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> We know about (and don’t knock down) the particularly beautiful older buildings. We have lots of evidence from paintings and photographs that it's not just s

> We know about (and don’t knock down) the particularly beautiful older buildings. We have lots of evidence from paintings and photographs that it's not just survivorship bias, that things have gotten on average uglier. > If you go to New York City there’s beautiful stuff from the early 20th century (think Chrysler Building) and plenty of unremarkable stuff still standing (think pre-war walk ups). Still more aesthetically pleasing than a large majority of what's built now. > Maybe one in a hundred of the older buildings is remarkably beautiful. Not being actively ugly is pretty good too and a great deal more common in older buildings than newer ones. There are many, many more neighbourhoods that people will travel to just to walk around and appreciate that were built before wWW2 than after, in every country that was developed before then, and almost all that weren't.

nitrogen 5y ago
We have lots of evidence from paintings and photographs that it's not just survivorship bias, that things have gotten on average uglier. There's definitely a bias at play here, whatever name you give to it. Maybe a bias toward familiarity, where the longer something has been around, the more people decide they like it. I look forward to the day when I can build my perfect glass and stone paradise and finally escape the terror of older buildings and small spaces designed for people less than 5' tall.
- telotortium 5y ago
  Where are you that's designed for people less than 5 feet tall? Generally it's the older buildings that tend to have higher ceilings - until very recently, most post-war buildings were built with 8-foot ceilings or even shorter.
  - nitrogen 5y ago
    Not just the ceiling height matters. Older buildings I've been in tend to have very narrow staircases and hallways (not enough room for elbows and shoulders), light fixtures mounted directly at or below my eye level, rooms in which it would be impossible to lie down with arms above head, and/or showers that barely reach chest height. And I am not particularly tall.
GhettoComputers 5y ago
Isn't that just your more bias? Why would they have ugly buidings in a painting or photograph? Have you looked at the modern architecture of Singapore or Japan? Way more people visit a downtown with generic skyscapers than small old style neighborhoods.

nitrogen 5y ago

We have lots of evidence from paintings and photographs that it's not just survivorship bias, that things have gotten on average uglier. There's definitely a bias at play here, whatever name you give to it. Maybe a bias toward familiarity, where the longer something has been around, the more people decide they like it. I look forward to the day when I can build my perfect glass and stone paradise and finally escape the terror of older buildings and small spaces designed for people less than 5' tall.

telotortium 5y ago
Where are you that's designed for people less than 5 feet tall? Generally it's the older buildings that tend to have higher ceilings - until very recently, most post-war buildings were built with 8-foot ceilings or even shorter.
- nitrogen 5y ago
  Not just the ceiling height matters. Older buildings I've been in tend to have very narrow staircases and hallways (not enough room for elbows and shoulders), light fixtures mounted directly at or below my eye level, rooms in which it would be impossible to lie down with arms above head, and/or showers that barely reach chest height. And I am not particularly tall.

GhettoComputers 5y ago

Isn't that just your more bias? Why would they have ugly buidings in a painting or photograph? Have you looked at the modern architecture of Singapore or Japan? Way more people visit a downtown with generic skyscapers than small old style neighborhoods.