Could it be the incentives? With regard to books, paintings, theater, etc. you have an incentive to produce something that is meaningful or at least entertaining. Generally the artist is attempting to turn abstract thoughts or ideas into something real or quantifiable.
But TV and Social Media have their incentives twisted. It's just about ads. They don't really care what you are seeing as long as you are seeing as many ads as possible. The joke about TV was that a valid description of it was advertisements with a little bit of entertainment sprinkled in throughout.
I'm not saying that people haven't been able to use these platforms to build anything meaningful, but that the incentives and the purpose of these platforms are not to entertain, but to keep you glued to the feed for as long as possible to see as many ads as possible (which is why I think "rage bait" is so common).
This sounds like the software engineering equivalent of setting up an Amazon business account to get into drop shipping. IMO if it becomes easier for any random person to dump AI generated SAAS apps it will only strengthen the current big players.
Remember how Brick and Mortar was dead because of online shopping? Who knew in 2024 I'd be more likely to head out to an actual store than risk purchasing some sketchy product off Amazon, but I can imagine that if we do eventually actually get to a future where the world is filled with the white noise of SAAS garbage coming out left and right anyone actually interested in mitigating risk for their business is going to learn quickly to err on the side of caution.
If anyone and everyone can emit noise then that becomes the baseline, and people will catch on quick to find those that rise above.
When I read these things I sometimes get this sense that there is this feeling of "superiority" with respect to leisure and family time from Europeans. I can't help but constantly think about how a lot of European countries got to this point because of the mass subjugation of other humans (think Africa and the Caribbean). For example, the current crisis in Haiti makes me think of the Haitian Independence Debt[0]. Sometimes I feel like a lot of the West is like a trust fund baby, where we live off the hard and dirty work of our parents, and turn a blind eye to the mass destruction of the earth and the countless millions of peoples lives who, even to this day, we take advantage of.
So I'm very glad the French can get 2 hours in the middle of the day to hang out and eat home cooked meals, while the earth slowly starts to boil around them, and while millions of people still suffer to this day because of actions their country has taken in the recent past.
I'm not saying that I don't believe humans should have more family time, more leisure time, and a better quality of life; but I do feel like we haven't done anything yet as a greater society to earn that right yet, as almost everything our foundation is built on seems incredibly unsustainable, and still needs a lot of work and thought put into it to get us there.
Britain did bad stuff around the world and our GDP productivity / hr figures are dog shit compared to France. So if you want that productivity directed towards saving the world, it would still make sense to look to France or Germany for inspiration on how to harness it more effectively.
I would suggest reading some more ancient history to get a larger view of the great accomplishments of the west and you might feel a little different. Some of them are:
Abolition of slavery world wide (almost everywhere)
Women liberation
The rule of law and not men
Great advances in medicine reducing suffering (anesthesia and surgery, vaccines)
Birth mortality going from 50% of children dying in 1800 to about 1% today
Maternal mortality going from 5 per 1000 to .1 per 1000
The average person being able to own their own private coach (car) and eat like the kings of old
Universal education
Space exploration
Of course there are many things to improve. Let's get at it.
Pros:
* cost of living is very cheap
* ~4 hours from Boston, nyc, Toronto
* lots of nature
* for the col, there is a solid quality of life
* winters are not as bad as it’s portrayed in media
Cons:
* crime and poverty for the city size
* typical rust belt issues (although Micron still says they are coming)
I work remote and live very well in this area, and I’m sort of a home body so I mostly enjoy a quiet chill life with my family. I usually have to go to the office in nyc a few times a year (55 min flight) and that lets me get my fix of food and fun so it has worked for me for the past several years since I have bought a house here
I have several Airthings Wave connected devices, and I also purchased and installed a Panasonic ERV[0], which I have hooked into my HVAC system. Opening windows several times throughout the day was how I used to control the Co2, but in the winter and summer it became a huge hassle with the temp/humidity changes in the house, but with the ERV running 24/7 I will see an empty room drop to 400 ppm fairly quickly after people leave it (Airthings has an app). Generally rooms with people in them hover around 600-800 ppm with the ERV running. The ventilator will keep the humidity/temp levels pretty consistent because it has this cross capillary core that it runs the air through, but I do need a good few humidifiers running in the winter. The ERV also has the benefit of allowing you to control the air pressure in the house, which is useful for radon, as I was unable to get a good radon pump installed without destroying my downstairs (I live in a raised ranch where the "basement" is the first floor). With the positive pressure in my house + constant ventilation I never see the radon levels generally go above .5.
But TV and Social Media have their incentives twisted. It's just about ads. They don't really care what you are seeing as long as you are seeing as many ads as possible. The joke about TV was that a valid description of it was advertisements with a little bit of entertainment sprinkled in throughout.
I'm not saying that people haven't been able to use these platforms to build anything meaningful, but that the incentives and the purpose of these platforms are not to entertain, but to keep you glued to the feed for as long as possible to see as many ads as possible (which is why I think "rage bait" is so common).