NOTES / 2026.04.18 · 3-post thread · 3 likes
Thomas Midgley Jr. and the Limits of 'Productivity-Raising'
Leaded gasoline and CFCs were obviously good by the productivity standard. 'Productivity-raising input' describes a transition — not its externalities.
FIG. 01 — FROM THE ORIGINAL THREAD
Thomas Midgley Jr. invented two of the most productivity-raising, competitively-produced inputs of the 20th century: leaded gasoline and CFCs.
Both were obviously good by that standard.
One poisoned three generations. The other punched a hole in the ozone layer.
More intelligence will make us richer, healthier, better taught. Kevin is right about that.
But “productivity-raising input” describes a transition, not a destination — and every transition relocates value before it expands it. x.com
Verification has to scale with capability. Burden-of-proof arguments only work when the proof arrives in time. Midgley’s didn’t.
Originally published as a thread on X.