I feel for those who fight their alarms each morning. The day hasn't even started and already they're tired, drained, and struggling against time. Each groggy pressing of the snooze is an uphill battle, a futile attempt, to conquer time and gain more sleep. First thing in the morning, and the day hasn't even started and already succumbing to defeat. Once out of bed, everything must be done in a hurry. The rush begins before the road and well before a single footstep into the workplace. The rat race exist inside the home and it greets these unfortunate souls each and every morning. Nothing taste good and there's "no time" for a healthy breakfast. The sugar and corn syrup seems gratifying in the moment, but they offer a debt that will be collected in the form of an afternoon crash. The shitty coffee, moldy beans and bitter brews. Who has time to "cook" their coffee, who has time to cook anything? Everything must be instant and easy, anything to save time, to give these people more time. No one is telling these people that the low upfront cost is deceptive and everyone ignores the long-term effects of living this way. And why not? Most people feel as though they don't have a choice. It's a luxury to eat healthy, to cook, to take time. "We cannot afford time, we need more time." ... It's an endless cycle. A never-ending battle. Excuse after excuse, justification after justification. Yes, those who work a 9-5 have to put in more effort and work then those who work on their own schedules or from home. They have to go to bed earlier, rise earlier, prep their meals and do other things..Work twice as hard to be healthier. So is it worth it? I don't know.. I've lived both ways and I hope to never go back. Good luck.
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Aldous Huxley's 'A Brave New World' does a great job forecasting our voluntary servitude, while George Orwell's '1984' does a great job forecasting our mass-surveillance. Then Kurt Vonnegut's 'Player Piano' nails our Automation Revolution and even hinted at our impending/near-current AI revolution.
'A Brave New World' predicted a future that preferred human labor, and purposely bred people to be simple and comfortable working menial jobs, while allowed more mental growth for higher level jobs. It discussed the dangers of too much machine/automation, as it would give too much free-time, which allows for reflection and leads to unhappiness. A Brave New World also aimed to completely do away with privacy, and solitude. Which honestly, is relevant. But it didn't forsee the internet/social media and those technological advancements which allow people to be social, without being around others.
'Player Piano' feel the most relevant and closet to our current future as it predicted the marriage of Machine and Managers. Rather than being a full Utopian/Dystopian society that sends non-conformers away to islands (like in A Brave New World), there is a river/towns separating the different classes. People are allowed to be unhappy in Player Piano and instead they reflect on the necessity of their society and understanding it..rather than everyone being happy and not questioning things. It also stuck to alcohol and didn't introduce Soma. The government still controlled art and information.
Anyways, I will touch up on 1984 and update this to finalize the full comparison, but I just wanted to start this thread now while 'A Brave New World' and 'Player Piano' were fresh. But as it currently stands I would argue we are living more in the world of 'Player Piano' then any of the others. Although there are hints of each and other things not included, such as 'V for Vendetta.' No joke, there's a "Make Britain Great Again" slogan in V for Vendetta and there of course is the control of the TV/MEDIA with the propaganda broadcaster who had heavy ties to the powers in charge.
However, what 'A Brave New World' does nail down the best, in regards to America, land of the democracy and freedom, is that we are voluntarily under a Totalitarian rule.
"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executives of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.
'the problem of happiness' - in other words, the problem of making people love their servitude. Without economic security, the love of servitude cannot possibly come into existence." - Aldous Huxley (afterwords from A Brave New World).
Our version of Soma is a mixture of narcissism and technology. Social Media, toys and gadgets etc. We are in love with our wiretaps, our monitoring and tracking devices, they are an extension of ourselves and we take pride in using them. We voluntarily submit our information everywhere online and constantly love to let people know where we are, what we are doing, what we are eating/drinking, how much time we spend in front of a screen, etc. etc.
But... Automation is here. AI is closer than ever. More and more jobs are being removed, but also new ones are blossoming too. But there can only be so many managers right? So there will be those who manage, and those who maintain and those who can do both. There also will be some time of people stuck in the old ways, people drawn to the older ways, and of course jobs that are harder to automate. It's also beneficial that we have a reemergence of people loving custom/hand-crafted work. And by hand, I am referring more to human made, not done by a robot. Tools are still used of course, but it's not automatically built.
Anyways, the future is here. Feel free to read those books.
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There are people that have don't have "it" yet they relentlessly try, push and never quit. There are people who have "it" but they're unable to put in the work, or believe in themselves, and they are always ready to quit.
Then there are those who have "it" work hard, and never get a chance in hell because the right eyes aren't on them, while there are tons of people without "it" but know the right people, have the right connections and timing or just simply money and they are polluting the stream of what "it" really is.
But you can't let any of this matter or affect what you're doing, because it's all an excuse and a lie, and it's never been about what you don't have, or do, and it shouldn't matter how many or how few validate and appreciate "it" because the best ones and the lucky one never have to live with the mistake of knowing how great others think they are..
Because the very few who know this and are still able to continually produce, without "it" affecting them them, are very far and very few between.
They are practically mythical creatures..and thanks to today's world, you never truly know who is doing what, because there are those who have "it" and those who buy "it" and those who put their name on "it" convincing everyone that they are "it." While again..it doesn't really matter..there is no "it" and all of this is again just an excuse, a lie, a reason to justify why or why not.
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