Improving quality of life
I saw this post recently and thought it was worth pulling out:
My Ordinary Life: Improvements Since the 1990s
Progress is usually debated in terms of the big things like lifting the Third World out of poverty, or science & tech: discovering gravitational waves, creating world champion AIs, turning AIDS into a treatable rather than terminal disease, conquering hepatitis C or, curing deadly cancers with genetically-engineered T-cells. But as cool as those big things are, and matters of life-and-death for many, such achievements tend to be remote from ordinary people, and not your everyday sort of thing (or so one hopes). Small stuff matters too.What about the little things in an ordinary life?
There’s a lot about computers and technology, of course, because how could there not be. But also this:
Environment: air quality in most places has continued to improve, forest area has increased, and more rivers are safe to fish in
Board Games have been revolutionized by the influx of German/European-style games, liberating us from the monopoly of the Amerigame Monopoly
I hear a lot about this being the golden age of board games due to Kickstarter. I’m sure it’s true.
Even Mass-Market Grocery Stores like Walmart increasingly routinely stock an enormous variety of foods, from sushi to goat cheese to kefir.
They do, by the way! I recently noticed the only brand of coconut milk I actually like is now being carried at the local Walmart. That was a surprise!
and finally and least importantly:
Better Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts no longer taste quite so bad due to artificial selection
I wouldn’t know, having purchased Brussels sprouts several times because they were so beautiful in the store, only to discover that no matter what you do with them, they are awful. Not tasting quite so bad is doubtless a good thing, though!
Anyway, by all means click through and scan the whole list if you’re interested.
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