How bureaucracy, GDP worship, automation, AI, HR, acronyms, statistical analysis, and the death of intangibles are pouring the proverbial bucket of hot diarrhea over America.
The 90s were also nice because they were a time of great prosperity. Yes, GDP worship is bad, but also yes - great prosperity is essential - it instills hope and optimism throughout the whole culture and shifts the outlook from a zero-sum game of deadly competition, to a happy optimism of collaboration.
Yes and no. I think you exaggerate (meaning, I think prosperity is critical, so I don't mind a bit of "GDP worship"), but I agree about the 90s. The downside of the 90s, I suppose, was that because we felt good about the world, we failed to notice some brewing problems, like mass immigration.
Dear Layne, you describe the zeitgeist so well. I'm fortunate to do great things in a startup using vim and shell/python/ruby and to be shielded from most Excel stuff (which I totally suck at).
This morning I read in the Google news that our French government is serious about tackling deficits and will reach 3% in 4 years to please the Bruxelles. Meanwhile we have a 5.5+% deficit which will worsen for sure by year end. Those "long term" plans must be Excel based plans (eg. Lets save half a percent this year and again the next 3 years). 1 year later the government finds that they underestimated the number of low hanging fruits, or recession comes, or defense spending becomes a top priority.. and deficits continue soaring.
Good essay! I think I am about 20 years older than you (my teens were in the 70’s) more or less. Enshittification is just a way of saying that all things cycle from youth to senescent decay. As you point out though, we can hardly know what is growing everywhere. I am consumed right now with a David Betz infused concern that civil war is approaching. How fondly will we recall spreadsheets when civil strife comes? I agree with you about knowing history. Every age is a reminder that something is always growing as surely as something else is dying. In any case, keep the faith and keep writing.
Seattle is a shithole now. It used to be nice. You could go out, talk with strangers, make conversation meet new people. Covid killed that, so many keep to themselves now, won't even respond to a wave, or a hello, even a smile. The internet has dilluted the average person into one personality, (with minor differences) tailored by algorithim. I'm thankful for my church, or else I would have no way to connect with new people. Those who share a same passion, love for God, disipline within themselves. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual bar-goer millenial, who functions on a vape and dab pen.
I've been hammering away at a piece called The Shattering of the American Mind that touches on more spiritual aspects of what you write about here. Essentially I think COVID was so disruptive and so transparently nonsense that huge swaths of people can no longer interface with reality as such. These are very dark thoughts to dwell upon. It seems the only thing people can agree on anymore is that the medium term future is going to be very bleak indeed. It is the lot of my generation to pay for the sins of our parents
Tbh my goal in life is to make a secluded monarchist town and run a private game company that produces epic kino while larping as the King of Texas
Let's start killing eachother
You should write a dystopian novel. It could easily be the 1984 of the 21st century
Really
Let’s hope for a nuclear war between India and China!
The post-script of this article got to me lol
I feel similarly about oasis in the 90s, “scenes” don’t really exist in rock music anymore
COVID killed the music scene. I watched it get head shot
You’re right, I started college right after COVID and it was like a wasteland
Everything went underground during COVID, & aboveground got razed.
Yar
Occasionally I read something that I wish I could write. This is one such article.
That means a lot bro
Remember to ignore anything that comes from a consultants mouth
The 90s were also nice because they were a time of great prosperity. Yes, GDP worship is bad, but also yes - great prosperity is essential - it instills hope and optimism throughout the whole culture and shifts the outlook from a zero-sum game of deadly competition, to a happy optimism of collaboration.
Erm.. gengar.. are you agreeing with me?
Yes and no. I think you exaggerate (meaning, I think prosperity is critical, so I don't mind a bit of "GDP worship"), but I agree about the 90s. The downside of the 90s, I suppose, was that because we felt good about the world, we failed to notice some brewing problems, like mass immigration.
What a nice description of our long march into the sewers, where we long forget that we started smelling like shit.
Awesome article
Dear Layne, you describe the zeitgeist so well. I'm fortunate to do great things in a startup using vim and shell/python/ruby and to be shielded from most Excel stuff (which I totally suck at).
This morning I read in the Google news that our French government is serious about tackling deficits and will reach 3% in 4 years to please the Bruxelles. Meanwhile we have a 5.5+% deficit which will worsen for sure by year end. Those "long term" plans must be Excel based plans (eg. Lets save half a percent this year and again the next 3 years). 1 year later the government finds that they underestimated the number of low hanging fruits, or recession comes, or defense spending becomes a top priority.. and deficits continue soaring.
Did you know the modern fraternity is dying, because on a national level the inevitable stupid which happens is too expensive to insure? fun thoughts.
Good essay! I think I am about 20 years older than you (my teens were in the 70’s) more or less. Enshittification is just a way of saying that all things cycle from youth to senescent decay. As you point out though, we can hardly know what is growing everywhere. I am consumed right now with a David Betz infused concern that civil war is approaching. How fondly will we recall spreadsheets when civil strife comes? I agree with you about knowing history. Every age is a reminder that something is always growing as surely as something else is dying. In any case, keep the faith and keep writing.
Thanks! I hate to break it to you David, but my teens were in the 2010s
Ah - well, for a young whippersnapper you write good! Keep it up.
Today I learned 66% of corporations are incorporated in Delaware!
Seattle is a shithole now. It used to be nice. You could go out, talk with strangers, make conversation meet new people. Covid killed that, so many keep to themselves now, won't even respond to a wave, or a hello, even a smile. The internet has dilluted the average person into one personality, (with minor differences) tailored by algorithim. I'm thankful for my church, or else I would have no way to connect with new people. Those who share a same passion, love for God, disipline within themselves. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual bar-goer millenial, who functions on a vape and dab pen.
I've been hammering away at a piece called The Shattering of the American Mind that touches on more spiritual aspects of what you write about here. Essentially I think COVID was so disruptive and so transparently nonsense that huge swaths of people can no longer interface with reality as such. These are very dark thoughts to dwell upon. It seems the only thing people can agree on anymore is that the medium term future is going to be very bleak indeed. It is the lot of my generation to pay for the sins of our parents