“When we all have pocket telephones” • Hacker News Board

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#11

Post by jonathanstrange » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:34 AM UTC

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

They can just literally quote real-life dialogues instead. Rick & Morty featured a whole court session that really happened.[1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bjDkQR57fA

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#12

Post by googlryas » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:35 AM UTC

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

Stand up comedians are saying this while they're...performing standup?

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#13

Post by eesmith » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:40 AM UTC

bsza wrote: post #5

huseyinkeles wrote: post #2

what's more interesting to me is at the date of this comic, even the landline phones were not fully adopted :)

Yet it predicted the future more accurately than Blade Runner (1982) where people still use pay phones in 2019.

Picking nits while skipping how we don't have off-world colonies or replicants?

In that case, the comic got things wrong too.

You'll be hard pressed to find people wearing those clothes these days, especially the nurse's headgear. Canes and briefcases are also rare, though I suspect that those rare few wearing a bowler hat might still use them.

Also, few people use a bell as their ringtone.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#14

Post by ekianjo » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:41 AM UTC

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

Taxes have never been as high as now in recent history. You dont have to worry about them going away.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#15

Post by coldtea » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:43 AM UTC

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

>The insane conceit of a "cash-less society" has already created situations where you cannot physically force someone to take money from you.

You'd be very very surprised...

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#16

Post by ekianjo » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:45 AM UTC

bsza wrote: post #5

huseyinkeles wrote: post #2

what's more interesting to me is at the date of this comic, even the landline phones were not fully adopted :)

Yet it predicted the future more accurately than Blade Runner (1982) where people still use pay phones in 2019.

Blade Runner was never about predicting the future. It was what could become if technology went in certain ways. Japan did not end up ruling the west either.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#17

Post by keithalewis » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:46 AM UTC

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

You can always count on the existence of charlatans in every society. People who deceive others to get something by lying have existed since the beginning of recorded history.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#18

Post by throw827474737 » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:47 AM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #14

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

Taxes have never been as high as now in recent history. You dont have to worry about them going away.

If that just be true for every tax group we would be in a much fairer world with less issues...

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#19

Post by coldtea » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:47 AM UTC

googlryas wrote: post #12

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

Stand up comedians are saying this while they're...performing standup?

Yeah, so?

Your comment is like saying "CEOs saying the current market is bad for their industry, while ...still running companies?!"

It's not like the observation that a trade is being hurt (in this case, in the kind of disconnect between your job being pointing out absurdity as something that stands out and making it funny, and a society that seems to drown and revel in it) cannot be done by practitioners of said trade while they practice it...

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#20

Post by coldtea » Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 10:48 AM UTC

pmontra wrote: post #10

nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

They can turn to satire. There is an endless stream of public figures unwillingly creating scripts for them.

Yes, but satire is not so effective when everything is satire-able, and people get along fine with everything turned so.

Satire needs a point of sanity and order to stand on (and refer to as the way things should be, versus the bad version it mocks).