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The past was not that cute

(juliawise.net)
430 points mhb | 4 comments | 06 Dec 25 21:53 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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techblueberry ◴[06 Dec 25 22:58 UTC] No.46177361[source]▶
I will pre-empt this by saying I most certainly look to the past with rose colored glasses, and some of this is for sure childhood nostalgia, but one thing I appreciate about the aesthetics of the past is they felt more… Honest; for lack of a better term. Things made out of wood and metal were actually made out of hardwood and metal. Not so many composites that fall apart instead of wear ala wabi-sabi. So I think there’s something to the fact that the past was kind of “cute”, just not in all storybook way.

Theres a lake I visit in the summer that I’ve been visiting since the 80’s, and the houses used to all be wood cottages with no fences, now they’re all mansions, many walled off. Sure the houses weren’t insulated, and you would be crammed in there together, but it felt way more…. Human? Communal?

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samdoesnothing ◴[06 Dec 25 23:03 UTC] No.46177398[source]▶
I wonder why it is that the past seems more real and the present dishonest and fake? Is it simply that it is?
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1. margalabargala ◴[06 Dec 25 23:11 UTC] No.46177461[source]▶
It has a lot to do with the way our memories form and what memories our brains choose to construct from experiences.

The past was not more "real" than present day reality.

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2. vacuity ◴[06 Dec 25 23:15 UTC] No.46177498[source]▶
At the same time, it's arguable that certain observations such as "commercialization and commoditization have become stronger" are true. We're certainly living in an era where a lot can change in a few decades.
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3. pixl97 ◴[06 Dec 25 23:46 UTC] No.46177688[source]▶
>living in an era where a lot can change in a few decades

So were people in 1910. You could say the printing press set up the following industrial revolution and things have been accelerating ever since. People talk that in the future there will be a technological singularity that things will go so fast people won't be able to keep up, but really in many ways we've been in it for a while already and it's still accelerating.

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4. _DeadFred_ ◴[07 Dec 25 05:13 UTC] No.46179325{3}[source]▶
My grandfather rode to school on a horse, saw the last of the nomadic native peoples traveling Iowa, watched polio ruin lives and bring fear, then watched science conquer polio. Watched humans conquer the sky and land on the moon, fought mechanised island warfare as a sent in Marine in the pacific on the side of half the world fighting against the other half of the world. Personally saw the damage of nuclear war in occupied Japan, then watched the world build a 15 minute system for mutually assured nuclear destruction (MAD). Went from mail to shared rural 'party' phone lines, and ended his life with a world connected with a global knowledge network to every home and free video calls to anywhere in the world. He went from canned zucchini/beats in the winter to access to whatever fresh produce (and more importantly ice cream) he wanted all year long.

Unless we make some major breakthroughs, I don't think there will ever be another generation of change like that one.