5 ms·
My favourite bit is the bit about the "coming age of shortages". This was written in 1978. I think I'll stick to doing stuff I enjoy and earning money for it,
by hugh 18y ago
My favourite bit is the bit about the "coming age of shortages". This was written in 1978.
I think I'll stick to doing stuff I enjoy and earning money for it, and then spending that money on stuff I want.
- mattmaroon 18y agoI think that all throughout history, man has expected the future to be far worse than the present. And all throughout history, the future has turned out to be better.
- danohuiginn 18y ago"all throughout history, the future has turned out to be better" splutter Just...no. 1913? 1928? 14th-century Europe before the Black Death turned up? Rome at its height? Yes, things are pretty damn good right now (in Europe and North America, at least). But history isn't a stately progress of life getting better - there have been plenty of times when things have fallen apart. As for expectations: there are always some waiting for the end-times with barely-concealed glee. But equally there are usually some expecting continuity, or gradual progress, or imagining cycles of historical recurrance.
- mattmaroon 18y agoThey've almost never been the cataclysms people have expected. Global cooling, thermonuclear war, never materialized. The ones that get us are never seen coming.
- danohuiginn 18y agoThere we agree totally.
- justindz 18y agoJava? Just kidding.
- stcredzero 18y agoThat's just a continuation of C/C++ anyhow.
- mattmaroon 18y agoAlso from a long view, the future does keep getting better. It isn't a straight line, but it probably looks like one if you zoom out a bit.