The entirety of human history can be accurately described as dystopian, and it has been much worse in the past than it is today, particularly for the demographic of this forum (i.e. affluent software engineers)
The present age is one of understanding, of reflection, devoid of passion, an age which flies into enthusiasm for a moment only to decline back into indolence.
Not even a suicide does away with himself out of desperation, he considers the act so long and so deliberately, that he kills himself with thinking -- one could barely call it suicide since it is thinking which takes his life. He does not kill himself with deliberation but rather kills himself because of deliberation.
One can't really prosecute this generation, for its art, its understanding, its virtuosity and good sense lies in reaching a judgment or a decision, not in taking action.
You might as well say life was in black and white before the invention of the color photograph. Fun for me sometimes consisted of just a stick and a rock or a stick and my dog. The first industrial revolution initially lowered the quality of life and contentment for workers
It'd take you less than a month to adapt if there were no time machine.
Compared to today, I'd say life was indeed unpleasant. Just being free of Polio makes a gigantic difference.
The opportunities I have for travel, education, healthcare, access to arts, and other experiences are far greater than my ancestors had. The opportunities my daughters have are so much greater than even my grandmother had. I wouldn't give any of it up.
> The opportunities I have for travel, education, healthcare, access to arts, and other experiences are far greater than my ancestors had. The opportunities my daughters have are so much greater than even my grandmother had. I wouldn't give any of it up.
Within a month you'd be over it. It's surprising how well humans adapt to their situation
Even if you had polio, most people find a way to still find joy in life after coming to grips with the disease. We had a president who had polio.
Stephen Hawking's debilitating illness doesn't stop him. He still finds joy in life and has a happy, successful marriage in addition to being the world's preeminent physicist.
This may sound weird, but I kind of dreamed of living in a dystopia. I read of a lot of Gibson and Stephenson as a kid. Utopias like heaven frankly sounds kind of boring...no challenges or struggles to overcome or face.
A utopia doesn't mean there are no struggles. If you want to be a great guitar player or a master carpenter, you don't magically get those abilities.
If I could afford to be retired today, I could easily fill the rest of my days working on things that I want to work on. I'd love to learn more about cooking, learn another language, take up carpentry, learn how to ride a trials bike, get stronger, learn to play an instrument, work towards a degree in mathematics, volunteer in my community, get my amateur radio license, travel with my wife, work on my marksmanship skills, learn watchmaking, build electronics projects, join a bowling league, and on and on. I'm very fortunate in that I love my job, but it does take up most of my time.
To provide something of a counterpoint, asbestosis is a disease from the modern society, filled with opportunity. So is being run down by a car, hit by an air-to-ground missile, or blinded by a laser.
It's not quite so one-sided as it might at first appear.
