Is Peter Murphy's solo stuff any good?

What did Peter Thiel mean when he said "all the engineering disciplines that had to do with stuff have basically been outlawed one by one"?

• "I believe we are in a world where in stuff was outlawed. It was basically outlawed in the last 40 years — part of it was , part of it was ," he says. "And all the disciplines that had to do with stuff have basically been outlawed one by one." In other words, he says stifles and, without innovation, there is no . http://www.npr.org/2012/05/19/153002892/with-eye-on-future-billionaire-investor-bets-on-paul

• Answer:

  It seems sort of like you're answering your own question at the end here, but the basic idea is that Thiel's thesis is the main reason why progress over the last few decades has mainly happened in information technology is because this space is relatively unregulated, where as other engineering spaces (biotech, energy, etc.) are so heavily regulated and subsidized and generally messed up by governments that progress is greatly encumbered.