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Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a modern Seinfeld twitter account, which has a bunch of zany plot lines that are only possible in the smart phone era.
Wanted to share the link just because I love this account as well: https://twitter.com/SeinfeldToday A recent example: George's GF wants a "no phones at dinner" rule. G: "We had a good thing going, Jerry! Now we're supposed to talk? That can only end badly!
You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books, newspapers, etc Now and then I do that, just to switch off from our hyper-connected world. Switching off is the new peace of mind.
The unmentioned thing here is why? Why does the world with a smartphone and today's hyper-connectivity seem so different now compared to what it used to? Did people feel the same way when the railroad and other forms of rapid transport showed up? What makes things feel so different? Is it more competition, and for what? Is it that things are just faster, and the certainties have changed? Has it fundamentally changed…
To some extend yes. When I was a kid, we'd rarely go to the only major city in our part of the country. Maybe two times a year. Now I live in that area, but I can easily go visit my parents for dinner, just because someone decided that a motorway was a great idea. It cut somewhere like 40 minutes to an hour of the drive.
It still boggles my mind that 30 years ago we considered it a day trip, but with a shorter distance, faster speeds, in a better car, it's just a quick drive, allowing my daughter to see her grandparents way more often than I saw mine.
I gotta laugh at this. Being someone that's from a working town and being from a working class family, cops weren't to be trusted. Cops lied even back then. Life wasn't better back then. The fact he seems to mock gender fluidity and polyamory really shows how much has changed for the better. People who didn't fit in with the gender constructs then were out of luck. Either you were forced to be lgb or if you were trans you had to fit the gendered mold; no androgyny unless you're doing it as part of a musical act.
IMO the big thing is not being bored. Someone is late for a meeting? Doesn't matter, you've got HN to read. On the back seat for a long drive? Doesn't matter, you can answer emails. Or play a game. The whole psychologically weird phase of "hmm I'm here and waiting, and all I can do is watch paint dry" seems to have vanished. I'm not sure what people prefer more though. Say you're waiting for a date, do you feel best…
After getting vaccinated I was sitting in the waiting area, for the 15 minutes our suppose to stay, in case you get an allergic reaction and I noticed that most people where NOT looking at their phones. They where just sitting, doing nothing. I did the same, and honestly, it was absolutely wonderful just to have 15 minutes where you did nothing. I'm not saying I wouldn't get bored just waiting for extended periods of…
You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books, newspapers, etc Now and then I do that, just to switch off from our hyper-connected world. Switching off is the new peace of mind.
You can sell your car, get a horse, and travel around like it is the 19th century. Of course, nothing around you will be like the 19th century. Not that it isn't worth doing for other reasons, but moving your tech backwards doesn't move the world around you backwards.
But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. The only compelling reason to use them is social pressure.
IMO the big thing is not being bored. Someone is late for a meeting? Doesn't matter, you've got HN to read. On the back seat for a long drive? Doesn't matter, you can answer emails. Or play a game. The whole psychologically weird phase of "hmm I'm here and waiting, and all I can do is watch paint dry" seems to have vanished. I'm not sure what people prefer more though. Say you're waiting for a date, do you feel best…
I mean I get bored of a game or an article etc. but I would immediately seek refuge in something else that is easy to reach.
Before constant connectivity, I would have attempt to cure my boredom in much more hardcore ways.
>I assumed the police were telling the truth. I gotta laugh at this. Being someone that's from a working town and being from a working class family, cops weren't to be trusted. Cops lied even back then. Life wasn't better back then. The fact he seems to mock gender fluidity and polyamory really shows how much has changed for the better. People who didn't fit in with the gender constructs then were out of luck. Either…
The part about cosmetic surgery seems gratuitous and unnecessary/off topic.