The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in “advanced” countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in “advanced” countries.The industrial-technological system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of physical and psychological suffering, but only after passing through a long and very painful period of adjustment and only at the cost of permanently reducing human beings and many other living organisms to engineered products and mere cogs in the social machine. Furthermore, if the system survives, the consequences will be inevitable: There is no way of reforming or modifying the system so as to prevent it from depriving people of dignity and autonomy.3. If the system breaks down the consequences will still be very painful. But the bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be, so if it is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later.

Letterboxd Indigo Soup
I don't really like most movies that much. Like I watch them sometimes, but not the way some people watch them. A fact I confront on my bi-yearly letterboxd stalks, one of which I just went on (you people really love movies, huh?). It's a pretty boring fact, or so you'd think. But alas, I just need it to be something more. I need me not liking movies to be some terrible character flaw which I must amend ("I have to train myself to like movies now now now!"). Or otherwise it's evidence of my high-minded sophistication ("how could I possibly deign to partake in such plebeian chaff?"). This is a problem of mine. I need to ascribe meaning to every move I make. Everything action I take is tea-leaves to be read, some peek into my inner world. I take a shit and squint my eyes and tilt my head, waiting for it to tell me I'm an Aries Hufflepuff or something (but I'm a Gryffindor don't get it twisted xD). God my ape brain just wants to sort. Who am I to deny her that? Unfortunately for me, sometimes a spade is just a spade. Of course everything I do is a manifestation of my me-ness, but if I go looking for the me-ness in every little thing I do, I'll just exhaust myself. I already have. Self-scrutiny in the name of "self-improvement" is such a bitch. God this is such a 20-year-old problem. I'll enjoy it while it lasts. Anyways, yeah. I don't really like most movies that much. 1/21/2025

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