The situation is not unique in that a search and replace with obesity or addiction plays back nearly as accurately.
If there's a commonality of failure to understand and control very large systems with very complicated feedback loops, maybe improvement in that area might simultaneously lead to better solutions in all those problem areas. Given enough progress, even Economics might rise past the level of mere astrology and PR.
What could a startup do? Well, crazy as it sounds, systems analysis as a service, maybe? There are already MOOC companies maybe they could offer graduate level classes in control theory. Maybe startups working in giant feedback filled systems like cloud-whatever would make general progress in the field as part of getting their specific system to stabilize. I'm guessing any possible progress would be a side effect of those companies. For direct applications maybe real time augmented reality feedback, somehow.
Certainly mental health, like physical health, is not binary and being sick and unhappy is certainly worse than being equally sick and slightly more happy, or at least more content. In that way the possibilities for startups related to the problem expand. A startup focused on teaching meditation. Or a startup to do biofeedback to increase pain tolerance. A startup to increase feeling of community, assuming the community would be positive and assuming the victims are not feeling introverted.
Comments
The situation is not unique in that a search and replace with obesity or addiction plays back nearly as accurately.
If there's a commonality of failure to understand and control very large systems with very complicated feedback loops, maybe improvement in that area might simultaneously lead to better solutions in all those problem areas. Given enough progress, even Economics might rise past the level of mere astrology and PR.
What could a startup do? Well, crazy as it sounds, systems analysis as a service, maybe? There are already MOOC companies maybe they could offer graduate level classes in control theory. Maybe startups working in giant feedback filled systems like cloud-whatever would make general progress in the field as part of getting their specific system to stabilize. I'm guessing any possible progress would be a side effect of those companies. For direct applications maybe real time augmented reality feedback, somehow.
Certainly mental health, like physical health, is not binary and being sick and unhappy is certainly worse than being equally sick and slightly more happy, or at least more content. In that way the possibilities for startups related to the problem expand. A startup focused on teaching meditation. Or a startup to do biofeedback to increase pain tolerance. A startup to increase feeling of community, assuming the community would be positive and assuming the victims are not feeling introverted.