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On the other hand, after working for 8 hours a day, is it really reasonable to expect people to be enthusiastic about pursuing their own intrinsic questions abo
by leggomylibro 9y ago
On the other hand, after working for 8 hours a day, is it really reasonable to expect people to be enthusiastic about pursuing their own intrinsic questions about how things work and how they could make or improve something? Just because they don't have to spend a couple of hours on rote labor like doing their laundry by hand and cooking?
I want the answer to be yes, but it's like my favorite quote says, "as soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn't measure up."
A better question might be why we're okay with this state of people being largely anesthetized once they get home. But the same thing has been said about television and movies, and pulp fiction before them; maybe the problems are built-in and we just don't have it in us to meaningfully improve.
- CodeMage 9y agoSorry for being off topic here, but I just wanted to express my admiration for such a great use of a Terry Pratchett quote. Vimes is my favorite Discworld character and I'm delighted to see his wisdom used so well in a discussion.
- leggomylibro 9y agoAw, thanks - he's definitely one of my favorite authors. I think that when you're deeply cynical about people and are never given any reasons to think otherwise, it's easy to start acting like a jerk and generally lose sight of the fact that other people still share the same foibles and flaws and fears and insecurities as yourself. Terry Pratchett writes the sort of books which remind you that even though you might completely despair of them, there is still something in everyone that is inherently worthy of compassion. Too bad that human compassion and judgement tend to be the first casualties of all this convenience, huh?