Reddit reviews Disappearing Through the Skylight: Culture and Technology in the Twentieth Century

I've been thinking about this topic for the last couple of years, and government is just totally clueless that they are on the verge of becoming obsolete, or at least severely limited. It started with electric cars making the use of gas tax impractical as a way to pay for roads.

But that's just the first whiff of tech that is going to make things difficult. Once people realize that getting paid in Ether and paying for things in Ether is not only risk free but double-digit percentage cheaper than using gov't money, the game is over. Government will have no more insight into our financial pictures.

If government wants to stay funded, they need to -- right now -- start switching to a land tax. Land will be the only thing that will be trackable and stable enough to collect taxes on. Money is about to disappear through the skylight.

(The book is about how humans continually abstract away our physical limitations - I don't have a clue what that bizarre description on Amazon has to do with the actual content)

1. Convince yourself that what you need to study is very important. This was advice a professor of mine used to give us all the time. "It may be hard to understand, but convince yourself it works this way and work on learning how to use the tools."
   
   
   
2. Do some experiments. Even if they're day dreams. Sometimes you may need to get some blocks and string and do a little experiment. It goes with convincing yourself how things work.
   
   
   
3. These are a little basic, but the David Macaully books like Cathedral or Choas and Genius by James Gleick or one of my favorites, Disappearing Through The Skylight which may have cemented my interest in science and mathematics forever. If you want something more sophisticated, GED: An Eternal Golden Braid by Hofstadter.
   
   
   But it all comes down to convincing yourself that this is the path you want to follow beyond all paths and making it real for yourself so you can put the work and energy into making yourself successful.
   
   
   Good luck.