by bramhaag on 6/22/25, 7:10 AM with 69 comments
by androng on 6/22/25, 4:27 PM
by wiseowise on 6/22/25, 4:16 PM
You don't need to go that far. Something from 30 years ago will pretty much seem like an alternative reality.
by AnotherGoodName on 6/22/25, 3:34 PM
We’ve roughly doubled co2 in human history. Much of that in the last 100 years alone. They say that measurable drowsiness at 1000ppm and when you consider the atmospheric co2 being well above 400ppm and indoor conditions often more than doubling that i wonder if we’re not going to hit a measurable stupefaction of the world. Perhaps it’s already happening.
by johnea on 6/22/25, 8:18 PM
> Don't worry...
I'm not worried, at least, not about me. I am worried about just how many people _do_ think this is descriptive of themselves.
I was going to rant here about loss of a sense of individual autonomy, and how the modern sense of "we can't help being addicted to doomscrolling" is another example of adopting victimhood; but as I got to the bottom of the article, I found the advice to be things I actually agree with:
> Go outside, seriously go outside. Look around, it’s great out there.
I couldn't agree more 8-) Really, literally, just turn off the phone, at least during recreational times of the day (and make sure you have "recreational times of the day").
by dash2 on 6/22/25, 3:57 PM
I would urge people not to write like this. It is likely to backfire by sounding pompous and sophomoric.
by Aerbil313 on 6/22/25, 2:41 PM
I don't think anybody can even begin to notice the effect unless they detach from the various channels first. If you don't consume any content (including TV, radio, Hackernews) for a few months (near impossible, but I did it once) you realize the absolute mental captivity literally everybody else, including your very loved ones are living in.
by thomassmith65 on 6/22/25, 3:36 PM
Do you remember James Mason?
I remember the James Mason who was one of the most famous actors of his decades in the film business.
I remember the obscure funk artist James Mason, who released a fantastic album called Rhythm Of Life.
Neither of these strike me as someone most people today would know.
by coffeefirst on 6/22/25, 2:42 PM
I've been reading The Count of Monte Cristo—a 1200 pages unabridged, clothbound edition that will spend 40 pages of wandering setup just to deliver one striking image. It was a banger in it's time, and it's still a banger, but it's striking how much it asked of its readers. It will take me the rest of the year to finish.
And this is the thing, we really do live in a toxic attention ecosystem that rots our brains. Like the author, I've been trying to reassert control my own attention, and it's shockingly hard to do.
I'm not sure if I'll manage to make it work. But let's suppose I do: I've deleted all social media, deliberately set my relationship with news, if I feel the urge to post dump it in a paper notebook instead, and somehow achieve the miracle of getting slack to chill out...
... much like learning to cook is great for me but doesn't solve the social costs from widespread ultraprocessed diets and resulting metabolic disorders, getting my own attentive house in order does not change the global brainrot and toxic political incentives.
If anyone has found a way to turn that tide, I'm all ears.
by nathan_compton on 6/22/25, 1:46 PM
The overton window is wider than its ever been at any point in history.
Like I think this particular thing was overblown in the first place and also people are already correcting for it.
by rr808 on 6/22/25, 3:29 PM
by satisfice on 6/22/25, 4:46 PM
- There was never a golden age of wide “Overton Windows.”
- Composing a rambling article like this takes a lot of concentration.
- In the oldest days a typical man would get sufficient exercise with the physical labor of life as a warrior or farmer or peasant laborer. I suspect even merchants were more active. Now we have to make a specific activity for ourselves called “working out.”
I guess it’s the same with phones, etc. We must explicitly choose to concentrate.
- Avoid TikTok.
by Havoc on 6/22/25, 5:59 PM
by ausbah on 6/22/25, 4:13 PM
by floundy on 6/22/25, 3:08 PM
Regarding the "do you remember" section, I honestly don't think I ever knew who three of those people are, and I lack context for what another two events are supposed to mean to me. But then again I've been opting out of most news for several years.