Increasingly, I think that the problem of modernity is that we have everything we want, but nothing that we need. Fight Club put it well: "an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
Nothing settles stubbornly or weighs so heavily as work that remains undone. And we have so much to do that we can't bring ourselves to
And when the chimera of ease lifts.. in a squall of rain, in a sudden draught, when suddenly faced with a terrorsist’s bullets, we don’t know what it takes to survive… if only our tweet could make it all disappear
Nowadays, I see the lullabying words of ChatGPT in nearly every Facebook post, so much so that the neatly crafted words look less adorning and more lazy… we will soon become brainless and fully plugged in to the machine, logged out from Reality
I walked past a gym the other day and your thoughts resonated. People get up early to lift heavy metal plates up and down, not building things or tilling the earth but just to try and maintain muscle. They run on treadmills going nowhere, swim back and forth in a pool, cycle on a spinning bike, all of it hard but totally our choice, which makes it harder and pointless.
It’s these thoughts that made me follow your writing. Thank you.
I’ve learned through my spiritual journey that these struggles and contradictions actually deep down are only part of how the universe works out its own consciousness via experimentation. I feel we’re lucky to live at a time to see so many things playing out in the physical world. Even the greatest invention of biology, the brain, is being challenged. All of which makes us wonder and question everything. Society and technology overwhelms us with attachments. I feel only by seeing the truth of these attachments we shall find ourselves.
A life long journey. Thanks for continuing to write.
This is a you problem. Some of us put effort into leading a healthy life and don’t just have mental breakdowns cause of a internet cartoon you can click a button to create. In fact, I’d say most people don’t just have random mental breaks because they aren’t terminally online. In other words, get a life.
"Raising a child is harder than traveling." This is comparing two completely different things. Just because people choose to be child free or (gosh forbid) unable to raise a child due to harahaips or circumstances, does mean they are being flippant. Travel is not a replacement of something meaningful. This is narrow in perspective of what is "convenient".
I understand comparisons. What I don't understand is minimizing people's decisions and saying one is harder than the other. Or earlier in your essay when you say we - the collective, general, everyone - do not have meaningful professions. That is also a minimization of people whose jobs are meaningful because of what they may provide for the community, their families, or even themselves. Again, comparison or not, it's minimizing.
You should stick to your technical articles, which are generally a pleasure to read. This article is really nothing in comparison. An attempt at Philosophy. A vapid piece full of privilege that made me what to unsubscribe. I have never written a mean comment in my life, but this is just disappointing. If your way of existing in public spaces and with the world around you is so easy, support people. Live healthy, stand up for people who can't, put your phone away. More importantly, talk to different people to grow your perspective and be more aware of your own bias/bubble. Clearly you have some work to do.
Interesting take. Id agree that at times, my day-to-day life has been too easy for me. At the same time, it lacked meaning. During those times, I definitely felt better after engaging in some chosen difficult activity. Whether it was doing something to my physical limit, or engaging in a cognitively difficult mental or emotional task. It helped me feel alive. I think the ease I have comes from great privilege though.
Also, that the world is difficult and confusing. Much more than it used to be. How does someone actually succeed now ? What can a college student major in that they expect will still be a job by the time they get out ? How to navigate all of these online environments and expectations around that.
Reading all the comments complaining about your point of view on the modern life just makes me think you have ring so many bells people have not thought about and there’s friction on how we think about life.
I absolutely love this article, it describes myself and a lot of friends. Instant gratification in the form of cute images done with a prompt, or getting a newer phone with a click is making a lot of lives miserable.
Call me ignorant but I have stopped watching the news of every new thing that happens in the world because we have such a few control of these things and it’s not worth the anxiety, for ME. What has been really important to me is to be grateful about the people I have around me, having my basic needs covered, and everything else can figure itself out.
The search to find meaning in life is ancient. Previous generations were very familiar with the problem, but most of them struggled to survive (food, shelter, health, etc). Their answers fit their situation. Those who were fortunate enough not to have to struggle found answers that fit their situation. Nothing has changed today -- some struggle and some do not. For those fortunate enough to have shifted from struggle to ease, the answers you grew up with may not fit but the search for meaning and purpose remains the same. You need different answers, and those answers are not to be found in the myriad distractions of modern life. In short: "Get a life!"
I should have clarified somewhere that I'm quite fine lol. The diagnosis is about the modern malaise that you see and read everywhere. Which is quite real btw. It's not a matter of "getting a life" for most people
The malaise is real, for sure. The modern version is possibly unique in that such a large fraction of the population suffers from it, and the diversity of distractions available boggles the imagination. The modern version has different causes than past generations experienced, but this kind of malaise -- which I think of as a search for meaning -- is not new.
Increasingly, I think that the problem of modernity is that we have everything we want, but nothing that we need. Fight Club put it well: "an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
Nothing settles stubbornly or weighs so heavily as work that remains undone. And we have so much to do that we can't bring ourselves to
“The middle children of history” hits hard
I like your new promo image art style. Huge improvement from the first ones. The consistency between the last three posts looks great.
Thank you! I'm still experimenting until I find something I really like
On point
And when the chimera of ease lifts.. in a squall of rain, in a sudden draught, when suddenly faced with a terrorsist’s bullets, we don’t know what it takes to survive… if only our tweet could make it all disappear
Nowadays, I see the lullabying words of ChatGPT in nearly every Facebook post, so much so that the neatly crafted words look less adorning and more lazy… we will soon become brainless and fully plugged in to the machine, logged out from Reality
I walked past a gym the other day and your thoughts resonated. People get up early to lift heavy metal plates up and down, not building things or tilling the earth but just to try and maintain muscle. They run on treadmills going nowhere, swim back and forth in a pool, cycle on a spinning bike, all of it hard but totally our choice, which makes it harder and pointless.
A crazy world we have made for ourselves
Insightful article Alberto!
It's hard to do hard things. However, it's precisely that difficulty that makes it worthwhile.
The best times of my life have been when I had the least and struggled the most. Looking back now, those were definitely the 'good old days.'
Thank you John!!
It’s these thoughts that made me follow your writing. Thank you.
I’ve learned through my spiritual journey that these struggles and contradictions actually deep down are only part of how the universe works out its own consciousness via experimentation. I feel we’re lucky to live at a time to see so many things playing out in the physical world. Even the greatest invention of biology, the brain, is being challenged. All of which makes us wonder and question everything. Society and technology overwhelms us with attachments. I feel only by seeing the truth of these attachments we shall find ourselves.
A life long journey. Thanks for continuing to write.
Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻
An awesomely relevant and thought provoking read, indeed Alberto! You nailed it, in my view. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for reading Bryant!
Well put-the tyranny of convenience.
This is a you problem. Some of us put effort into leading a healthy life and don’t just have mental breakdowns cause of a internet cartoon you can click a button to create. In fact, I’d say most people don’t just have random mental breaks because they aren’t terminally online. In other words, get a life.
It's interesting how are you reacting so much given that you never have mental breakdowns. We can debate if you want, just not like this
"Raising a child is harder than traveling." This is comparing two completely different things. Just because people choose to be child free or (gosh forbid) unable to raise a child due to harahaips or circumstances, does mean they are being flippant. Travel is not a replacement of something meaningful. This is narrow in perspective of what is "convenient".
It's just an example. Traveling is easier than having kids. If someone doesn't want to have kids, that's fine.
I understand comparisons. What I don't understand is minimizing people's decisions and saying one is harder than the other. Or earlier in your essay when you say we - the collective, general, everyone - do not have meaningful professions. That is also a minimization of people whose jobs are meaningful because of what they may provide for the community, their families, or even themselves. Again, comparison or not, it's minimizing.
You should stick to your technical articles, which are generally a pleasure to read. This article is really nothing in comparison. An attempt at Philosophy. A vapid piece full of privilege that made me what to unsubscribe. I have never written a mean comment in my life, but this is just disappointing. If your way of existing in public spaces and with the world around you is so easy, support people. Live healthy, stand up for people who can't, put your phone away. More importantly, talk to different people to grow your perspective and be more aware of your own bias/bubble. Clearly you have some work to do.
Can you state what's your problem with this article instead of resorting to qualifiers? That way we can have a conversation. Thanks
Interesting take. Id agree that at times, my day-to-day life has been too easy for me. At the same time, it lacked meaning. During those times, I definitely felt better after engaging in some chosen difficult activity. Whether it was doing something to my physical limit, or engaging in a cognitively difficult mental or emotional task. It helped me feel alive. I think the ease I have comes from great privilege though.
Also, that the world is difficult and confusing. Much more than it used to be. How does someone actually succeed now ? What can a college student major in that they expect will still be a job by the time they get out ? How to navigate all of these online environments and expectations around that.
Reading all the comments complaining about your point of view on the modern life just makes me think you have ring so many bells people have not thought about and there’s friction on how we think about life.
I absolutely love this article, it describes myself and a lot of friends. Instant gratification in the form of cute images done with a prompt, or getting a newer phone with a click is making a lot of lives miserable.
Call me ignorant but I have stopped watching the news of every new thing that happens in the world because we have such a few control of these things and it’s not worth the anxiety, for ME. What has been really important to me is to be grateful about the people I have around me, having my basic needs covered, and everything else can figure itself out.
The search to find meaning in life is ancient. Previous generations were very familiar with the problem, but most of them struggled to survive (food, shelter, health, etc). Their answers fit their situation. Those who were fortunate enough not to have to struggle found answers that fit their situation. Nothing has changed today -- some struggle and some do not. For those fortunate enough to have shifted from struggle to ease, the answers you grew up with may not fit but the search for meaning and purpose remains the same. You need different answers, and those answers are not to be found in the myriad distractions of modern life. In short: "Get a life!"
I should have clarified somewhere that I'm quite fine lol. The diagnosis is about the modern malaise that you see and read everywhere. Which is quite real btw. It's not a matter of "getting a life" for most people
The malaise is real, for sure. The modern version is possibly unique in that such a large fraction of the population suffers from it, and the diversity of distractions available boggles the imagination. The modern version has different causes than past generations experienced, but this kind of malaise -- which I think of as a search for meaning -- is not new.
The new thing is the contrast between an easy world and a hard life.