One of my heroes of the 20th century was Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore. His vision and leadership turned a disease ridden fishing village into a futuristic metropolis. I dare anyone to go to Changi Airport and not be amazed.
I’ll write about his second big idea tomorrow, but today, I would like to focus on one of his galaxy brain ideas; the importance of air-conditioning. Lee had studied at Cambridge University, and he quickly realised that doing knowledge work in a chilly King’s College library was FAR easier than doing so in a sweltering hut. So his first order of business: investing in air con.
Humans CAN live in a range of climates, but they do best around 20C/70F. Not great if you’re trying to catch some rays at the beach, but whether you’re manufacturing products or writing code, it’s hard to beat.
By investing heavily in AC, Singapore was able to become the knowledge capital of Asia, and become fabulously rich in the process. San Fran just happens to be in the perfect part of the world to achieve the same effect.
The reason this story is important, at least today, is that yesterday OUR AC went out. For 24 hours we were left to a couple of fans, and the temp was high 30s/90s. I mean, really, really hot.
Our main concern was looking after Swocky, and we did. But it would have got UGLY if we hadn’t fixed it. When you cannot sleep, work, focus, or relax, you really aren’t optimised.
Long story short, air conditioning is a modern miracle that builds nations, and most importantly, keeps me comfortable.