Random observations for March 2018

No matter how popular something is, there are people out there who haven't heard of it.

o o o o o

We recoil in horror from the mass insanities that gripped society in the past, and admire the brave few who stood against them. At the same time, we double down on the mass insanities which possess us right now, and rage with righteous fervor against those obstinate few who dare question our mania.

o o o o o

There are two kinds of people -- those who always have a reason why they couldn't do what they promised, and those who do what they promised.

o o o o o

How limited the existence of the ancients must have been! We feel deprived when forced to do without electricity for a day -- no computer, no proper lighting, in most cases no cooked food, while the stockpile in the refrigerator threatens to warm to blah-ness and ultimately spoil. Yet for thousands of years everyone had to do without electricity all their lives.  Think of the Romans after sunset, squinting over their parchments by the dull glow of oil lamps! How many conveniences we take for granted which they could never have imagined! All the more remarkable that they accomplished as much as they did.

o o o o o

The defeat of aging isn't going to take the form of some one discrete, miraculous breakthrough that can be banned without affecting "normal" medical technology. Instead, there will be incremental, but increasingly rapid, advances in many areas. It will be impossible for the deathists (those who oppose curing aging) to draw a clear line between the technology which ends up staving off aging permanently and that which simply continues to keep people healthier as they age.

o o o o o

It's hard enough to build a relationship that's satisfactory to just yourself and the other person in it, never mind also worrying about it being acceptable to all the prigs and bluenoses out there who object to one thing or another.

o o o o o

I don't regret the "bad" things I've done. I regret all the "bad" things I was too ignorant or timid to do, and for which it's too late now.

[For previous random observations, see here.]