A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
The older I get the more I find to detest in the modern world: the aggressively secular society, the moral emptiness, the crass materialism (though I like markets), and on and on and on. Yet three years ago, my family was blessed by the modern medical technology that allowed my little two pound premature grandson to live (and now to thrive). A few months ago I had surgery that a few years before would have been dangerous--now it's routine. Antibiotics have given all of us extra years.
The most obvious benefit of the modern world is modern medicine and drugs that prolong life. But there are a lot of other things.
Here's my question. Excluding modern medicine, what are your five favorite things that the modern world has given to those of us lucky enough to live today. Here's my list:
1. Eyeglasses (especially bifocals). Otherwise I would have spent most of my life looking at life as if in a thick fog. Generations of people, especially the elderly, were denied a full life.
2. Hot Water on Demand. Can you imagine going back to old days of the Saturday night bath in water heated on a stove?
3. The Internet. Yes, there are horrible things on the web (pornography being perhaps the worst). But it has opened a whole new world--no matter where you are, if you are connected you have a world of information available to you. It allowed us to create a community like Ricochet, where like-minded people can engage in civil, thoughtful conversation.
4. Air travel. It's often a pain while it's happening, but we have virtually conquered distance. Families can live far apart, yet see each other often.
5. Food. It wasn't all that long ago that people ate what they grew or could buy from local markets. Now we have fresh food from all over the world available in our markets: and if we don't want to cook it, we can go to a restaurant and have someone cook it for us.
What are your favorites?
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Comments:
May '10
Re: A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
Fred Cole: 2. Electricity, it enables so much
3. Electric Lights, it allows productivity at night
I have a friend who is a modern day "shop teacher" in high school. He has his classes make "solar suitcases" as a project. They are a suitcase-sized case that has a solar collector, a battery, and a lighting system. He sends them to Third World countries where they literally save lives of people having surgeries when the unreliable power grid stops functioning.
Jun '10
Re: A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
Misthiocracy
Well, except for semaphore. Or smoke signals. Or jungle drums. Or yodeling.
;-) ยท 56 minutes ago
I knew I'd overlooked something: yodeling (how would I forget?)
Mar '12
Re: A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
May '10
Re: A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
The light bulb, freeing us from the constraints of daylight.
Oct '10
Re: A Cranky Critic of Modernism Lists His Favorite Things the Modern World Has Given Us
Refrigeration and its derivative air conditioning.
Von Neumann architecture and all the computing technology we use today.
Antibiotics.
Hydrocarbon driven power. Transportation, farming, military power, and manufacturing have been transformed.
Modern logistics that deliver a safe, rich, and historically inexpensive food supply; enables low-cost manufacturing; and puts a cheap cell phone in the hands of almost anyone in the world.