5 ms·

The assertion that "for most of human history boredom and loneliness have been the norm" is idiotic. The 19th and 20th centuries in america are not "most of hum

by ouid 8y ago

The assertion that "for most of human history boredom and loneliness have been the norm" is idiotic. The 19th and 20th centuries in america are not "most of human history". For the actual vast majority of human history, we were hunter-gatherers. We operated in tight social circles, and, and I'm just assuming here, we were rarely alone. I don't know how bored you would be as a hunter gatherer, either, but I suspect not terribly.

tcmb 8y ago
The phrase you put in quotation marks is not an actual quote from the interview, and I didn't interpret it as suggesting this. An actual quote is: "So for most of human history, loneliness or boredom were just accepted features of the human condition." In my view it's different to say that boredom and loneliness were accepted _when they occured_, rather than saying they were the norm, which might mean they were experienced most of the time.
jimbokun 8y ago
I've been hunting, when I was much younger. So I can attest the hunting part of "hunter-gatherer" can be exceedingly lonely and boring. It's mostly being very still and quiet, waiting for a prey animal to wander by.
- aketchum 8y ago
  This depends on the game being hunted, and really only applies for certain big game hunting like deer. Fowl hunting is a social event, walking along with some friends and at a dog, same with rabbit hunting. I think in hunter-gatherer times it is very likely people hunted in a group in order to better corner an animal or shepherd it towards a trap.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  It's mostly being very still and quiet, waiting for a prey animal to wander by. Yep. In his teens, my dad used to make money by killing foxes for the bounty on their head when one was raiding some farmer's chicken coop. If you could do it in one night, it was good money. The more nights it took you, the lower the de facto hourly pay. He would lay perfectly still for several hours in the dark by himself with a cocked gun waiting for the fox, often with bugs crawling over him that he didn't swat at because that would involve moving. He usually got it the first night.
- c0vfefe 8y ago
  Were you hunting like primeval man, or modern man?

by ouid 8y ago

tcmb 8y ago

The phrase you put in quotation marks is not an actual quote from the interview, and I didn't interpret it as suggesting this. An actual quote is: "So for most of human history, loneliness or boredom were just accepted features of the human condition." In my view it's different to say that boredom and loneliness were accepted _when they occured_, rather than saying they were the norm, which might mean they were experienced most of the time.

jimbokun 8y ago

I've been hunting, when I was much younger. So I can attest the hunting part of "hunter-gatherer" can be exceedingly lonely and boring. It's mostly being very still and quiet, waiting for a prey animal to wander by.

aketchum 8y ago
This depends on the game being hunted, and really only applies for certain big game hunting like deer. Fowl hunting is a social event, walking along with some friends and at a dog, same with rabbit hunting. I think in hunter-gatherer times it is very likely people hunted in a group in order to better corner an animal or shepherd it towards a trap.
DoreenMichele 8y ago
It's mostly being very still and quiet, waiting for a prey animal to wander by. Yep. In his teens, my dad used to make money by killing foxes for the bounty on their head when one was raiding some farmer's chicken coop. If you could do it in one night, it was good money. The more nights it took you, the lower the de facto hourly pay. He would lay perfectly still for several hours in the dark by himself with a cocked gun waiting for the fox, often with bugs crawling over him that he didn't swat at because that would involve moving. He usually got it the first night.
c0vfefe 8y ago
Were you hunting like primeval man, or modern man?