Made me think about Bruce Sterling's comments in this year's WELL State Of The World about the current depressive mood making headway among the world's richest

Made me think about Bruce Sterling's comments in this year's WELL State Of The World about the current depressive mood making headway among the world's richest people. Here's him riffing on Gates - >"Here in 2019, there are more Americans alive over 60 than Americans who are under 18. So for a brisk, road-ahead, forward-looking viewpoint, it might be time for us to check in with that widely-noted retired guy, Bill Gates. >Despite his advancing years, Mr Gates hardcore grinds it out more in a week than I ever do in a year. And, although he's not a facile TED-talk optimist, he's always got his eye on the deliverable. That's why it's a little weird to see him tacitly admitting so much defeat in his recent screed. >To begin, Bill quotes his best pal Warren Buffett, claiming that the bottom line of human good behavior is "Do the people you care about love you back?" This seems an odd scheme to promote, considering the Sage of Omaha's polygamous lifestyle. Buffett's motto should have been, "If your wife leaves for California and sends her best friend over instead, go for that." Let's hope they were all happier. >Then there's this prediction: "software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating better." Something downright ominous here, because obviously Gates is tacitly conceding that it's not your nearest and dearest but rather the software that ought to be caring about you and loving you back. >First, I don't think that's ever gonna work. Second, I'm getting concerned about Bill's mood. Is he so personally unhappy now that he would want to digitally monitor his own mental state?"... >..."finally, "Melinda and I are working on our next Annual Letter. The theme is a surprise, though it is safe to say we’ll be sharing some positive trends that make us optimistic about the future." >Why does Bill even have to say that bullshit? It's because he's got nothing that he's genuinely enthusiastic about, that's why he says it. Whenever people are truly positive, they never whine about how, just any minute now, they're gonna lift their sorry heads and say something positive. "I'm not gonna be depressed about it, I'm gonna say something really upbeat here," that never works! It's like a poker tell, something Bill ought to get since he plays so much poker. >You can't scold yourself about not talking properly, you have to take action in some aspect of life that actually makes you enthusiastic. Then you don't have to tell people that you and the wife will be cheerful any minute now. If you're really making any headway, people will show up on their own. You'll have to chase 'em off with a stick. >In any case, this new-dark malaise I was talking about earlier? He's got it. Yeah, even him." https://people.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/506/State-of-the-World-2019-page01.html https://people.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/506/State-of...