4 ms·

I'm gonna try to remember this comment for the next time someone brings up the boiling frog analogy. Which is usually back to back with the thought that in byg

I'm gonna try to remember this comment for the next time someone brings up the boiling frog analogy. Which is usually back to back with the thought that in bygone times "the human mind used to be cleaner / healthier / smarter and it was slowly destroyed by modern living" There's not that much difference between our behavior and that of a chicken fixated on the chalk line in front of it.

Tade0 7mo ago
This. What really happened is that someone figured out what makes people give something their undivided attention and is profiting handsomely off of this finding.
andai 7mo ago
In the 19th century, many authors lamented the frantic, unhealthy pace of modern life.
- dpflan 7mo ago
  “The world is too much with us” - W. Wordsworth The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-too-much-with-us https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-to...
- aenis 7mo ago
  And boy, were they right.
- sahildeepreel 7mo ago
  Highly recommend reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. in the 80's, he wrote about how shift from print media to TV has caused us to trade critical thinking for a 'numbing' addiction to constant amusement. Little did he know about social media.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death
  - ProllyInfamous 7mo ago
    The hardest part of a 2026 reading of Amusing Ourselves is that nothing within the pages is extraordinary anymore — the book is plainly boring once you know about the internets... definitely groundbreaking, for its time.
    - sahildeepreel 7mo ago
      Fair point. However, books like these show where society is heading and what values we are promoting as a society. As an aside, what was really interesting to me was learning that in 1850s white Americans had a 95% literacy rate (highest globally) and were able to easily follow debates between presidential candidates that lasted 3+ hours, and ask relevant questions. I doubt even the most educated people would be able to do that today. Certainly, I would find it extremely difficult to do so.
      - ProllyInfamous 7mo ago
        >I doubt even the most educated people would be able to do that today. Certainly this is a valid point. >able to easily follow debates between presidential candidates that lasted 3+ hours, and ask relevant questions This is likely one reason for keeping the masses month-to-month (~70% in US, 2024~). I hate to quote this madman, but Father Jones once said (before flavor-aide-ing his entire congregation): >>~"Keep them poor and tired. If they're poor they won't have time to organize; if they're tired they won't have energy to fight back"~ ---- >1850s white Americans had a 95% literacy rate (highest globally) Working in construction these past few decades, some of my favorite co-workers have barely been able to read — yet are brilliant field electricians (that often can read blueprints — but fuck this engineer they'll proudly mumble, often ["what the hell was he thinking, here?! wuz he thinkin'?!"]). fuck this guy . laughter ---- I fully support returning to a time when countries had smaller populations and embraced technologies in running themselves, their more-isolated population's needs. As an older millenial american, I fully support the breakdown of USA into smaller territories (too large to reasonably rule, IMHO).

Tade0 7mo ago

This. What really happened is that someone figured out what makes people give something their undivided attention and is profiting handsomely off of this finding.

andai 7mo ago

In the 19th century, many authors lamented the frantic, unhealthy pace of modern life.

dpflan 7mo ago
“The world is too much with us” - W. Wordsworth The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-too-much-with-us https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-to...
aenis 7mo ago
And boy, were they right.
sahildeepreel 7mo ago
Highly recommend reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. in the 80's, he wrote about how shift from print media to TV has caused us to trade critical thinking for a 'numbing' addiction to constant amusement. Little did he know about social media.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death
- ProllyInfamous 7mo ago
  The hardest part of a 2026 reading of Amusing Ourselves is that nothing within the pages is extraordinary anymore — the book is plainly boring once you know about the internets... definitely groundbreaking, for its time.
  - sahildeepreel 7mo ago
    Fair point. However, books like these show where society is heading and what values we are promoting as a society. As an aside, what was really interesting to me was learning that in 1850s white Americans had a 95% literacy rate (highest globally) and were able to easily follow debates between presidential candidates that lasted 3+ hours, and ask relevant questions. I doubt even the most educated people would be able to do that today. Certainly, I would find it extremely difficult to do so.
    - ProllyInfamous 7mo ago
      >I doubt even the most educated people would be able to do that today. Certainly this is a valid point. >able to easily follow debates between presidential candidates that lasted 3+ hours, and ask relevant questions This is likely one reason for keeping the masses month-to-month (~70% in US, 2024~). I hate to quote this madman, but Father Jones once said (before flavor-aide-ing his entire congregation): >>~"Keep them poor and tired. If they're poor they won't have time to organize; if they're tired they won't have energy to fight back"~ ---- >1850s white Americans had a 95% literacy rate (highest globally) Working in construction these past few decades, some of my favorite co-workers have barely been able to read — yet are brilliant field electricians (that often can read blueprints — but fuck this engineer they'll proudly mumble, often ["what the hell was he thinking, here?! wuz he thinkin'?!"]). fuck this guy . laughter ---- I fully support returning to a time when countries had smaller populations and embraced technologies in running themselves, their more-isolated population's needs. As an older millenial american, I fully support the breakdown of USA into smaller territories (too large to reasonably rule, IMHO).