If Failure Was Impossible: Tech Innovators Share Their World-Changing Dream Projects

The seemingly simple question, "Ask HN: What would you work on if you couldn't fail?" opened a fascinating window into the aspirations and concerns of the Hacker News community. The original poster, currently in a high-intensity work phase and committed to being "part of the cure, not the cancer," set a tone of ambitious problem-solving. The answers, unconstrained by the fear of failure, painted a vivid picture of what a determined, intelligent group would strive for if success were a certainty.

Diverse Ambitions: From Societal Overhauls to Technological Marvels

The responses spanned a remarkable spectrum, highlighting a collective desire to address some of the most profound challenges and unlock new frontiers:

• Societal and Global Problems: Many commenters focused on large-scale human issues. The most detailed proposal came from user muzani, who would work on "Fixing inequality. Properly." They argued against current forms of overcompensation, advocating for a controlled system that acknowledges inherent human differences but prevents runaway loops. Their vision included single-breadwinner households, decent public transportation, and a critique of how unchecked inequality historically leads to societal decay, political distortion, and conflict. This was contrasted by miljanm who suggested "Fixing opportunities is a better choice imho." Other societal goals included:

  • Addressing existential risk from superintelligent AI (hiAndrewQuinn).
  • Combating misinformation (more_corn).
  • Preventing cancer (bitbasher), which led to a discussion about its causes. nothercastle suggested cancer is less self-inflicted than diabetes or heart disease, though vhcr shared a link indicating lifestyle is a major factor for most cancers. bitbasher poignantly highlighted pediatric oncology units, emphasizing that cancer can affect anyone regardless of lifestyle.

• Technological and Scientific Breakthroughs: A significant portion of the dreams involved pushing the boundaries of science and technology:

  • Computing: mikewarot aimed to revolutionize computing by bringing "bit level systolic array chips into reality and democratize access to petaflops," believing the von Neumann architecture is a "premature optimization."
  • Energy & Physics: Ideas included perpetual energy, zero-point energy, warp drive, gravity manipulation, teleportation (sslayer), and fusion power (more_corn).
  • Space & Time: Time travel (bell-cot) and FTL travel (more_corn) were popular choices.
  • Biology & Health: Beyond cancer, suggestions included life extension (more_corn), elderly care robots (billconan), and even human-animal hybrids (throwaway889900).
  • Theoretical Problems: bjourne would focus on proving P=NP.

• Personal Achievement & Lifestyle: Some aspirations were more personal, yet still ambitious in their own right:

  • Creating a personal blog that becomes the biggest in the world (chistev).
  • Simply surfing (posed).

Key Insights and Productive Arguments

Beyond the specific projects, the discussion yielded valuable perspectives:

1. Defining Success: Invention vs. Adoption: User didgetmaster offered a crucial insight: "There is a difference between building or inventing something that really works, and getting a large percentage of the population to actually adopt it." They noted that a project could succeed technically yet fail to gain traction, highlighting the importance of factors beyond mere functionality, like marketing and perceived value.

2. Interpreting "Can't Fail": hiAndrewQuinn, in targeting AI existential risk, interpreted "can't fail" as "guaranteed to succeed one way or another." This framing is a powerful mental tool, encouraging individuals to tackle the most critical and daunting challenges, as success in such endeavors would be monumental.

3. Nuance in Complex Problems: The discussion around inequality, initiated by muzani, delved into its deep-rooted causes, its cyclical nature in history, and a specific (though potentially debatable) vision for a more stable society. This highlighted that even with guaranteed success in an outcome, the method and definition of that success are complex and require careful thought.

4. The Human Element in Problem-Solving: The debate on cancer's causes—whether primarily lifestyle-driven or a matter of 'bad luck'—and the reminder of childhood cancers, underscored that even with powerful ambitions, human realities and complexities remain central.

The original poster's commitment to their own work, irrespective of external validation like YC backing, and their move to Palo Alto for the environment itself, mirrors the proactive, ambitious spirit reflected in the community's answers. This thought experiment serves as a potent reminder of the incredible potential that lies within motivated individuals when traditional barriers are imagined away.