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Friday 21 September 2012

Oriental Hunter's Chicken

Heat a little oil and fry a coarsely chopped onion
Add a couple of chopped carrots
Lubricate with a glass of red wine once it starts to stick and the onion is softening, and boil off the alcohol
Add;

a few cloves
a couple of black cardomoms
a star anise
a good scoop of ground cumin
some chilli powder
a couple of broken blades of mace

...

and some chopped chicken thigh that has been rubbed with corn flour

As the mix starts to stick, add a good cup of water, and a glug of dark soy

A teaspoon of garlic oil pickle
A teaspoon of drinking chocolate made up to a paste with a little water
A handful of raw cashews

Simmer gently until carrots are tender.


Yum Yum Yum.

Friday 14 September 2012

Robotics and the End of Labour.

Thesis;  The luddite fallacy is not fallacious if the speed at which a process can be automated >= speed at which displaced workers can move areas or skills.

If a robot is equal in power and ability to a human... what will be the socioeconomic consequences?

Areas to investigate.

1.  Economic impact of slavery - 17th C. Europe, but this isn't a direct comparison, the slaves were not replacing workers they were expanding a whole new industry.  On the other hand, one could look at times when a sudden flood of money destabilised an economy.  What about the impact of silver on the workers of Spain in C16 C17?

2.  Economic model of automation

3.  Studies of flexibility of workforce in moving skills / geographic area in response to challenges.  Perhaps case study on Yorkshire mining industry?  Are there any figures that quantify the rate at which a community can respond to the removal of its primary source of employment?

4.  The concept of value in economics.  Where does value come from, how does the Marxist concept of value added through transformation by labour fit an automation model?

5.  The end game of Capitalism.  If you have Capital, you can have robots.  You win.  All others are unemployed.  What does this mean for the meaning of money?

Implications, and recommendations.