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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We always notice the big breakthrough technologies, those episodic new-thing headlines like the Google car, and Siri, and all the splashy stuff.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Consider the quieter forms of growth. Imagine you have a safe but boring stock fund, or a sleepy retirement account you never pay attention to, seldom check it from one year to the next, but become aware that it is way bigger than you thought. One long-shot penny stock went crazy and made you far more well off than you realize, woohoo!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We watched the instruction videos such as Khan Academy and the other ones develop, school stuff. Most of us are long past school, but now, quietly in the background, a form of wealth appeared: instructional videos on how to fix things that break around your house.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>California went several years with very little rain, but now it is drenching us. Five houses on my street had roof leaks, so the roofers were out in force making a fortune. I went and googled on roof repairs with my style of concrete shingle and found plenty of good suggestions. So I got up there and did them. Next rainstorm was yesterday, leak fixed, cost zero point double naughts, my favorite price tag. I already owned the little bit of material required.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The existence of those videos represent both a form of wealth and a threat to capitalism: they teach me to do stuff myself, so this is money in my pocket and money not in the pockets of the local roofers, and not in the pockets of the various government agencies which take a cut of every transaction (not in this case, for the roofers are illegal aliens who pay no taxes.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>All those home-repair videos came about in the last ten to fifteen years is quiet growth of wealth; nothing spectacular or splashy, but the cumulative effect is high.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>With respect to transhumanism, I must think that accumulated knowledge of programming in the general population is a form of quiet growth towards Transhumanist goals. Hope so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>