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Creeping normality

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Re: Creeping normality

#21

Post by jpindar »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #20

This is presented mainly in a negative context but from my experience almost all change happens this way. You slowly get used to it. I still remember when people were saying that a mobile phone was a luxury item normal people don't need or that they would never do online banking.

Oh, there are still people who are indignant, or at least puzzled, that a poor person could possibly own such luxuries as a mobile phone or a flat screen TV.

Re: Creeping normality

#22

Post by taneq »

twic wrote: post #12
f2f wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is up with all of these wikipedia entries making the front page of hacker news? Has it always been so and I’m mis remembering thinking this is something new? Hehe, there's another name for what you're describing: baader-meinhof effect... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baader%E2%80%93Meinhof_effect Everything has a name nowadays. Taxonomies are almost complete :)

I swear i'm seeing the Baader-Meinhof effect come up more and more frequently recently.

I thought the current rate of references to it was normal? :P

Re: Creeping normality

#23

Post by mwfunk »

juliansoto wrote: post #17
akeck wrote: post #15

For example, the creeping normality of using employee burnout to finish AAA games.

Or the creeping normality of focusing on game devs crunch when there are other project based jobs with close deadlines as well

I don't know of any other industries that have normalized masochistic crunch to anywhere near the degree that most of the game industry has, and I've worked in some pretty freaking crunchy sausage factories. The game industry really takes it to the next level, in part because it's an employer's market- a lot more people love the idea of being a game dev than there are game dev positions available, so high turnover rates are actually sustainable for much of the game industry, leading to some horrific practices.

If there are other industries that are up there with the game industry in terms of extreme crunch, I'd be very curious to hear about them. I don't doubt they exist, I just am not aware of them. There's also nightmares like 996 schedules in China, but I've heard that in many cases that's more pretend crunch for show than actual crunch. In some ways 996 is even lamer because it's so pointless and dystopian, but I bet many game devs would be jealous of people who only have to work 72 hours a week and only have to pretend to work for some of that time.

Re: Creeping normality

#24

Post by dgzl »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #20

This is presented mainly in a negative context but from my experience almost all change happens this way. You slowly get used to it. I still remember when people were saying that a mobile phone was a luxury item normal people don't need or that they would never do online banking.

And what about extreme events? Creeping normality changes the five W's of extreme events.

(Who, what, when, where, why)

Re: Creeping normality

#25

Post by bo1024 »

It's fun to contrast with the opposite phenomenon, which I think also rings true. As said in Terry Pratchett's book "Making Money":

> People don't like change. But make the change fast enough and you go from one type of normal to another.

Re: Creeping normality

#27

Post by darth_skywalker »

jeremyperson wrote: post #26

This reminds me of the frog in the pot/pan concept. Note: the frog did not get hurt so watch until the end without worrying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svpsLZDgFK4

It's an interesting concept, but the "frog in the pan" fable has no scientific merit. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog#Experiments_and_a...

Re: Creeping normality

#28

Post by imjasonmiller »

jeremyperson wrote: post #26

This reminds me of the frog in the pot/pan concept. Note: the frog did not get hurt so watch until the end without worrying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svpsLZDgFK4

Along the same line, it reminded me of salami tactics [1], where not sudden but gradual change appears to be more effective.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salami_tactics

Re: Creeping normality

#30

Post by onemoresoop »

This goes both ways. When we progress to a new technology, after the wow factor we take it for granted. We dont often think what life was like before artificial lighting, electricity, mass transportation, etc. So whatever it is that is changing we eventually get used to it, it becomes the new normal. Will the same thing happen with global warming as it’s slowly creeping on us?
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