Is the world getting really hard to understand?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I grew up in the 50s/60s. We were a simple people back then. Now, we have stuff like black holes, black energy, and black matter. Weather used to be simple- it was going to rain/snow or not. Now, it's all about isobars- what the hell is an isobar? I used to be able to fix almost everything on my car with a Chilton manual. Today, cars are crammed with parts and wires, like a Swiss watch.
Do you feel the world has gotten too technical? Is the world getting really hard to understand?
 

fuzzybuddy said:
I grew up in the 50s/60s. We were a simple people back then. Now, we have stuff like black holes, black energy, and black matter. Weather used to be simple- it was going to rain/snow or not. Now, it's all about isobars- what the hell is an isobar? I used to be able to fix almost everything on my car with a Chilton manual. Today, cars are crammed with parts and wires, like a Swiss watch.
Do you feel the world has gotten too technical? Is the world getting really hard to understand?
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Yes you are correct!
 
I get your point, and it's well taken, but I can see some good in the changes, if I limit this reply to just what you said about cars. Back in the years you mentioned, cars needed tune ups and frequent oil changes. Spark plugs today last longer, oil changes for most cars are needed at 10,000 miles instead of 3,000; lights on the dash warn us of low tire pressure, etc. - and there are safety features like an alarm if we aren't paying close attention and get too close to the car in front of us. I can think of a couple of times I was momentarily distracted and that feature saved the day.

I can't fix my car if it breaks like I could fix some things that broke on my car years ago, but (cross my fingers) nothing has broken in the 6 years I've owned my Toyota. All I've had done to it is change the oil and replace the battery and tires. I cannot recall any car I had in the 1970s with that kind of record.
 
It isn't the technology that is hard to understand. It is what people do with it!

A friend told me yesterday that one can buy a designer purse for $8.00, for their avatar. For Their Avatar, a thing which is not even real. People are making pretty good money with their YT channels, a lot of which is just trash, by so many others watching, liking, following.
 
Thinking about this makes me really sad. I was forced on disability retirement back in 2012 it lasted until July 2023; just as my youngest child was a JR in high school; my career was perfect and expanding, making mega bucks. I never ever wanted to retire, period. That forced retirement took me out of the rapidly changing IT environment in medicine for an ELEVEN year recovery. IT is so rapid that if you aren't there in the work world but stuck at home recovering, you end up with no skills for today's work place.
 
Here's how I'm getting through the insanity:
The world has become someone's cartoon. We are all forced into it. It takes place in Gotham and stars such characters as Penguin and Lex Luthor, a wealthy oligarch. World Wide Entertainment (WWE) wrestling writes the script. That's what the world is now, a psychotic delusion. If I described this phenomenon more I'd get in trouble.
 
Pepper said:
Here's how I'm getting through the insanity:
The world has become someone's cartoon. We are all forced into it. It takes place in Gotham and stars such characters as Penguin and Lex Luthor, a wealthy oligarch. World Wide Entertainment (WWE) wrestling writes the script. That's what the world is now, a psychotic delusion. If I described this phenomenon more I'd get in trouble.
Click to expand...
The former head of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) — Linda McMahon — will soon be the head of the Department of Education.

What's not to understand? :ROFLMAO:
 
I wish I could remember the name of the story...

There was a late-1940s short story about a group of research psychologists observing test subjects through one-way glass windows for weeks. The subjects were normal people, going about their normal business working at assigned clerical tasks. On the phone, typing, filing, water cooler chats, etc. under the stress of deadlines and workload ebbs and flows.

A number of judgements and theories were advanced and discussed day by day over several months.

The story ends, suddenly "pulling back" to reveal that the "test subjects" are just the accounting back office of the hospital, the "psychologists" are patients under observation. The real doctors remark upon the patients' inability to cope with daily life unless isolated from their fear of society with their delusions of superiority and control unchallenged.
 
Of course, the world is getting more and more hard to understand. More and more technology is making a lot of people rather unhappy. Climate change is here but wars just go on!
 
MACKTEXAS said:
I get your point, and it's well taken, but I can see some good in the changes, if I limit this reply to just what you said about cars. Back in the years you mentioned, cars needed tune ups and frequent oil changes. Spark plugs today last longer, oil changes for most cars are needed at 10,000 miles instead of 3,000; lights on the dash warn us of low tire pressure, etc. - and there are safety features like an alarm if we aren't paying close attention and get too close to the car in front of us. I can think of a couple of times I was momentarily distracted and that feature saved the day.

I can't fix my car if it breaks like I could fix some things that broke on my car years ago, but (cross my fingers) nothing has broken in the 6 years I've owned my Toyota. All I've had done to it is change the oil and replace the battery and tires. I cannot recall any car I had in the 1970s with that kind of record.
Click to expand...
That's the one thing I have noticed. My cars are better made. My Toyotas were great. My Honda Civic was perfect except the dash got so hot in the summer (Fla here) the AC could not over come it. My Subaru was excellent. I liked the old cars and styles and power but Toyotas (in my exp) are the best cars I have owned.
 
It's gotten harder to remain computer literate and protect myself and my equipment. I learned to use computers in the mid-80s and have steadily progressed since then. I've become more immersed in the Web, changed my equipment infrequently, became adept at online shopping, increased the security of passwords, learned to correct problems and make repairs, increased my knowledge in cyber security, studied to more closely monitor identity theft and had to upgrade sometimes just to keep doing what I'm going.

It's taking more research and more brain strain to stay on top and monitor and manage everything. Despite my experience and capabilities, enjoying and managing my cyber life is rapidly getting beyond me and more confusing and more complex. Lately, I've wondered if one day I'll go offline permanently and be free again. I've wondered if I could really do it. My regular life and my online life seem to be so inextricably enmeshed that I can't see it being possible. 😢
 
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