mercatus Center found that the increase in federal regulation since 1980 has reduced economic growth by 0.8% per year — which over time means that the economy by 2012 would have been 25% larger, adding up to about $13,000 more for every American. The number would be much bigger, if they’d used 1970 as their baseline.

subtitle volume control

Intended for nearsighted deaf. Intended as joke. But it seems like a great idea.

"Keurig unveils its new home-brew soda machine"

"The all-white, $369.99 machine stands apart from previous carbonated and cold brew machines like Soda Stream, Keurig Green Mountain CEO Brain Kelley told me, because the device produces a carbonated drink without the need of a CO2 canister. Kold Pods, which will cost between $4.49 and $4.99 for a four-pack, actually include CO2 beads. It also delivers a cold beverage. "Other machines [drinks] don't come out cold," said Kelley. It's also starting out with some big name partners: Keurig Kold will be able to make Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper drinks..."

"Keurig gave the press an opportunity to brew our own cold and carbonated drinks... I hit the blue button and then waited as the device cooled the water to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. That was followed by a hissing sound and then a rush of carbonated water into the 8-ounce cup I'd placed below the dispenser. That was followed quickly by what looked like the flavor syrup. This all took about a minute and then my drink was ready. It tasted like fresh-from-the-bottle Coca-Cola. I was impressed."

h/t Sandy 

Easiest Drawers Ever!

Kickstarter: The Air Umbrella

This is a real“invisible umbrella”, which takes advantage of the air flow as shelter from the rain.

 

 

The first recorded use of sun protecting parasol comes from Ancient Egypt, over 3500 years ago. Initially used with simple configurations of palm leaves attached to a stick, Egyptian parasols soon evolved into an object that was used by nobles, religious leaders and royalty.

A New Idea Is Born

Suppose we consider a new life to be like a new invention, which under our laws must be both new and useful.* The novelty of a new life (identical twins aside) is self-evident in its genetic code. Inventions occur (again under our law) following conception and reduction to practice.  The two events may be connascent or sequential. Conception is the fixed and permanent idea of the invention, while reduction to practice is the embodiment of the idea. Like parenting, only an inventor can contribute to conception.

Suppose that new life indeed does begin at conception, but it's not fully embodied until some indefinite point in time. Is it not imperative to dehumanize that new life?
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*As for the usefulness of a newly conceived life or idea -- that requires time. The following anecdote may apply.  Sometime in the 19th century, a delegation of government dignitaries visited Michael Faraday to view his electric motors and other inventions. One said "This is all very interesting, but of what possible use are these toys?" Faraday responded: "I cannot say what use they may be, but I can confidently predict that one day you will be able to tax them."

Jesus Changed Water Into Wine...

...but now the Federal Bureau of ATF is blocking that miracle. Developing story.

"The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel"

One aspect of the results will be evident as soon as you start looking through them: the debatability of the choices and rankings once you move beyond the first few. For instance, anesthesia (46), which, on its debut in 1846, began to distinguish surgery from torture, barely made the top 50, and that was only because one panelist pushed it hard. If I were doing the ranking, it would be in the top 10, certainly above the personal computer (16 on our final list). In this case the test for me is: Which would I miss more if it didn’t exist? (Our panelist John Doerr, a well-known technology investor, said he worked his way through his own top‑25 list using a similar set of “pairwise comparisons,” asking which technology he would miss more.) I rely on personal computers, but I got along fine before their introduction; I still remember a dental procedure in England when the National Health Service didn’t pay for novocaine.

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Which would you remove and replace with something else? What would you rank higher than it is listed? What would your top five be?