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If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

derekthompson.org

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Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#901

Post by nephihaha »

watwut wrote: post #425
nephihaha wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lockdown, not "Covid". And that Covid lockdown was a little taste of the extreme form of top down collectivism. (Covid was around both before and after the lockdowns.) The USA got off lockdown lightly in the main. Continental Europe, Canada and Australia all went nuts with it. Especially the Northern Territory and State of Victoria.

But Europeans and Canadians and Australians are not nearly as much "traumatized" by idea that OMG lockdown happened due to covid. The complete societal inability to adapt seems to be bigger issue in USA. Neither Europe nor Canada are as much affected despite having more lockdowns. It was not lockdown as such, but something else about Americans

It happened due to government not to Covid. A virus is not a conscious being, it cannot order lockdowns and would continue regardless of whether there was one or not.

By the way, the UK is in a complete mess due to Covid. It destroyed at least a seventh of its businesses. Probably more when we omit the ones that died off in 2022- as a delayed result of it.

There were truckers' protests in Canada and Australia (the latter resulting in internet and phone signals being cut in some areas.)

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#902

Post by nephihaha »

ryandrake wrote: post #460
watwut wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Europeans and Canadians and Australians are not nearly as much "traumatized" by idea that OMG lockdown happened due to covid. The complete societal inability to adapt seems to be bigger issue in USA. Neither Europe nor Canada are as much affected despite having more lockdowns. It was not lockdown as such, but something else about Americans

Interesting how the stay-at-home orders were much more serious and enforced outside of the USA, yet it was the USA that complained and moaned about them the most. Nobody was forcing us to stay inside our homes, and a lot of people ignored the order and went out anyway. Yet, so many Americans were absolutely outraged and indignant and complaining about Their Freedom, at the minor inconvenience of having their favorite…

"it was the USA that complained and moaned about them them"

There were protests in China but most people never got to hear about them due to heavy censorship. In Australia, indigenous youth started to "go bush" for the first time in many years to avoid living like that. There were also anti-lockdown protests in various countries which were subjected to media blackout. In Australia when their truckers tried to organise protest, internet and phone service was withdrawn from them.

Many more things we never got to hear about.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#903

Post by kelnos »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #275
xyzelement wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"non-scientific worldview" I find this an oft repeated meme. The men to whom we own our scientific understanding were all deeply religious (not just lived in a time when everyone went to church) For example - Darwin had trained to be an Anglican vikar prior to his journey on the Beagle and wrote to his future wife letters full of discussion of divinity. Newton was obviously deeply religious and wrote more about relig…

I'll go further. Oppenheimer and Whitehead (neither Christian) have stated, in their respective histories of science, that the Judeo-Christian world view was absolutely necessary for the start of real science, that it could not have originated in a society with a different worldview. Why? Because the Christian view was that God was a reasonable God, and He made the universe. And because He also gave us reason when He…

> that the Judeo-Christian world view was absolutely necessary for the start of real science

That's ridiculous.

> Because the Christian view was that God was a reasonable God, and He made the universe. And because He also gave us reason when He made us, we should be able to understand the universe by reason. All these men, from Newton down to Faraday, looked at the universe and expected to be able to find out how it worked, because of their religion.

That may be true, but that doesn't suggest that people who were secular could not have been curious about how the universe worked. Sure, that's a neat path for the religious to decide to embark on a scientific journey, but I expect if there was no religion at all, that scientific journey would have started earlier, and progressed faster. History is littered with scientists unable to publish their work (through threat of pain and death) because it conflicted with church doctrine.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#904

Post by nephihaha »

websap wrote: post #422
nephihaha wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The UK's the same. The lockdown was a major driver of this.

The UK (at least London) is cheaper than Seattle, and far cheaper than NYC.

Prices have gone skyhigh since lockdown. In fact, it's funny seeing the British media going on about "Cost of Living crisis" all the time, but failing to acknowledge one of the most obvious causes of it.

I predicted a massive price hike way back in the summer of 2020, because somehow we were going to have to pay for the lockdown, and many people didn't believe me. Now it's here, people are trying to tell me it was too long ago, even though economics can run in ten or twenty year cycles.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#905

Post by retired »

hunterpayne wrote: post #712
retired wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> appreciation for the willingness of French workers to stand up for themselves I wonder if you still have that view when your car is one of the hundreds that typically get set on fire during protests. Rioting and the government caving for a minority out of fear of violence is the most undemocratic possible and does not fit in 21th century society. I’m happy to grow up north of France where minorities don’t torch the…

You forgot the part where the French government (who doesn't control their currency) is going bankrupt. Some simple reforms would fix this problem but when they are considered, the crazies start burning down Paris. Its actually amazingly sad to watch.

Correct. It is sad when the government is unable to execute a solid financial recovery plan out of fear of a violent minority.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#906

Post by kelnos »

GS523523 wrote: post #606
eloisant wrote: post #582

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also something that has nothing to do with religion. I am always surprised to see how religion people sometimes think you can't care about other people or your family if you don't believe in a bearded guy in the sky.

The difference is, like Jesus taught, religious people will care for others expecting nothing in return (reward is from God), but secular people will, even if it's as small as the narcissistic satisfaction of "look at me I'm such a good person." As soon as the cost-benefit of caring for family goes deeply negative, there's no reason to keep doing so.

Wow, that's a load of garbage. Clearly you have some bigotry against people who don't follow your religion. Hard to take any of your opinions on this topic seriously.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#907

Post by dudefeliciano »

ItsClo688 wrote: post #837
hackable_sand wrote: post #812

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several, actually

didn't realize proving i'm human was part of the HN experience but here we are ：）

there is a new general aversion to em dashes, as well as sentences like "and maybe that feeling is worth taking seriously on its own terms, separate from whether the numbers back it up." which sound llm generated.

No issue in using LLMs for polishing writing but when the tone is impacted in this way, I can understand peoples aversion to it. Especially on hackernews, where i guess people speak with LLMs a lot more than other people, and are able to even subconsciosly pick up on these cues.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#908

Post by kelnos »

xyzelement wrote: post #200
iso1631 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is swinging even more towards theocracy -- the Military Prayer Meetings say killing people is a mission from god, the White House Faith Office 1) exists, and 2) says that saying no to the rapist running government is "saying no to god"

Ok. And in parallel the average American is disconnected from religion and increasingly miserable as per the article.

That's not what the article says at all. Perhaps you should re-read it, especially the section that directly contradicts what you are saying about religion and happiness.

If anything, Americans are more religious than they were pre-pandemic (reversing a 30-year trend), and yet they're less happy.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#909

Post by alex43578 »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #793
eBombzor wrote: post #72

I do feel this trend in my life. I have a job which I'm grateful for but nothing feels satisfying anymore, and I feel like it is much harder to connect to people or form deep relationships, especially in this field, unless you already have a clique in your workplace. On top of that, AI is generally a demotivating entity to the majority of people. Despite all the hype of Altman and whonots, I feel like people just don…

Children would change that, instantly. I wasn't a father until late in life and then all of a sudden, everything is easy. The moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, every moment has meaning and purpose. Nothing, no meal, no evening, no dollar is wasted. As my children grow - the only question is how long do I have until I have grandchildren. After that - how long until I no longer have skin in the game? I do f…

What a testimony to the tricks your brain chemistry plays on you.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#910

Post by kelnos »

xyzelement wrote: post #207
rootusrootus wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern christianity in America is a primary contributor to my sadness.

Can you explain that?

Not the person you're replying to, but Christianity in America makes me sad, too.

I grew up in a fairly religious area. The Christians (mostly Catholics, as my family was) I knew were largely good, friendly, helpful people, with a strong work ethic and what I'd today consider good moral fiber. No one was perfect, of course, but most people seemed to want to do good, and tried to treat other people the way they'd like to be treated themselves.

Today, I can't say the same. Most Christians I run into these days are intolerant people who only seem to care about their own in-group, and paint others (other races, LGBTQ folks, immigrants, etc.) as the cause of all of their problems. They seem paranoid, acting like non-Christians (or even Christians of other sects) are somehow threatening their religious views. They try to force their religious beliefs on others, and advocate for Christian views to be enshrined in law. They speak of Jesus and the Bible, and then treat those around them as sub-human and not worthy of compassion or opportunity. Occasionally I run into a Christian that reminds me of 30+ years ago, but they seem to be in the minority these days.

I'm not saying that this behavior is restricted to Christians (or religious people in general), but it seems a lot more prevalent in Christians these days than in anyone else.

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