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Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

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Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#121

Post by CalRobert »

chongli wrote: post #58
onion2k wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But no one wins as long as Global Human Attention isn't given purpose. The problem is that "people working in Attention Capture fields" are the exact people who are winning, at least by the most common scoring mechanism of 'wealth'.

They're enriching their bank accounts just as they're impoverishing their spirits. On their deathbeds, no one ever says "gee, I wish I'd spent more time at the office." The same could be said for any other wealth-motivated exercise. If I have learned one thing in life it is this: money is, at best, a necessary evil. A means to an end. Pursuing it as an end in itself is an indication that we have strayed from the path…

Sure, but they’re also outbidding me for a house.

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#123

Post by CalRobert »

portaouflop wrote: post #30
cen4 wrote: post #19

Think more about Attention. Not about Information. Information is exploding and global available Attention doesn't grow. People who pay attention to one thing, can't use the same time to pay attention to something else. So govts and corps fight over this common pool of Attention using the Media (TV/Movies/Radio/Social/News/Sports/Gaming etc etc), just like they fought over land and oil and other natural resources. Me…

> as long as Global Human Attention isn't given purpose We tried out the grand visions to improve the human condition with one great push in the 20th century- didn’t work out so well

The Green Revolution, vaccines, and space exploration have been pretty great.

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#124

Post by badpun »

helloplanets wrote: post #47

A pernicious excitement to learn and play chess has spread all over the country, and numerous clubs for practicing this game have been formed in cities and villages…chess is a mere amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements … they require out-door exercises–not this sort of mental gladiatorship. A game of chess does not add a single new fa…

There was some chess prodigy who, in his teens, was already winning against most champions, and who in his early twenties abandoned chess altogether, citing it a "waste of life".

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#125

Post by checkyoursudo »

frereubu wrote: post #84
sph wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But no one wins as long as Global Human Attention isn't given purpose. We await someone or some group to articulate that vision. One of the best things I've done for myself is to stop reading the news. You will not believe how this ignorance has led me to a calmer life, to the gasp and concern of my peers, wondering how am I able to cope, to exist, without knowing what happens "in the world?" As you say, anyone has…

You might enjoy this piece by Charles Simic, which is a touchstone of mine: "I’m having trouble deciding whether I understand the world better now that I’m in my seventies than I did when I was younger, or whether I’m becoming more and more clueless every day. The truth is somewhere in between, I suspect, but that doesn’t make me rest any easier at night. Like others growing old, I had expected that after everything…

Thank you for that. I really enjoyed it. It resonates with me. I have lived in three different countries, and in my two non-native countries, I have enjoyed my life much more. I think part of it is that there I have been somewhat oblivious to the news and current politics of the new places I have lived. I get some of news and politics from my friends, but I do not follow it like I used to in my country of origin. I have also dramatically reduced my news consumption in my native country, because I am not there very often, and it does not preoccupy me so much anymore. Though I have not given up the news entirely, either in my home country or in my adopted countries, but less is, I feel, much better.

I understand, fully and deeply, why news and current events are important, but they are also a cancer. At least in the way that they are sold to us. I also get a sense that the negative effect that the news has our mental health is quite widespread around the world. As in, it is not unique to America or Britain or European countries, etc.

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#126

Post by navjack27 »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #59
cen4 wrote: post #19

Think more about Attention. Not about Information. Information is exploding and global available Attention doesn't grow. People who pay attention to one thing, can't use the same time to pay attention to something else. So govts and corps fight over this common pool of Attention using the Media (TV/Movies/Radio/Social/News/Sports/Gaming etc etc), just like they fought over land and oil and other natural resources. Me…

i would add laziness too. attention usually takes the path of least effort.

Change attention to intention

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#127

Post by m-i-l »

kurtdev wrote: post #27
imjonse wrote: post #14

The book's title is a nod to the Roger Waters album/song that deals with the same theme.

The book predates the song and album by about 7 years, so the album name references the book. Postman even mentioned the fact in his 1995 book "The end of education"

> "Postman even mentioned the fact in his 1995 book "The end of education""

Quote from Postman according to wikipedia[0]:

"the level of sensibility required to appreciate the music of Roger Waters is both different and lower than what is required to appreciate, let us say, a Chopin étude."

Ouch.

I actually got the album when it came out, and was roughly aware of the concept and the book from reviews in the music press. Had I known that it was comparing Orwell and Huxley I'd have definitely made the effort to read more. But this was before the internet so it wasn't easy (you had to do things like going to a public library), so technological progress is not all downside.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death

Re: Amusing Ourselves to Death (2009)

#128

Post by TacticalCoder »

willguest wrote: post #83

Given that the vast majority of people go to work to earn money for businesses that exist either to exploit natural resources or appreciate in value in the eyes of an economic system that prioritizes increasing capital valuations above all else, including human dignity, long-term survival and the life of other species, I would say we're already there. Talking about a dystopian future is a convenient way to assuade ou…

> Given that the vast majority of people go to work to earn money for businesses that exist either to exploit natural resources ...

Or for governments, doing government jobs that produce absolutely nothing of value and force people to waste a big chunk of their lives on administrative tasks...

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