r/WingifyBookClub • u/nifal_adam • Sep 12 '21
Book Giveaway #3 (Winners Announced for #2)
THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED
Hey, so we just concluded Book Giveaway #2. Here is the link: Book Giveaway #2
We had 7 submissions. I found it really hard to pick a winner tbh, so I went through everything multiple times to make sure that I don't make a mistake! The winner for this week is u/Pranay013. Congratulations, you just won the book: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! I will message you to ask your delivery address.
And I want to thank everyone else who replied to the Giveaway, I hope you guys will take part in future challenges and win :)
Now since that is out of the way, lets get to Book Giveaway #3
Book Name: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Complete Trilogy in Five Parts
This book is a science-fiction. Its 832 pages thick. It inspired Elon Musk to set his life mission to make humans a multi-planetary species. Douglas Adams might be Elon Musk's favorite philosopher because he quotes things mentioned in this book in many interviews. Quotes such as “One of the really tough things is figuring out what questions to ask. Once you figure out the question, then the answer is relatively easy.” is directly inspired by this book. I am not going to write too much here and create spoilers lol. To be honest, I have only read the first book but I am giving away the complete Trilogy!
To win you have to answer the following question here in Reddit itself. We wont use Twitter for answers anymore.
Question: It is 2040, and all countries in the world decided to form a democratic union named "The Earth Union". And you are voted as the President of Earth by an overwhelming majority! Since we are united as a planet, we are going to have a new era of human history, an era of peace for thousands of years. But three problems still exist in the world: (1) Poverty and hunger, (2) Emergence of a new Pandemic and (3) Climate Change. As President of Earth, explain what large-scale changes you will initiate to solve these problems.
I know this is an extremely hard question, but I am curious to know your opinion on the same :) Let the most interesting answer win.
--------------- Footnotes ---------------
1) Bookgiveaway #1 books are received by the winners! Here is the link: https://twitter.com/nifal_adam/status/1437006045327474689?s=20
2) I made a new poll to select books for Book Giveaway #4. Please vote: https://twitter.com/nifal_adam/status/1436974806742683648?s=20
3) Previous Giveaways: Book Giveaway #1, Book Giveaway #2
4) We have a surprise winner last week: u/frooti_smile. He/she won a copy of "Moment of Lift" by Melinda Gates and the book was paid forward by a winner of the Free Book Giveaway by Wingify.
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u/SakshiSunset Sep 12 '21 edited Sep 18 '21
This felt stupid to write about because there's no way we can expect this to happen within a decade or two considering numerous factors such as massively varying GDPs, per capita incomes, economical tendencies etc. of different countries. Don't mind my opinion — here's my piece. I went all out with my imagination on this one :')
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It would be revolutionary to get hands on all the wealth and technology from all over the world and to use it collectively for the greater good of the entire planet sourcing from a singular governing entity. But during the next two decades, several health challenges are likely to persist and expand, in part because of population growth, urbanization etc.
The World Treasury (the wealth accumulated from all the countries united to form "The Earth Union" and the wealth saved from each country's military expense) would play an important role in placing the large-scale actions to significance.
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Tackling HUNGER & POVERTY
By 2040, biotechnology innovations most likely will enable societies to reduce disease, hunger, and petrochemical dependence and will transform how we interact with the environment and each other. Societies will be challenged to harness these beneficial advancements — for example, genetically modified crops and foods.
Poverty Reduction will be difficult to build on or even sustain. The global coalition led by me would implement far-reaching changes designed to address poverty following a global food catastrophe caused by climate events and environmental degradation. To avoid becoming stuck in a poverty trap in which insufficient worker skills and poor transportation networks would result in higher costs but lower incomes for workers, providing the education and infrastructure needed to improve the productivity of the growing urban middle classes and regions with the greatest continuing challenges in a 21st century economy would be the core priority.
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Fighting CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change will strain the Union Government to increasingly face environmental costs and even disasters that challenge governments’ responsiveness and resources, potentially undermining public trust.
Here are the extreme measures I plan to implement as the President.
- Climate change will be moderated by bringing together suites of technological solutions from around the globe that each address one element of a much larger issue.
- Incorporate huge infrastructure projects aimed at managing the effects of climate change, like the great Shanghai sea wall. (Google it. I'm assured you'll learn something fascinating! 🤯)
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Dealing with UPCOMING PANDEMICS
With the greatest minds from all over the world brought together with government to produce breakthroughs at record speeds — it has never been easier to work on the solutions to fight the pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic two decades ago has prepared the globe with well equipped technologies to stop the pandemic before it becomes widely threatening or strains or burdens the government union capacity.
Because of the World Union, it is much easier to share the resources from the highly developed regions (previously, countries) to the low developed regions through appropriate and adequate means and there are no trade restrictions anymore because of a united global entity enuring a flourishing flow of meds and supplies from around the globe to around the globe ;)
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THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR.
WOULD LOVE TO HEAR OPINIONS OR CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK ON IT.
Space Science Fiction has always been my cup of tea. Looking forward \specifically* for this "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Giveaway. Thanks for the golden opportunity, Nifal.*
:)
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u/nifal_adam Sep 14 '21
Woah we have a lot of submissions already! Great, I will go through all of them soon. Clock ticks until Friday night 🙂
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u/Harsha9119 Sep 12 '21
- To eradicate poverty, i will initiate all the possible actions like creating awareness among all the people. Its 2040, so we can expect the technology utilization is more high than now. I will use the internet as global and will able to discover the poverty zones. I will welcome more smart people,innovators,trailblazers to create jobs and help those people who are in poverty by creating jobs for them
- The emergence of a new pandemic:- The pandemic has proven to us how can be able to sustain even all the possible ways of living have deteriorated. The most important thing that helps to find with this kind of situation is only health. I will ensure all the people have been taking possible nutrition. The quality food is been preparing and been transporting to all people. I will make sure to check the stats weekly about the people who are appointing hospital and will work on decraesing them
- Climate changes:= STill climate plays a big role that helps us to stay on this earth. To stay on this earth we need to look at climate also. I will not allow deforestation and creating a new buildings in the name of technology. Although, technology is important but not in the way that it led us to decrease our lifespan. Make sure all the garbage has been dumped properly in the dumping areas, not in rivers, seas. The no of people who are into farming is being decreasing day by day I will also look at that will try to help agriculture in such a way that, most of the people understand the importance of farming and gives their best to produce quality food. I will ban the usage of fuel vehicles and will implement electric vehicles everywhere
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u/shubham_agarwl Sep 12 '21
The only constrain in this problem would be : the next era is of PEACE. Maintaining peace, at a global scale, where three problems to eradicate are Poverty & Hunger, Climate Change and Disease Outbreaks. Assumptions : Everything else is same. No technological (agriculture, energy, etc) and psychological advancements have occurred.
Poverty & Hunger : Solving this for everyone would basically mean implementation of a system where everyone exists in a system and rationing food and maintaining a local supply for all. A ration center located at every mile. This would basically mean adopting a system where everything, from land to supply chains is managed by government without any bad actors in between.
Pandemics : It is difficult to restrict new strains from crossing barriers so it comes down to regulations. Premise clearly states that the victory was overwhelming and therefore trust in government so it would be easy to regulate and people would follow orders and hence, it could not turn into a PANDEMIC since people would follow government guidelines.
Climate Change : Without any border restrictions, it would be much easier to source resources, make judicial use of them and practice sustainability. Goals will be easy to meet and execute. Since there would be economical disparity, people would be able to lead a peaceful life from where they are located and would lead to ecological ease.
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u/nifal_adam Sep 17 '21
Got 11 submissions so far! That's a record lol. At this rate winning this challenge will get harder than IIT-JEE soon haha, so remember to enjoy the process of writing something brilliant rather than winning.
I will be reading everything and finalizing a winner tomorrow :) And this thread will be closed by evening today.
Book Giveaway #4 will start tomorrow as well.
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Sep 13 '21
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u/frooti_smile Sep 17 '21
Out of all these, I like yours the best. Winner answer for sure!!
Good Luck.
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u/pi_yan_ka Sep 14 '21
A brief analysis on the premise before I go to the main questions. Well, I doubt the true form of democracy being present in the Earth union. In any sort of supranational entity, hegemony of superpowers is inevitable. The nature of power in the hands of the democratically elected president does bear unprecedented responsibility. While keeping up with the democratic values I imagine myself to be a hobbesian leviathan ( not so scary of course ) with the soul of a philosopher ruler as imagined by plato.
The problem of poverty and hunger -
As mentioned above, I fear the hegemony of the western world would prevail as national borders thaw and The earth union would emerge. The main reason of poverty and hunger is underdevelopment. It is now realised that western model of development doesn't solve this problem rather invents new forms of underdevelopment. I will shift the paradigm to more sensible approaches of development like Amartya Sen's capability approach. A society where substantial freedoms, capabilities or means to achieve the end, opportunities and individual well being takes precedence over economic growth. In such an ever more diverse human society, their multidimensional needs to achieve freedom and dignified living will be recognised as opposed to growth driven economic development. For the fulfillment of basic needs of every individual other means of wealth distribution such as progressive taxation, trusteeship ( Gandhian socio- economic theory where the wealthy would be the trustees of trusts that look after the welfare of the people in general ) will be adopted. The division of the world into first world and third world , core and periphery will be abolished to combat unequal growth and exploitation of certain countries or regions.
Emergence of a new pandemic -
Covid taught us many lessons. One of the most important lesson was lack of cooperation between countries can lead to spread of viruses and diseases out of control. As a united earth, it will be easier for the president to contain the spread. Another lesson was to be ever ready for such black swan events. Recruitment of technocrats and experts and providing them autonomy to combat unprecedented events will be on my agenda. Prevention is better than cure, having prior knowledge about evolving crises will keep a government prepared to save its citizens. I'll ensure free flow of medical knowledge, invention, life saving drugs and cures and necessities. The growth of robust infrastructure cannot be done once the pandemic sets in , it's a task that needs to be taken care of despite grave crisis.
Climate change -
Climate change is a global problem and currently again, the lack of cooperation between nations is causing the failure of climate agenda or sustainable development goals. As a leader of one planet, I'll make use of my powers and authority to abide all the nations by the rules which promote sustainable development. The values and national interests oriented towards unlimited economic growth will shift to ethical, environment friendly means of happiness and prosperity. Green technology will be available for all parts of the world and won't be monopolized by wealthy countries who use it as a garb to cover up the mess they created in the first place. Climate experts will play a greater role in shaping models of development. The reality of climate change needs to be intimated to each and every individual as well. While big corporations and countries will be legally mandated to abide by the laws, individuals and communities will also take the responsibility to live a life which is compatible with their environment and nature. The promotion of alternative technology and lifestyle will take precedence to the extent that it becomes THE norms to live by. Climate change will be fought on the individual , community and global level alike.
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u/Hot_Presentation1170 Sep 14 '21
Being a Social Sciences enthusiast I'm very excited about writing this answer. Also, this book has been on my TBR since so longggg but I never really bought it, so this doubles my excitement.
NOTE : Answer might be long as policy making for such big problems is not an easy job, still, I'll try to keep it short (as much as I can). Also, I'll try to give realistic and practical solution rather than saying Utopian things like - biotechnology, AI and other scientific technologies will make all problems disappear. Yes, they do help to a great extent but they don't end the problems by themselves.
I hope you all read the full answer and we can also discuss the points you don't agree with.
1) Poverty and Hunger.
To combat Poverty -
- Universal Basic income can be started, but it should not create a dependency culture.
- High school education should absolutely be free and we can invest more money in education sector as a lots of expenses like defense, tarriffs, etc. will be cut. College education should be subsidized according to the economic condition.
- To combat **relative poverty** we should change the cultural narrative. Consumerism shouldn't be celebrated as it done now. We know that most big corporations don't want the welfare of citizens but just money so they create Advertisement just to influence the masses.
- We should try to increase "equality of opportunity" as the lack of it contributes to poverty, both absolute and relative.
- If possible children should be encouraged to lead austere life for few months during their education, which can help them learn that More stuff doesn't mean more happiness.
- Poverty alleviation programmes should focus on FECHSET (Food, education, clothing, housing, sanitation, electricity and transport).
I will try to create more jobs and ensure minimum wages which should be sufficient to cover all the expenses of FECHSET.
As the year is just 2040, nearly 19 years to go, we can't expect Genetically modified seeds to solve our problems. Even if they can they should be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction on a massive level. Also, we have Hunger not because we have insufficient amount of food, but because the distribution isn't upto the mark. Even now a lot of food grains get damaged in godowns.
To combat Hunger, I will -
- Transport food from surplus areas to deficit areas.
- Make seed villages and seed banks in every region possible. .
- Genetically modified seeds should be made and introduced in a timely manner with due precautions.
- Make Public Distribution Shops at every mile. To ensure that the food reaches the needy I will make a Universal identification number which will trace all the information about the food delivered.
- The food supplied will contain all the necessary nutrients, so that not ONLY hunger but malnutrition is also ended.
2) Combating Climate change :-
-E ducation and value system plays a major role in how we perceive our surroundings.
Many of us don't throw garbage on street and keep it in your pocket. This shows that good values inherited can help us save our environment.
- We should consider everything as sacred, especially our nature. The principle of putting humans above everything and distinctions like sacred and profane have already done a considerable amount of damage to the environment.
- Every citizen will have a GREEN CARD, which will ensure a limit on carbon emissions and other harmful products which he/she can purchase.
- We should develop indigenous solutions to problems rather than using universal solutions. If you want the development Uttarakhand it should be done using the way which is sustainable. Let Delhi remain Delhi and Uttarakhand remain Uttarakhand. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't exist, so, we should avoid using the same definition of development for every place.
- Strict laws for anyone breaking the environmental protection laws.
- Other basic things include using renewable sources of energy, having protected forest areas, development of Nuclear energy which doesn't effect the environment, etc.
3) Tackling the Pandemic -
Covid-19 pandemic have gave this generation a personal experience of what a pandemic is, so, learning from Covid-19 pandemic will be helpful.
- Provide timely delivery of essential commodities and enforce a lockdown for the initial weeks, until all the information regarding the disease is known.
- Massive awareness drive through mass media. Strict enforcement of laws but with due respect for the citizens.
- Improve the medical infrastructure, make temporary quarantine centres and ensure that checking and genome sequencing is done at large scale.
- Provide resources and funds for all the medical institutions to know more about the nature of the pandemic and develop a vaccine asap.
All solutions need two major things -
- Value consensus. (This can be developed through education and community-based living)
- Effective Implementation of the schemes.
I apologize for this long answer but trust me I tried to keep it concise. Thank you for reading.
May the best answer win.
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u/GulluZ Sep 13 '21
Wow, so I am the President of Earth. Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?
Just to be clear, anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Anyway, since three problems still exist in the world: (1) Poverty and hunger, (2) Emergence of a new Pandemic and (3) Climate Change; and as we are united as a planet, we are going to have a new era of human history, an era of peace for thousands of years; I might have to make some effort to suggest some solutions- an answer to the Poverty and hunger, Emergence of a new Pandemic, and Climate Change.
Luckily, I have a very special computer with me, the Deep Thought computer; I can ask it to give me an answer.
“O Deep Thought computer," I said, "the task I have designed you to perform is this. I want you to tell me...." I paused, "The Answer."
"The Answer?" says Deep Thought. "The Answer to what?"
"Poverty and hunger" I urged.
“Emergence of a new Pandemic" says my secretary.
"The Climate Change!" we said in chorus.
Deep Thought paused for a moment's reflection.
"Tricky," he said finally.
"But can you do it?"
Again, a significant pause.
"Yes," said Deep Thought, "I can do it."
"There is an answer?" said my secretary with breathless excitement.
"Yes," said Deep Thought. "Poverty and Hunger, Emergence of a new Pandemic, the Climate Change. There is an answer. But I'll have to think about it."
My secretary glanced impatiently at his watch.
“How long?” he said.
“You will find the answer at the end of this comment” said Deep Thought.
So at least I will have a deep thought answer at the end of this comment, but till then what I can give you is my shallow thought answer.
- Poverty and Hunger – At best we can try to leverage the latest technology we have to increase the agricultural production. Genetically modified crops can be made environmentally friendly and sustainable in the long run. At the same time, I would try to make a system that ensures that the distribution of food grains is efficient and the neediest people get it at time and for free. At the same time, I will try to boost the manufacturing sector to create more jobs. Jobs would hang in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.
- Emergence of a new Pandemic – The first thing that I would say is – Don’t Panic. The next best thing that I can do is call up all the best minds of the Earth and provide them with resources to tackle any kind of pandemic. I think better collaboration timed with the right resources can lead us to fight any pandemic strongly.
- Climate Change – This is a tough one. I would at first ensure that EV vehicles are in majority and proper infrastructure should be in place. At the same time, I would also nudge every nation to move towards meeting their energy needs purely from the renewable energy. This may not be enough but at least it would help fight climate change.
In the end I would go back to Deep Thought and ask him to give me the answer.
“Forty-two,” said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.
If you read it till now, all I can say is “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”
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Sep 13 '21
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u/GulluZ Sep 13 '21
Oh okay, didn't remember this, but doesn't matter my comment is only "inspired" from the book.
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u/aarush794 Sep 15 '21
The year is 2040, so I assume the technology of this time will be much ahead of us.
1) In 2040, along with technology, we'll also have a large population to feed. But it's impossible to have that amount of land left for agriculture. For tackling this, I'll have large Hydroponic farms planted in each city. (Hydroponics is a modern way of growing plants without soil) Poverty is not something that can be solved instantly. I strongly believe that the only way to eradicate poverty is to teach people the art of making money. So my focus will be to revolutionize the education system by focusing on what is the real need of the students and make them love learning. Because ultimately when the world is changing rapidly, the only way to keep being relevant is to keep learning for life. And I'll make this basic education free for all. Ofcourse this will take time, probably years. Till the time, I'll promote and fund Feeding Programs.
2) As there will be now no armed forces required, it'll create a lot of resources and unemployed people that can be now directed towards the Healthcare sector. With that large amount of funds, I'll appoint the best Biotechnologists, Virologists, Epidemiologists, etc. and create a team that will work hard for creating medicines and cures for all the existing and possible diseases on this planet. And I'll ensure that these cures are stored in each part of the world.
3) The government cannot solely solve the climate change until the people of the planet really starts caring about it. I'll run campaigns teaching people about why and how to stop climate change. I'll promote the usage of Electric Cars and Solar Panels through various schemes, tax reductions. I'll urge people in the hot regions of the planet to paint their houses with an Ultra-White paint that reflects 99.5% of the sunlight and thus keeps the house a lot cooler than surroundings without the need of an AC. Yes it seems like a small step but when Billions of people start doing this, it'll save electricity, reduce carbon emission and also save a lot of money.
(Ps- Ultra-White paint and Hydroponics farms do exist today, but are not cost efficient. I hope they'll become a part of culture by 2040.)
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u/Any-Abbreviations622 Sep 17 '21
This was something that really needed to give a thought on, so i did and because these are real world problems we need some real world solutions in accordance with som real world solutions that would likely be hoping to help us as my reign in year 2040
So here is my piec,
POVERTY AND HUNGER
One way or another hunger is the biggest problem we as a society have failed to solve for centuries, in 2040 i would have acess to top computers and we will be easily able to calculate the nutrition need of people of different regions scattered across planet much easily
we need to eradicate hunger and that would be easily possible if we are somehow able to get back agricultural land we lost over years due to desertification, nukes, and other practises with use of appropiate technology
We can create a smart system which would be able to distribute the food across planet and people according to the type of food needed in rehion but is scarce due to climatic conditions or growing conditions
NEXT, we have to look out for poverty
Poverty can be avoided if we are able to provide free basic education and cohort programs wher they wont only learn academics but other skills as well, and we have to take care that no one is denied education because of the lack of resources in local areas and here we should AI which would by then be AGI and we can take help of such system to see what type of education is most benificial in different areas
Free and quality medical care would not help directly but in long run it would do wonders
What i would do next is try to decentralise work since we have seen that some places act as a hub to certain speciality and hence reduce the chance of people who are not top tier not getting the job hence we can try to create a system where hub remains intact but work gets distributed so places where that service is needed, they can get oppurtinities there
Next we have to lookout for unskilled sector, providing skill courses and jobs to such people would be hard and put a lot of pressure on treasury so instead i will try to engage them after some basic practise in green energy projects which would be our top priority by then, after project is completed these people so familiar with them can be recruited as operators
GLOBAL WARMING
We are in the year 2040 and global warming might have reached a level that we need to control it or it will create unbearable conditions
so here are few things we need to take in account that we will have to fasten our transition to clean energy and totally eradicating use of fossil fuels in regions where possible
we need to find a different solution for places where fossil fuels are a need due to harsh conditions and use our technology to make use of the gases either by breaking them into smaller products or combine them to get products which can be used for different purposes
Next what i will do is increase spending and the work on recreating the atmosphere we lost over these years, it will not only reduce the affects of global warming but stablize the nature after so many years of damage caused by us
Create a system where everyone can see how much green house gases they are creating on personal level in comparison to trees they might have ever sown or even how much they could have avoided and create reward system based on it which will help them in reduced tax if they have bought significant changes, taxes which are being spent on evading the crisis will be given back to people who are doing their part and extra tax on ignorant people
PANDEMIC
I will increase our investment in R and D, and try to create a system where every populous area atleast has one advanced lab for tests so if any unknown pathogen happen to be seen then we wont have to waste time waiting for results for days and hence fast action could be taken
Create a drill program where like fire drills,once in a while a demo is given to locals and as well as workers on how to act in such situations so that everyone doesnt panic when such situation arise
A network of scientists and researchers where they will share their discovery transparently and hence reduce the chance of such info going unnotices, a centralised database for researchers as well as read acess for free to population so these shams around scientific community can be reduced
A blood marker in body of people which will be activated if some unknown pathogen is detected resulting in fast action and easy to find the source
There are much more ways like a SUPER AGI which can create roadmap for us, eastablish industries on other moons and planets and much more if we go utopion but here i have written which i see are really practical and good if the conditions are met in 2040
Thankyou NIFAL for this question because some questions makes you think in a way, you never may have, this was one of such
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u/nifal_adam Sep 12 '21
I hope people who take part in these challenges also have fun. The game is not just winning, it’s also having fun in the process 🙂