on frontiers

 "A mere few hundred years ago, the frontiers of human knowledge were a lot closer to everyday experience, and it was feasible for an ordinary man to push them, often as a hobby. "
https://www.thepsmiths.com/p/review-in-xanadu-by-william-dalrymple

 In many ways, my blog exists as a long-form proof that this is still true. 

 This:

 "The trouble is that these days we know so much, in most fields you can’t even begin to do original work without first spending years in dedicated study. Even then, all of the low-hanging fruit has already been plucked"

 Is nothing but cope. An excuse softlings use to get away with being soft. 

 I do want to write "The Brain: A User's Manual." It would be a tremendously useful book, with the caveat that nobody would read it, so the usefulness would be purely theoretical. 

 The Brain: a general user's manual.
 The Brain: features of particular use to scholars.
 The Brain: features of particular use to warriors (incomplete).
 The Brain: features of particular use to merchants (probably).

 lol

 This nature, of being extremely useful but experiencing zero* demand, is shared with hundreds of other unwritten books, none of which require much in the way of funding. Or even a team.

  *(Or negative, as with Brain. It would make it harder both to lie and to be lied to, and nobody wants that, now do they?)

 The number of books I could write with a team of help: boy howdy.

 Shit man, just build a house underwater. Write a book on what living underwater is like. The number of folk rich enough to do so easily outnumbers the population of Athens 2400 years ago. And yet...