Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The world of tomorrow

worksinprogress.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 141 posts

Re: The world of tomorrow

#71

Post by mandmandam »

kiba wrote: post #26
Supermancho wrote: post #3

The productivity increases of the modern times led to a corporate class. These oligarchs have eschewed the progressive initiatives, in eager pursuit of even greater wealth, supported by the wholly owned media and a bribed political class. What has been more evenly distributed globally is the ever-growing poverty, pollution and apathy against these powers. To be fair, some improvements have been made, even at the feet…

It's so easy to blame it all on the feet of oligarchs, but it is ultimately our collective responsibility. The democrats lost the popular vote. Think about that. Progress, or even the status quo as it is today is rejected by half of the population.

As if Democrats aren't owned by oligarchs.

Look at who funds them. Look what they do, instead of what they say.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#74

Post by AnimalMuppet »

evrimoztamur wrote: post #69
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #63

I read this blog post the other day about the hedonic treadmill that influenced my thinking a lot: https://www.optimallyirrational.com/p/the-aim-of-maximising-... Consider this 1940s ad for a "house that runs like magic", powered by gas: https://wip.gatspress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AGAAd-1... I'm already living this dream life from the 1940s. I have a range, a refrigerator, "permanent hot springs", heating, a…

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the incredible conveniences we have at our disposal. Yet there are still many places around the world today which do not have clean water, let alone hot clean water, immediately, whenever. Refrigeration, painkillers, free time for hobbies, arts, and sports. Once you start thinking about all the things you already have, asking for more seems selfish. All I wish for is these 'ba…

The internet. (Almost) all the world's information, when I want it, for free. I don't even have to go to a library.

Clean air.

Enough food. Enough food that the problem is obesity, not starvation.

Freedom to speak my mind.

When you add it all up... wow. It's immense.

We should have had this thread a couple weeks ago, at Thanksgiving.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#75

Post by ben_w »

kasey_junk wrote: post #66
ben_w wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The US can't even make a smartphone any more Has the US ever made one in the first place? IIRC Apple had to go to China for the first iPhone, were there any brands that could do it all in the US?

Palm pilot was manufactured in the US.

And wasn't a smart phone.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#77

Post by ben_w »

kevindamm wrote: post #64
ben_w wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The US can't even make a smartphone any more Has the US ever made one in the first place? IIRC Apple had to go to China for the first iPhone, were there any brands that could do it all in the US?

When Motorola was acquired, a plant was purchased (a formerly Nokia one in Fort Worth, Texas) and the Moto X line was made in the US [0]. It was a short-lived experiment. Motorola was sold to Lenovo, and the plant shut down, within a few years. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/11/4717796/made-in-america-a...

Nice find, short-lived explains why I'd not heard of it.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#79

Post by Teever »

circlefavshape wrote: post #57
Teever wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, people hate modern society because they understand that although things are better than they were they aren't nearly as good as they could be if it wasn't for rampant and unchecked corruption. What's worse is that people know that whole ecosystems and stable climate patterns are slipping away and will likely never come back.

> people hate modern society because they understand that although things are better than they were they aren't nearly as good as they could be How do you know how good things "could be"? Just because you can imagine something doesn't mean it's possible

That's just another way of saying that the way things are is optimal, and that we as a society have reached perfection, that we're doing our best.

That is blatantly wrong. Better is always possible and the people who steal and cheat the system are the ones who deny that better world for us all.

The Hitlers, the Putins, the Kochs and Epsteins and Madoffs of the world have made the world far worse than it needs to be for the absolutely worst personal reasons.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#80

Post by kiba »

mandmandam wrote: post #71
kiba wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so easy to blame it all on the feet of oligarchs, but it is ultimately our collective responsibility. The democrats lost the popular vote. Think about that. Progress, or even the status quo as it is today is rejected by half of the population.

As if Democrats aren't owned by oligarchs. Look at who funds them. Look what they do, instead of what they say.

I don't see how that matter. There was a meaningful choice.
Post reply on HN