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

61–70 of 141 posts

Re: The world of tomorrow

#61

Post by slfnflctd »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #31
TeMPOraL wrote: post #20

Curious. The article mentions Star Trek three times , in all cases referring to The Original Series, while stating that "Outside of niche books and magazines, the golden age of optimistic science fiction did not exist.", which is surprising it how it missed the golden era of Star Trek, beginning with The Next Generation (1987-1994), aka. the reference work for optimistic future in popular sci-fi, subsequently followe…

> measure how we've lost the optimistic future by tracking how Star Trek shows (including the post-2005 ones) got darker (literally, I'm talking about how the scenes were lit), the architecture less Hilton-like, and eventually, when carpets started to disappear. Yes, you could do that. Or you could just cite "Alien" (and arguably "Dark Star" before it) as the key break with "the future is bright and shiny and comfort…

Dystopian and horror-oriented science fiction have existed as long as the genre. Optimism is hard to do in a way that is both believable and interesting, which at the time TNG ran was fairly successfully achieved for a large audience.

I would argue that cynicism and fear-milking are easier paths (with certain exceptions for works which evoke multiple layered allegories and inspire contemplation), and I think this has become even more true in recent years for a host of reasons.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#62

Post by MichaelZuo »

Danmctree wrote: post #54
MichaelZuo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn’t matter which one you pick, there are no known exceptions to the general phenomena. That’s why I said by definition.

By what definition? It's certainly possible that some kind of societal bell curve or other distribution can just keep getting wider without meaningful movement of the relative positions of individuals. I don't understand why you assume the most likely behavior is regression to the mean. Especially on short terms that seems weird to assume

Who is assuming a short term?

Re: The world of tomorrow

#63

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

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, and air conditioning.

I've had that stuff all my life. It's normal for me. I don't appreciate it.

Perhaps in addition to Progress Studies, we need some sort of neo-mindfulness gratitude journaling movement, focused on appreciating all of the awesome technology that's already widespread.

People demonstrate sophistication by explaining why things suck. It's not cool or fashionable to dwell on life's simple pleasures. Perhaps it's time to take a bold stand for naivete. https://xkcd.com/606/

Re: The world of tomorrow

#64

Post by kevindamm »

ben_w wrote: post #53
Animats wrote: post #2

That's the view from a country on the trailing edge. In Shenzhen, or Seoul, or Tskuba, or Tapei you'll find enthusiasm for technology. The US can't even make a smartphone any more. Or electrical distribution equipment. Or telephone central offices. Or TV sets. Next to go, cars. (Chrysler just exited the car business. Minivans only now.)

> 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...

Re: The world of tomorrow

#65

Post by Gravityloss »

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…

One can go hiking or kayaking for a few nights or even just try to pitch a tent when it's sleeting. Ordinary stuff can feel much more appreciable after that. For a short while only though!

Re: The world of tomorrow

#66

Post by kasey_junk »

ben_w wrote: post #53
Animats wrote: post #2

That's the view from a country on the trailing edge. In Shenzhen, or Seoul, or Tskuba, or Tapei you'll find enthusiasm for technology. The US can't even make a smartphone any more. Or electrical distribution equipment. Or telephone central offices. Or TV sets. Next to go, cars. (Chrysler just exited the car business. Minivans only now.)

> 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.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#67

Post by ZephyrBlu »

JambalayaJimbo wrote: post #45
slibhb wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This attitude is so common. It's obviously wrong. Humanity is richer and freer than ever. Here's a theory of why people spend so much time railing against modernity, capitalism, and "the corporate class": Humans used to have to labor all to avoid starvation. There were few choices and most of us we died in the town where we were born. Compare to today -- now, we have incredible freedom, cheap and delicious food, chea…

Do you think cost of living today is lower than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago? Do you think the average person today works more or less than before? Because I’m really curious what you mean when you say we’re more free than ever. Free time especially is what eludes most people of my peer group; endless tv shows to stream is meaningless without free time for example.

Cost of living/spending power is not the same as quality of life. Mobile phones alone are an insane improvement in QoL.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#68

Post by ZephyrBlu »

slibhb wrote: post #29
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…

This attitude is so common. It's obviously wrong. Humanity is richer and freer than ever. Here's a theory of why people spend so much time railing against modernity, capitalism, and "the corporate class": Humans used to have to labor all to avoid starvation. There were few choices and most of us we died in the town where we were born. Compare to today -- now, we have incredible freedom, cheap and delicious food, chea…

We've also destroyed a lot of social norms that used to help people make good decisions.

Continuously making good choices is really difficult, especially when we have so many incredibly alluring distractions. Having some guard rails is a good thing for almost everyone.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#69

Post by evrimoztamur »

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 'basic' conveniences for everybody in the world, not just me and my peers.

Re: The world of tomorrow

#70

Post by travisporter »

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…

Everyday as I see 98 degree water go into the drain I feel really lucky and a bit privileged to live in a first world nation
Post reply on HN