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But they do get to see them, they usually just don't notice them. Almost everyone in the developed world has a supercomputer in their pocket that acts as a flas
by Aerroon 6y ago
But they do get to see them, they usually just don't notice them. Almost everyone in the developed world has a supercomputer in their pocket that acts as a flashlight and a video camera as well! Modern cars are far safer than old cars. They're faster than horses too. A modern combine harvester does the work of many people, which makes food much cheaper.
There are untold small and big improvements like that that we just take for granted. GDP per capita roughly doubles in 20 years. That's the combination of all of these small and big improvements added up on a societal scale. Before industrialization it could take over 1000 years to see a similar level of improvement in the life of an average person.
My grandparents had no running water. They would wash in a sauna with water from a pond or well. Famines were common at that time. People still mostly used horses for transport. Roads were not paved. Clothing was mostly self-made. Televisions didn't even exist yet. Radios were for well-off families. Compare that to today in a developed country.
This rampant non-stop technological advancement is what's making life better. It's just hard to notice if you don't think about it.
- dredmorbius 6y agoAnd yet: "Looming evictions may soon make 28 million homeless in U.S., expert says" https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/10/looming-evictions-may-soon-make-28-million-homeless-expert-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/10/looming-evictions-may-soon-m... You caan't live in a video game. You cannot eat an iPhone. Maslow's Hierarchy still rests on its base, and tens of millions within the US and billions worldwide live precarious existences.
- Aerroon 6y agoMaslow's hierarchy of needs is far from the problem in the US. Many millions might end up being evicted but the vast majority of them will end up finding other accommodations. There's a lot of housing available in the US. It's just not cheap in the places people want to be.
- dredmorbius 6y agoMaslow's hierarchy, a friend pointed out a few years back, is best considered not merely as a set of essential and nourishing goods and services, but security in those elements. The hand that offers whilst threatening, withdrawing, or threatening is not nurturing but the definition of abuse and trauma. Living on a knife's edge, at all times, is not tenable. See: https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/2vwfb6/maslows_smartphone_the_role_of_technology_in/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/2vwfb6/maslows... https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/3ey7d1/maslows_swimming_pool_greek_austerity/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/3ey7d1/maslows...