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Two semi-random thoughts that struck me when reading this: First, this Douglas Adams quote: I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to te
by mseebach 10y ago
Two semi-random thoughts that struck me when reading this:
First, this Douglas Adams quote:
I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
- Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
- Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
- Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.
The second was this very insightful article on the dynamics of the evolution of sub-cultures: https://meaningness.com/metablog/geeks-mops-sociopaths https://meaningness.com/metablog/geeks-mops-sociopaths
For the record, I've never been to Burning Man, nor seriously tempted to change that.
- lawpoop 10y ago> The mops, when properly squeezed, produce liquid capital, i.e. money. "liquid capital" -- such a sublime, apt description/definition of money. Surprised I've never encountered it before, in awe of its simplicity and insightfulness. So obvious I should have thought of it myself.
- mjlee 10y agoI'm slightly worried that I might be taking your comment too literally, but it's a very commonly used term: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_capital https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_capital
- gugagore 10y agoI'm glad you replied earnestly. I once thought "scare quotes" was a really awesome term someone invented on the spot.
- diggernet 10y agoObligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
- jdmichal 10y agoIt's also common in its verbal form "liquidate". As in, a "liquidation sale" or "liquidating some stock or options".
- lawpoop 10y agoWell, that's what I was of course familiar with.
- lawpoop 10y agoWell of course I had heard of liquid assets, liquidity, etc. But I'd never heard of money described as liquid capital. It seems like the most apt definition of money.
- oldmanjay 10y agoI like thinking of money as universal sandpaper because it's so great at smoothing out life's edges
- theptip 10y agoAnother article I enjoyed on sub-cultures and tribalism: http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/04/04/the-ideology-is-not-the-movement/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/04/04/the-ideology-is-not-the... Beautiful Adams quote ;)
- jacquesm 10y agoDifferent Adams I believe.
- maxerickson 10y agoPerhaps the paragraphs have been used to express distinct thoughts. That'd be an okay pen name though.
- theptip 10y agoHa, yes -- the second paragraph was referring to the gp, not the linked article.
- huevosabio 10y agoThanks for the article. It was a very good read.
- ggchappell 10y agoInteresting article. Thanks for the link.
- untilHellbanned 10y agoMakes me think of Twitter, YC, and so many areas of life. Thanks for the link.
- erispoe 10y agoPeople seem to have the same attitude regarding cities. San Francisco exemplifies this to the extreme: many people will criticize any change to the city that has come after the end of their teens / the year of their moving to the city. It's just general status quo bias, I'm not sure there is anything specific to technology. Technology makes it obvious because the pace of change is faster, but I've heard (vegan) people defending a drive-in McDonald in SOMA because it was here when they grew up.
- WalterBright 10y agoTrue. I miss the way Seattle was when I moved here long ago when it was still a Boeing town. There was a unique Seattle culture that seems to have faded away. Fortunately, the local TV show "Almost Live" did a great job of capturing it for posterity. Few non-locals get the jokes in it, and in 20 years few Seattlites will, either.
- wyclif 10y agoCan you explain a little more about this? It sounds so cryptic. What were/are the cultural touchstones?
- WalterBright 10y agoIt's a good question. It's a little hard to explain, it's more of a feeling. Some of the touchstones are Rainier Beer (long gone), the hydro races (kinda loved to death), the I90 "bulge" (gone), the Pike Place Market, the Bite of Seattle (loved to death), Bumbershoot (loved to death), Ivar's Restaurant's silly TV ads (Ivar died and is much missed), the freeway ramps to nowhere getting torn down, Bellevue turning into a glass towerscape, Ballard losing its norwegian flavor, Capitol Hill losing its counter culture due to escalating real estate prices, moldy waterfront cabins replaced by $5m mansions, the 1940s bungalows all disappearing, etc. The Space Needle and the creaky squeaky Monorail and of course Sylvester are thankfully still there and going strong.
- 10y ago
- cryptarch 10y agoYour article about sub-cultures strongly reminded me of the Tor project. I've been tempted to get involved, but it seems to me like the fog of war is all around it.
- forgottenpass 10y agoThe second was this very insightful article on the dynamics of the evolution of sub-cultures You might also like "On the Origin of Posers" http://hotelconcierge.tumblr.com/post/134371738229/on-the-origin-of-posers http://hotelconcierge.tumblr.com/post/134371738229/on-the-or... It focuses on some different aspects of subculture dynamics, and I don't know if the two models can co-exist but I find interesting points in both.
- dghughes 10y agoMusic seems to apply to those three points as well. At some point you think I'm hip I like music these days but eventually you'll go OK that's it I can't stand music today.
- vlunkr 10y agoAbraham Simpson said it best "I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you..."
- ericzawo 10y agoOne of the most profound moments (and episodes!) of the Simpsons.
- toast0 10y agoYou'll know when you're way past hip when you enjoy going to the supermarket because they play good music.
- catscratch 10y ago> For the record, I've never been to Burning Man, nor seriously tempted to change that. I agree with you that any place or event where a man can get burned is a risk to men. In fact, the name says it all; the event must involve a man getting burnt or at least the threat of it. Maybe it should be a women-and-other-non-men-only event. If so, it's name could be: "An Event Wherest Shall Be No Risk Of Burning To Women And Other Non-men," and all who dispute this may be charged with "Planning To Commit Man-arson." Everyone starting to make pamphlets and other paraphernalia should probably start changing things now. No one must ever again say the word "man" with any sort of incendiary verb, adjective, adverb, or noun in the same sentence. For example, an acceptable pairing could be: "That fire is burning. Have a man put it out." But, even it that were to happen, I agree, the risk is great.
- hogrammer 10y agoI don't like any programming language invented after 1985 or so.