Diego Arias
Bio
Colombian-American, lawyer, writer. Lived in NJ most of my life, then moved to The Dominican Republic for two years, then China for two years. I speak Chinese, Spanish, English, and Italian. Currently living in Costa Rica.
Stories (2)
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Cotton: Colonialism, Fashion, and Foundations of Western Capitalism
Cotton has played an important role in historical events. It has been the premier fabric in several societies. The ancient Peruvians, around 5000 B.C., used it as a primary textile in the production of nets and clothing. Ancient Indian, Chinese, Mayan, and Bengali societies also used the fabric to clothe their elite, exchange currencies, export to Europeans, and create entire trade industries. In more modern times, the fabric has also been a central element in the rise of Western capitalism, high-fashion trends in eighteenth century Europe, and the progression of clothing’s role in women’s sexuality. We still see cotton’s role in our society. In 2021, the cotton industry has also seen an increase in sustainable manufacturing practices, cultural promotion, and the rise of athleisure wear designers.
By Diego Arias4 years ago in FYI
Charlatocracy: Welcome to the Rise of Anti-intellectualism, Anti-Democracy, and Pixiedust Economics
Tesla has been producing electric cars since 2003. When Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarpenning founded the company, they had spent several years working on electrical vehicle science and hoped to one day change the world and create affordable electrical vehicles. When Tesla first registered in California, Elon Musk was not attached to the company, and instead was toying around with the idea of building spaceships to send humans into outer space, most specifically the oxygen deprived, highly radiated rock planet of Mars. Eberhard, Tarpenning, and Musk met at a Mars exploration club in the early aughts. Musk had no experience in advanced mechanical engineering. Most of his income and experience came from software programming, which was essentially the code writing that helped him hit it big with one of his initial projects—Paypal, the online payment system. When developing what would go on to become SpaceX, Musk’s first adventure in the aeronautics industry was a failed attempt at buying cheap Russian rockets to bring back to America (quite possibly an illegal operation based on U.S. government restrictions on foreign nationals buying and importing Russian space technology). Now, about two decades later, Musk can topple entire currencies with several taps on his smart phone.
By Diego Arias4 years ago in Futurism
