Two points: many plastic bags today are made from cornstarch-base, and therefore recyclable; we seem to continue to find more oil reserves in unexpected quantities, and there are those that contend oil has a non-fossil origin, being continually produced deep in the Earth's crust.

LOL. Agreed.

The one thing that really bugged me was "plastic or paper." Of course, the "Save the earth" people said "save the trees, use plastic." I have been given to understand that oil is an ingredient of plastic. So, I challenge the tree huggers, I can grow another tree; can you grow another dinosaur? There is a finite amount of oil. When it's gone, it's gone.

So, what it comes down to is, "You can't have your leftovers and let your neighbor eat it too."

True enough--in the original series. But in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and Enterprise and especially in the motion picture First Contact, the characters explicitly declared humans formed something they called The New Economy. In that economy, money did not exist.

The Ferengi, with their non-replicable substance that became their currency, stood in stark contrast to the Federation and especially human society. That society was one of pure communism. And by "pure" I here mean not one character ever mentioned any nomenklatura (Francisco's Aristocracy of Pull) nor any George Soros type manipulating the political and economic system behind the scenes.

parenthetically, matter is consumed in nuclear
detonations -- and transformed into energy -- but
that it nit-picking. -- j
.

Actually the 3D printer, even today, is not really a problem, patent wise. Nor will it be much of a problem in at least the near future. No one is going to dent any production product with 3D printing. The cost is too high, and the production rate way too slow. However, 3D printers, and CAD programs will let small tech companies and individuals compete better with large producers. They allow one to bring an idea/invention to fruition. This has not been possible without a fairly large expenditure before. They could well be the key to a new wave of invention.
Still, any "printed" item, would be mass produced by more conventional means post testing and acceptance of it's final version.
As for 3D printing displacing industry, I fear it will never be cheaper to print a part, then to mass produce it. There are times it may be worth the cost. Replacement parts that are no longer made! But even then, rather than trying to recreate the part, most would be more than happy to pay a small fee for the print file from the OEM.

Carnivore

Computer programs and algorithms exist that can discover and analyze patterns and relationships among individual elements in separate data sets. I would call that integration.

That will never happen. In spite of the level of competence or incompetence.

"Most people can't think. Most of the remainder won't think. The small fraction who do think, mostly can't do it very well. The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively, and without self-delusion; in the long run, these are the only people who count."

Robert Heinlein

That small fraction will be the wall between humans and machines. And, that fraction is growing every day.

Agreed

I think for a very interesting take on it, or rather the step beyond 3D printing, read "The Diamond Age".

The "no money" thing was an artifact of Roddenberry-as-socialist, one which was later back-handedly walked back even before the appearance of the Ferengi. I see to recall Kirk talking about money being spent - and commenting on a crew member earning his pay for the week; not to mention the famous Trouble with Tribbles episode where he talked about it.


Now, there was a post-federation story which was retold as "Andromeda" (Commonwealth == Federation of Planets), though I forget why it was taken out of the ST universe - probably CBS.

I think your idea of a "replicator" displacing patents will come down to personal use vs using IP for a sale to others.
That said, it seems unlikely to me that any personal device will ever compete with a larger, mass production device to make the same thing. Efficiency in industrial equipment, processes etc will always crush personal equivalents unless distribution costs absolutely dominate.

Forbidden Planet

Exactly...now, consider 60% or more of the world that hasn't even got behaving one's self down yet!

Minus the idiots in our governments...western societies might be ready for somethings but the rest of the world would not.

That actually happened around mid 20th century. As our science gives us the ability to do wondrous things, our immaturity makes fools of us. It's the same as handing a toddler a loaded gun.

Anyone can obtain compartmentalized information but they cannot integrate that information without a mind...

BUY!...PAY! the designer???...the marxist left will go NUTS!...I want a front row seat...I could use a laugh.

Yea...that computer idea was just silly...snicker.

We've reached a point in which our technology is beyond our maturity, our knowledge and wisdom.
This statement brings to mind: Paradise Lost by Milton.

We have a lot of dangerous ground to cover yet in which morality, ethics and an understanding of what is human must be considered.

There must be somethings that humans should not engage until ready and others we should never engage, otherwise, with unlimited resources at our disposal it might change the way we value life. see: the R/K selection theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8N3F...

Just a thought...I think it should be part of the conversation.

The heated bed does help, but the most common problem if you don't keep the spool dry is extruder jamming.

They might get intelligence, but who will teach them what to do with it?

Thanks. We live in a desert but if you advise more I'll certainly take a look! He got one of the kits and it includes a heated bed, so we were hoping that would help as well.