> People are substituting artificial things for the natural things that made us happy in earlier times. You frame threadmills and soylent (terrible name, thoug

> People are substituting artificial things for the natural things that made us happy in earlier times. You frame threadmills and soylent (terrible name, though) as gerbils in a cage. That's one way to frame it. But I choose to frame those things as steps towards becoming something more than humans, with humanity taking its destiny in its own hands. Maybe one day we will have conquered death and live as long as we want to, but until then a small-ish machine that improves my quality of life with me barely noticing is a good first step. We might be the only animals that eat "for nutrition" instead of "for enjoyment", but we are also the only animals that read.