I’ve just been reading about how in the future, AI will allow us to speak with animals, and people will be able to communicate telepathically and live in their own VR worlds. (etc., etc.)
Man, this isn’t a world I want to live in. I’m so tired of the constant paradigm shifting that you have to put your brain through with each innovation. I wish technology just stayed frozen in the 1980s – there would be so much less uncertainty in my life and I could just focus on being a human.
Innovation keeps being forced on you and I just feel tired. >!And I’m only just in my 20s!< Is this ok? Is this valid? When resisting it is a loser’s game…
ha, none of that will exist in your lifetime. i think youll be ok. is it that hard to just ignore the stuff youre not interested in?
Maybe it’s aggravated by the fact that I do programming and the industry standard libraries constantly keep evolving each year. You’re stuck perpetually playing catch-up.
yeah, im a full stack guy and im old and it sucks constantly having to learn for the job, but ya know it hasnt really changed all that much in the last 30 years. gen AI doesnt exist so its ‘revolution’ certainly isnt going to be pronounced before im retired.
im certainly not afraid of some predictive generation as its nothing knew, its just [much] better than it was.
you led with speaking with animals and virtual reality but that boiled down pretty quick didnt it?
Good luck ignoring social media nowadays. Whether you use them or not, you live in a society that does use them and you are impacted by its consequences.
And good luck trying to buy a new television that isn’t “smart”. Even cars are getting like that.
haahha ive been runnin BBs’s since the early 90s, and currently running a fully federating fediverse implementation of mbin. im not scared of running social media stuff. doesnt mean i cant ignore garbage tech like any VR.
and i only buy retail displays that dont include an onboard OS. they cost more, but theyre always worth it.
cars? my 1980 toyota celica aint goin nowhere. i can rebuild the 20r in my sleep.
i hate some of the new tech, but im also not afraid to completely work around it. you do you though
That’s the problem. Even if you want to be a Luddite, you have to do all the work for that yourself, because the entirety of society will be trying to pull you in the other direction :-/
Say you want the only computer you use to be an 80s computer: you can’t, because everything is online now. And society has since removed the adaptations that it had back then to an computer- and internet-less world.
Change is hard, but necessary.
I would agree change is hard. And I believe change is inevitable. But is all of it really necessary?
We are self-aware beings that can evaluate what technology has done and is going to do to individuals and society at large. Metrics for attention span, reading comprehension, social connection, and many more things are trending in damgerous directions already. Some change is not necessary and is objectively doing more harm than good.
I think it’s valid to feel this way. Even so, it’s impossible to stop the progress of time. You just have to find a way to balance this in your life. You don’t have to stay up to date in everything, either.
Yeah it is totally valid. Actually just came across someone that was talking about something similar to this.
Edit: The main idea was that we as humans tend to get trapped in something called progress traps where as we advance technology we use that advance to over exploit our environment leading us to more problems down the line.
I fully agree. As a 43 year old, who used to be an “early adopter” I’ve found that I don’t fucking need it. I’m fine with retro games. I’m fine with talking on the phone instead of video conferences. I don’t need “social media”.
On the other hand, I really like that my car doesn’t pollute. I really like that I can power my house from the sunlight that normally just hits my roof and is absorbed. I really like that I can work from home.
There are tradeoffs. For me, what works, is just not giving a fuck. But in like, a content/nice way, instead of a nihilistic/depressed way. If you know what I mean?
But being a Luddite does have its appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite
I guess that makes sense. Also, what sets the solar panels aside is that they don’t intrude into your modus operandi, like eg. always-on employer expectations (possible thanks to the internet) might.
People getting old in this thread. Next thing you know, you’ll be yelling at kids on your front lawn. 😁
Did I become an old man that yells at clouds?
Chevy Bolt. It hasn’t polluted since I bought it.
Yes, I am aware that electricity production often comes from fossil fuels. Yes, I’m aware of the pollution that stems from mining and manufacturing. You’re right that a train would be more efficient. Yes, you’re right that I’m a bad person who should know better. What else ya got?
We all reach that point in life. I kind of admire and also pity those who don’t.
Like, the Richard Bransons who are skydiving and water skiing with supermodels at 65 are just nuts. The Leo Laporte’s who stay on top of every little detailed change to every piece of tech are nuts. It’s cool that they have that enthusiasm, I guess. But it’s just not that important to me anymore.
We may have some differences, while close to the same age, I am extremely outdoors and active, constantly building something tech (not bleeding edge) or non-tech, and completely fill my time or I get ansy. So in that way I’m more like the Branson’s but overall my mentality towards “not caring” matches yours to a tee.
The skill of being able to identify what’s important in the moment and recognizing “this won’t matter in 6 months” is a learned talent I wish I could give others. I sometimes feel like it may dampen my excitement for things, being the inverse, but so far that has never really been deterrent for me…
I’m fine with talking on the phone instead of video conferences.
You will be surprised how many young people prefer voice-only over video. And how many people hate voice messages.
I do find that the audio quality is much higher over the web than over the phone line. I wish everything were voip.
