> Many of us aren't exposed to meaningful problems outside of coding, using the internet, etc.
Are you certain? Unless you live at home 24/7, you're interacting with the world every day. If you're like me, you regularly run into situations that are "sub-optimal" in terms of how much hassle you have to deal with to get things done.
I think the key is to stop thinking that meaning problems only exist in the realm of computers. In fact, most of the meaningful problems in our world are outside of the realm of software precisely because no-one has looked at the problem and thought "hey, software could make this easier".
An example we're all painfully aware of: medical records. There's a TON of paper involved, little co-ordination between doctors, the list goes on. People are working on the problem, but the revolution hasn't arrived yet.
A different way of putting it comes from Paul Graham: "don't think that you're trying to start a startup, instead think that you're trying to solve a problem".
Well, ok, let's talk about medical records. Not many people have the expertise/knowledge to tackle that issue (they can acquire it). They're not around doctors, and healthcare to experience the pain point and understanding the nuances of tackling that problem.
On the other hand, based on our daily interactions, we're more predisposed to making a better Javascript framework, developer tools, better ways of managing our social contacts, etc.
Are you certain? Unless you live at home 24/7, you're interacting with the world every day. If you're like me, you regularly run into situations that are "sub-optimal" in terms of how much hassle you have to deal with to get things done.
I think the key is to stop thinking that meaning problems only exist in the realm of computers. In fact, most of the meaningful problems in our world are outside of the realm of software precisely because no-one has looked at the problem and thought "hey, software could make this easier".
An example we're all painfully aware of: medical records. There's a TON of paper involved, little co-ordination between doctors, the list goes on. People are working on the problem, but the revolution hasn't arrived yet.
A different way of putting it comes from Paul Graham: "don't think that you're trying to start a startup, instead think that you're trying to solve a problem".