Could it still be business as usual?

Cutting edge or not, the next century will be driven by China simply because the momentum that they have generated.

The only thing that still remains a red flag for me is China's lack of democracy and political instability that may come due to it.

What shocks me the most is that how people here just accept the despicable state of their surroundings and just go on with their lives. I know of folks that own Audis and Mercs, but live next to a dumping yard. Now what is the point of having all that money, when you get see/smell only filth most of your life.

I had visited Delhi for the first time around twenty years ago, and it seems that despite of all the measures like CNG driven public transport and Metro, the situation has only gotten worse.

Unfortunately the political will here is too weak to effect a disruption to the current state.

Here are some things that in my opinion make this one of the worst places to live:

- Filth, Garbage, lack of sanitation. Most of Delhi is filled with garbage. There is Garbage lying everywhere. People throw in out of their cars on roads while driving. People dump plastic bags filled with garbage to nearby streets on a daily basis.

- Pollution. Its monsoon season here in Delhi right now and for the first time in a year, I was able to spot a few stars in the sky last night. The rest of the year, the air is filled with a haze of noxious gases. I have seen vehicles emitting large plume of white smoke and no traffic policeman cares to stop them and ask for their pollution certificate. Garbage dumps mentioned by the OP are literally like mountains with smoke emanating from various parts all the time.

- Lack of space. Ok. There is no space in Delhi. For one to walk or jog.

- Angry culture. I am sad to say that I have never seen more road rage incidents anywhere else. People have very little patience and respect for fellow individuals seems to be missing more often than not.

E-commerce, easy/free availability to information/knowledge etc .. are all changing the social and economic landscape in developing countries rapidly and this change is going to continue where there is even a partial political will for it do so.

How do you guys choose your next book or Where do you find out those books which peak in the 'interestingness' factor?

Especially, those which are non-technical,fiction, pseudo-fiction etc..

It's like Software, where you come up with a large code base that is ridden with problems, but somehow works most of the times. You can either dive into that and improve it or you start writing your own system from scratch.

I am sure YC would have thought about this. Just want to know why they choose starting from scratch.

Basically, Elon Musk is walking into the history books and folklore and we are the ones to witness his humble beginnings.

His efforts/ventures, if successful even marginally, will play a large part in the next technological jump that Humans are going to take as civilization, the previous one being the Western Industrial revolution of the 19th century.