Some time ago I started to feel that if we take more than we give/do for others/the planet, then we are nothing more than parasites. This was actually a little bit depressing - when you realise that your mere existence is contributing towards the downfall of the world you live in and so many of its inhabitants, it makes you question your entire being and purpose.

It has been at the forefront of my mind in everyday life for some time now, and when thinking about projects I want to work on I try to select those that ultimately do more for others than they do for me. I extend this to everyday life too, I try to be a positive force in the life of others, meaning if I can do or say something that might help someone feel better about themselves or their own existence, or can help them to be a better version of themselves (including encouraging them to be better residents and care-takers of the planet) then it’s definitely something worth spending time on.

While it does help me feel a little less guilty about being a member of a species that is currently a huge scourge on the planet, I still don’t feel completely content - I feel there’s much more that (I) can do. It’s actually the driving force behind wanting to create a SN; the ultimate reason being to try and make the world a better place through it.

The other project I want to do is where we raise a million pounds for dogs! Definitely more of a fun project with far less stress than running a SN!! and even places like this, can, I believe, be a force for good… even if via meaningful and thought-provoking conversations like this

So to answer the question in the first post - a lot! I think technology is the key to saving the world, and as people who can code, we’re in a very privileged position to do something about it. This means YOU could quite possibly be the person that does

This is demonstrably false because our mere existence also gives back to the planet – in default conditions. Uncomfortable topics like human waste (pee / feces), if disposed of properly and given back to forests and fertile lands, definitely falls under the “giving back” category. (but not when it’s indiscriminately thrown out in the ocean, along with literal thousands of tons of plastic)

But I wouldn’t dwell on the fact that no matter how hard we try, we end up always taking more than we give. It’s the circle of life – the “simpler” life forms are used to fuel the more “complex” life forms and that has been the case since life at all existed. We’re not the only ones to reap the benefits of our superior intelligence compared to other species around.

A sweet but an ultimately doomed effort. Ego and greed are innate engines of evolution; without them systems get stuck and eventually looted and pillaged by the more savage and unscrupulous elements in the system.

Our life should IMO resemble a sinusoid curve – during some periods we take more, during others we give more. We cannot and should not always put ourselves in service of some invisible society. Sure all those people exist, I don’t doubt that; but how much of them do you meet or care about? And are you really sure what you do is going to affect them positively? Maybe, by skimping on some expenses you’re not saving the planet but are leaving an Indian or Chinese father jobless?

You already were that in my life and we haven’t even met. There are many ways to be an actual positive force. You absolutely are. You don’t have to center your entire existence around this ideal. All things in moderation!

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Please. For years now we have regulations that dog owners have to pick their dog’s poop after them. Why? One of the main reasons was that there are now so many dogs in the cities that the soil in the parks literally cannot handle all the poop!

It’s okay to love animals. I’d probably get physically violent if somebody harms a parrot or a cat in front of me. But animals in inner cities that litter outside – which means dogs in particular! – are becoming more and more of a problem. Plus, irresponsible owners figure they don’t want to care for their dog anymore and they just drive several blocks away and let the dog out and go back. And then you have non-neutered dog procreating with the other street dogs. Then people get attacked by the increasing number of stray dogs as well.

It’s a huge can of worms and I feel people should stop worshipping dogs as much as they do. Love them, sure, but refrain from taking more of them under your roof! I’d go even further: if you live in the inner city you should even be required to have a special permit to own a dog. That permit should likely cost 20,000 EUR and you should also be periodically required to prove that you continue to be a good dog owner. This steep financial penalty would likely fix the problem for decades ahead.

(Unless you live outside the city of course; there the dogs can do no harm to nature since nature there is so much more in area compared to the inner cities.)

Finally, the whole “be ecological citizens” thing I always found to be very hypocritical and very often an empty virtue signalling activity. I think I shared that with you once but it bears repeating – once I drew out a calculator to prove to a teacher that 50,000 people stopping their usage of electric kettles is but a drop in the ocean for less electricity usage and if that just ONE local factory switches to a more eco-friendly manufacturing process they can very easily outweigh what 250,000 to 500,000 citizens can do.

This was proven and backed by math by statisticians and engineers, many times.

Yes, we can be better. Yes, we can try to be less disruptive to the planet’s ecology. But us the regular citizens really can’t do much. There are much bigger entities out there that should lead the way.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Dimi

It’s great to see that you’ve given so many of these things thought too and I think the thing I want to comment about most is on this:

Please don’t underestimate what you can achieve - you could create a piece of technology that could change the course of humanity I really do believe it is within us all (and people before us have shown this to be the case - where would we be without Alan Turing and computers for instance?).

It’s not that it’s true (or false) just something I personally feel. Sometimes I feel like I (/we’re) a cancer on this planet - taking far more than we ever give. Particularly when we weigh up the net positive/negative. It’s ok if you feel otherwise

It’s not a doomed or wasted effort for me some of it definitely brings me some comfort.

It doesn’t always have to be that way The past is a look into what’s been for sure, but it’s also a look at what could be - if we don’t like the past we can always use it to shape the future and make it a better future. In fact, some of the most negative stuff often acts as a catalyst for some of the most positive.

Awwww thank you for saying that

Haha, you just helped prove my point Dimi; there’s so much wrong in the pet world that more needs to be done. More education, more campaigning to stop puppy farmers, better registration systems, better pet-food standards, etc.

I would really enjoy doing that project - it would definitely feel worthwhile (for me anyway).

Btw, Germany are currently considering some tough laws on dog ownership which I think is a great idea. Sweden already has some brilliant laws on dog-breeding, which I would love to see more countries adopt - these are the sort of things the money we’d raise would help campaign towards. The funny thing is Phoenix would be a good fit for this project - hopefully it will be the first Phoenix project I do!

I agree that we may need to focus on the big polluters and causes. I think the largest difference I think we can make, or at least I can make, isn’t what I can personally do as a ‘citizen’ (eg recycling my plastic bottles) but through work such as the projects I mentioned… and that’s where I think most of us can make a difference too, because we’re fortunate to be able to almost single-handedly create projects that can have huge impact.

The important thing, at least in my view, is not that we share the same ideas or go down the same path - is that we act on what we think can make a difference - because who knows, your ideas could be a million times better than those of others.

As the famous French essayist Joseph Joubert said “The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.” I feel the same is true of our actions - it doesn’t really matter who’s right or where the best ideas come from, those that can do humanity and planet the most good, is what truly matters

I’d like to leave you with a question Dimi - how do you think you can use your developer skills to ‘save’ the planet or make the world a better place in the most impactful way?