2 ms·

Will Durant and his wife have spent multiple decades writing history books. One of their observations was that technology creates inequality, see the book Lesso

Will Durant and his wife have spent multiple decades writing history books. One of their observations was that technology creates inequality, see the book Lessons of History. Having said that, I still think technology has been a net positive. Just imagine living in 1900. It would take months to go from Europe to the US. Medicine was able to cure almost nothing. What we consider simple diseases now would be deadly back then. And you can forget about watching or listening your favorite musicians online. Also, imagine driving with a modern car into a 1900s village. People would be in shock.

JohnFen 2y ago
> I still think technology has been a net positive. I stopped thinking this a decade or so ago. I now think that technology has become a net negative. Yes, it brings huge benefits as you note. The problem as I see it is that it now brings even larger drawbacks as well.
- huijzer 2y ago
  You rather live in 1900? Or pay $100k for 8 kW of solar panels (1974 price) instead of $2k? Or pay orders of magnitude more money for slow computers?
  - sifar 2y ago
    How about we re-frame it as would you rather have one person or a group of people to destroy a city or the entire planet and intelligent life on it? Would you rather be able to enslave a particular region or the entire world ? You see, we are trading improvements in some aspects to that of another. The thing is you cannot separate the benefits these technological advancements bring with the problems they create. The rate of technological change is much more rapid than our ability as a society to adapt to it. This is one of the source of friction as the negative effect become real only later. There is no physical law that says technology has to improve - it is our quest, or drive to seek it, we choose it, every time. And I say this as someone who is part of this.

JohnFen 2y ago

> I still think technology has been a net positive. I stopped thinking this a decade or so ago. I now think that technology has become a net negative. Yes, it brings huge benefits as you note. The problem as I see it is that it now brings even larger drawbacks as well.

huijzer 2y ago
You rather live in 1900? Or pay $100k for 8 kW of solar panels (1974 price) instead of $2k? Or pay orders of magnitude more money for slow computers?
- sifar 2y ago
  How about we re-frame it as would you rather have one person or a group of people to destroy a city or the entire planet and intelligent life on it? Would you rather be able to enslave a particular region or the entire world ? You see, we are trading improvements in some aspects to that of another. The thing is you cannot separate the benefits these technological advancements bring with the problems they create. The rate of technological change is much more rapid than our ability as a society to adapt to it. This is one of the source of friction as the negative effect become real only later. There is no physical law that says technology has to improve - it is our quest, or drive to seek it, we choose it, every time. And I say this as someone who is part of this.