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Yes, the poorest among us are materially well-off, by any historical comparison. Yet the article speaks to how we're doing psychologically and spiritually. It's

Yes, the poorest among us are materially well-off, by any historical comparison. Yet the article speaks to how we're doing psychologically and spiritually. It's a little glib to tell people they'd better get happy and appreciate how much better we have it than ye olde folks of yore. Trump has gotten this far by stirring up rust belt fears of human obsolescence. Less-educated white males are seeing their place in society disappear. If you don't think "the rest of us" have to care about that, wait and see the response as autonomous vehicles take out the trucking industry. Even if Trump loses this time, the same underlying sentiments will produce more Trump-y candidates in the future, unless something can be done to create real change and ways for all sorts of people to be active and valued participants in our society. It's important to recognize the pain and suffering behind the fear of being unneeded. Interesting questions abound: If prescription anti-depressants worked, wouldn't Americans be the happiest people ever? We already know behavioral advertising changes one's perception of oneself -- does that shift affect well being? What's the psychological cost of commodifying one's special moments as social media posts? How do we engage undocumented kids who feel sidelined by the lack of paths toward rewarding careers? How do our attitudes toward birth, death, and caring for the very young and very old work against well-being? Why do we measure economic health of our country without reference to the distribution of ownership of capital? (We carefully measure the number of wage slaves, but who's measuring the number of people who own productive enterprises? Stocks are too far removed from "productivity" and shouldn't count.)

sparky_z 10y ago
> If prescription anti-depressants worked, wouldn't Americans be the happiest people ever? Just like depression is more complicated than "not happy enough", anti-depressants are more complicated than "drugs that make people happier".
kordless 10y ago
> It's a little glib to tell people they'd better get happy and appreciate how much better we have it than ye olde folks of yore. You are speaking for the Dalai Lama's intent with this blaming statement. "Glib" is Germanic and means "slippery". And while only he can speak to whether he is being slippery or not with his words, given the words themselves do not blame I doubt that is the case here. However, the Dalai Lama is likely attempting to double bind readers, which means a polarized view of his words will manifest if the readers themselves are deep in dissonance. In other words, it's your own doing speaking for others and ask leading questions as a result of digesting his "opinion". For example, if prescription and anti-depressants "worked", that would imply we all agree to what "worked" meant together. We don't, which is part of the situation in the US and with comments that blame. Trump has gotten as far as he has because a good number of people are allowing Trump to speak for them and their own internal dissonance with blanket blaming statements that are in direct conflict with reality and can only be "solved" by breaking reality "out here". America does not need to be great again because being "great" is a transitory trait. Things don't become great because we want them to be great. Great just happens as a result of everything coming together in a holistic (and efficient) solution. Humans will continue seek to solve their dissonance in a cost effective manner, but ultimately it is on each of us to solve our own dissonance without being judged for our inability to do so OR told how to solve it. We all have dissonance, and it's the internal acceptance of that dissonance, or sin for you Christians, that will allow us to break it. That's a big challenge today given software makes just about everything more efficient. I think we've found it more convenient to lean on others options with these new found inefficiencies. The Dalai Lama suggestions are wise, given we'll continue to struggle to find meaning in a world with less jobs and more judgement. BTW, it's my belief that the affects we are seeing with today's societies are related to the ones we experience in architecting private and public cloud services.
- xherberta 10y ago
  Sorry, I was speaking in agreement with the article, and in opposition to the idea expressed in the comments that material progress plus Netflix ought to satisfy and fulfil the human heart. I heartily agree that dissonance is a formidable force in the world with devastating consequences -- I like your name for the concept. I'm saying we can't afford to ignore the painful realities of those who feel disenfranchised. Also, let's be more aware of subtle ways in which technological advances may augment internal dissonance.
  - kordless 10y ago
    > let's be more aware of subtle ways in which technological advances may augment internal dissonance Seems like a testable hypothesis.
- zwischenzug 10y ago
  https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glib+definition https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glib+definition
  - kordless 10y ago
    I like 'silky', but the original quote was in the context of speaking for others, i.e. the Dalai Lama speaking for other's happiness. It's a common issue with Buddhism, which is why they say to let others solve their own dissonance, but do so in a way that forces them to do so without external influence. In many ways that's "tricky" business.
petre 10y ago
Oh no please not Trump again, he's got all the bad press in the Western World. I read a Dalai Lama article to bust into Trump bad press yet again. Someone's gotta build and repair those self driving trucks, ey? And it won't be robots or software developers with a laptop, it's gonna be non educated hard working males of all colors who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Otherwise your politicians are gonna orchestrate WW3 for all the non educated males to participate, because the Pentagon's got all the latest and greatest toys they spent trillions in taxpayer money on and they're dying to try them out. I hope that the self driving trucks part will work out well. But it's still Silicon Valley vapour, until we've got better batteries and solar powered charging stations in the desert, not to mention Alaska.
- fao_ 10y ago
  The reason Trump has so much hype, is because Trump creates enough bad press without the media having to lift a finger. It's easy for them to stir up controversy and bad press because he makes it easy for them. Almost every statement he makes is geared to generate hype and bad press. Which is working. I've heard more about Trump, what Trump says about Foo, and what Trump says about Hillary, than I have Hillary.
  - mynameishere 10y ago
    without the media having to lift a finger The media has been full-court press against Trump for months.
- ohyoutravel 10y ago
  >>Someone's gotta build and repair those self driving trucks, ey? And it won't be robots or software developers with a laptop, it's gonna be non educated hard working males of all colors who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Presumably it will mostly be the people who currently repair the trucks continuing to do so, which still creates the problem of what to do with the former truck drivers replaced by autonomous drivers.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

sparky_z 10y ago

> If prescription anti-depressants worked, wouldn't Americans be the happiest people ever? Just like depression is more complicated than "not happy enough", anti-depressants are more complicated than "drugs that make people happier".

kordless 10y ago

> It's a little glib to tell people they'd better get happy and appreciate how much better we have it than ye olde folks of yore. You are speaking for the Dalai Lama's intent with this blaming statement. "Glib" is Germanic and means "slippery". And while only he can speak to whether he is being slippery or not with his words, given the words themselves do not blame I doubt that is the case here. However, the Dalai Lama is likely attempting to double bind readers, which means a polarized view of his words will manifest if the readers themselves are deep in dissonance. In other words, it's your own doing speaking for others and ask leading questions as a result of digesting his "opinion". For example, if prescription and anti-depressants "worked", that would imply we all agree to what "worked" meant together. We don't, which is part of the situation in the US and with comments that blame. Trump has gotten as far as he has because a good number of people are allowing Trump to speak for them and their own internal dissonance with blanket blaming statements that are in direct conflict with reality and can only be "solved" by breaking reality "out here". America does not need to be great again because being "great" is a transitory trait. Things don't become great because we want them to be great. Great just happens as a result of everything coming together in a holistic (and efficient) solution. Humans will continue seek to solve their dissonance in a cost effective manner, but ultimately it is on each of us to solve our own dissonance without being judged for our inability to do so OR told how to solve it. We all have dissonance, and it's the internal acceptance of that dissonance, or sin for you Christians, that will allow us to break it. That's a big challenge today given software makes just about everything more efficient. I think we've found it more convenient to lean on others options with these new found inefficiencies. The Dalai Lama suggestions are wise, given we'll continue to struggle to find meaning in a world with less jobs and more judgement. BTW, it's my belief that the affects we are seeing with today's societies are related to the ones we experience in architecting private and public cloud services.

xherberta 10y ago
Sorry, I was speaking in agreement with the article, and in opposition to the idea expressed in the comments that material progress plus Netflix ought to satisfy and fulfil the human heart. I heartily agree that dissonance is a formidable force in the world with devastating consequences -- I like your name for the concept. I'm saying we can't afford to ignore the painful realities of those who feel disenfranchised. Also, let's be more aware of subtle ways in which technological advances may augment internal dissonance.
- kordless 10y ago
  > let's be more aware of subtle ways in which technological advances may augment internal dissonance Seems like a testable hypothesis.
zwischenzug 10y ago
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glib+definition https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glib+definition
- kordless 10y ago
  I like 'silky', but the original quote was in the context of speaking for others, i.e. the Dalai Lama speaking for other's happiness. It's a common issue with Buddhism, which is why they say to let others solve their own dissonance, but do so in a way that forces them to do so without external influence. In many ways that's "tricky" business.

petre 10y ago

Oh no please not Trump again, he's got all the bad press in the Western World. I read a Dalai Lama article to bust into Trump bad press yet again. Someone's gotta build and repair those self driving trucks, ey? And it won't be robots or software developers with a laptop, it's gonna be non educated hard working males of all colors who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Otherwise your politicians are gonna orchestrate WW3 for all the non educated males to participate, because the Pentagon's got all the latest and greatest toys they spent trillions in taxpayer money on and they're dying to try them out. I hope that the self driving trucks part will work out well. But it's still Silicon Valley vapour, until we've got better batteries and solar powered charging stations in the desert, not to mention Alaska.

fao_ 10y ago
The reason Trump has so much hype, is because Trump creates enough bad press without the media having to lift a finger. It's easy for them to stir up controversy and bad press because he makes it easy for them. Almost every statement he makes is geared to generate hype and bad press. Which is working. I've heard more about Trump, what Trump says about Foo, and what Trump says about Hillary, than I have Hillary.
- mynameishere 10y ago
  without the media having to lift a finger The media has been full-court press against Trump for months.
ohyoutravel 10y ago
>>Someone's gotta build and repair those self driving trucks, ey? And it won't be robots or software developers with a laptop, it's gonna be non educated hard working males of all colors who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Presumably it will mostly be the people who currently repair the trucks continuing to do so, which still creates the problem of what to do with the former truck drivers replaced by autonomous drivers.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]