undefined | Better HN

0 pointskorse1mo ago0 comments

>Yeah and we'd be better off. The modern world is quantifiably worse than the world we had even 10 years ago. That includes everything in software development and computer science.

Rather than killing this comment, how about we discuss quantification? I actually feel this way too but do not talk about it too much and sort of boil it down to a combination of advancing in age + yelling at clouds and "Stop putting computers in all my stuff!".

Can we reliably quantify that "weaponized autism", i.e. the aggressive monetization of nerds by capital to squeeze profit out of every possible corner of society (as I interpret it in a broad sense), is making things worse. Is it damaging the economy for most people? Making people less happy? Decreasing net social mobility or discrimination? Lowering life expectancy?

0 comments

4 comments · 4 top-level

fc417fc8021mo ago

> Can we reliably quantify that "weaponized autism", i.e. the aggressive monetization of nerds by capital to squeeze profit out of every possible corner of society

That's not what that term means.

Also that comment wasn't killed directly. That user is banned. Interestingly that was his first (attempted) post since 2022.

FrustratedMonky1mo ago

-> "monetization of nerds by capital to squeeze profit "

Note. In case this is read incorrectly. For the most part the nerds are not profiting. The nerds are sitting hunched over their desk being fed coffee from a feeding tube, to keep them happy while the owners make money.

And. To be more sad, these days you can't even get free coffee. Being fed free coffee and donuts, while others profit from us, is considered the golden age of computing.

We loved our cozy cells, not so much these more uncomfortable ones.

seba_dos11mo ago

That's a redefinition of the term - while there is some merit to your interpretation, it's an already commonly used term that means something else. It'd seem to me that the modern tech is significantly less "autistic" than it used to be in the prior decades and will only continue to move in this direction; and aside of that, I'm pretty sure Netcob's "modern" was meant to mean current thousands rather than tens of years.

LoganDark1mo ago

I feel there's reason to believe autism is one of the reasons why bits of goodness and democracy are still hanging on so tightly even in the midst of such a depressing present. (Search term: "positive nonconformity")

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse