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>but it really hasn't made us happier as a whole. Serious question. Has any technology done this? We don't appear to be happier than any other animal. Even in

>but it really hasn't made us happier as a whole. Serious question. Has any technology done this? We don't appear to be happier than any other animal. Even in the developed world plenty of people are downright miserable. Unless primitive humans were just far sadder than the average animal, I can't see how technological advancement has made us happier as a whole, because we're not all that happy. If antibiotics, electicity, and the steam engine didn't noticeably move the needle, it seems absurd to expect phone tech to do the deed. Whatever technology is solving "for the whole", it's not happiness.

exergy 9y ago
The frame of thought I use to think about this is that evolution simply gave humans a brain that is far too big. We cannot help but tinker with things, think about things like science or philosophy etc. Its not whether the steam engine made us happier. It's that the steam engine is the result of a species bored out of its wits and needing something intellectually engaging to do.
TeMPOraL 9y ago
Yes. Alcohol and various drugs, for example. I jest, but only a little bit. The thing is, happiness is not really a good goal for technology. Humans are good about noticing what is not OK to them and focusing on that - while also growing resistant to persistent problems. So they keep the baseline. Things have changed a lot, however - we've been moving up on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Thanks to technology, most Westerners no longer really worry about food, shelter, personal security and forming relationships. We've moved upwards - that's why we have time and will to bitch about abstract topics on the Internet. The very controversies our society has is the evidence just how far our technology has lifted us. Starving people don't fret about identity politics and gender imbalances in hot industries. This is a realistic goal for technology - lifting us up and solving the problems we identify. Feeling happy is something we either need to learn individually, or brainwash (or engineer) ourselves into.
- petra 9y ago
  >> The thing is, happiness is not really a good goal for technology. >> Thanks to technology, most Westerners no longer really worry about food, shelter, personal security and forming relationships. In the buddhist tradition, one dedicated to happiness, one barrier to happiness(or happiness training), was the need to take care of all those things. So happiness seems like a decent goal for technology, but maybe not the best ideology to win in the tech dev market.

exergy 9y ago

The frame of thought I use to think about this is that evolution simply gave humans a brain that is far too big. We cannot help but tinker with things, think about things like science or philosophy etc. Its not whether the steam engine made us happier. It's that the steam engine is the result of a species bored out of its wits and needing something intellectually engaging to do.

TeMPOraL 9y ago

Yes. Alcohol and various drugs, for example. I jest, but only a little bit. The thing is, happiness is not really a good goal for technology. Humans are good about noticing what is not OK to them and focusing on that - while also growing resistant to persistent problems. So they keep the baseline. Things have changed a lot, however - we've been moving up on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Thanks to technology, most Westerners no longer really worry about food, shelter, personal security and forming relationships. We've moved upwards - that's why we have time and will to bitch about abstract topics on the Internet. The very controversies our society has is the evidence just how far our technology has lifted us. Starving people don't fret about identity politics and gender imbalances in hot industries. This is a realistic goal for technology - lifting us up and solving the problems we identify. Feeling happy is something we either need to learn individually, or brainwash (or engineer) ourselves into.

petra 9y ago
>> The thing is, happiness is not really a good goal for technology. >> Thanks to technology, most Westerners no longer really worry about food, shelter, personal security and forming relationships. In the buddhist tradition, one dedicated to happiness, one barrier to happiness(or happiness training), was the need to take care of all those things. So happiness seems like a decent goal for technology, but maybe not the best ideology to win in the tech dev market.