I could see how more cold-eyed analysis could lead to wiser aim in what things to build; I could also see it leading to fewer great things being built
I think analysis really could help lead to more great things being built. It would be a complete catastrophe if someone said, “This analysis shows that SpaceX is less effective than bunkers… therefore we shouldn’t do either”
With analysis and optimization, funders could be given more assurance that these projects are great, and could correspondingly put more money into them. This is how the VC world works.
I think it’s very easy to pattern match “we could use analysis” with “really mediocre bureaucratic red-tape”, but that’s not at all what I think we can and should aim for.
I think analysis really could help lead to more great things being built. It would be a complete catastrophe if someone said, “This analysis shows that SpaceX is less effective than bunkers… therefore we shouldn’t do either”
With analysis and optimization, funders could be given more assurance that these projects are great, and could correspondingly put more money into them. This is how the VC world works.
I think it’s very easy to pattern match “we could use analysis” with “really mediocre bureaucratic red-tape”, but that’s not at all what I think we can and should aim for.