io9 
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San Francisco, 9:44 PM
Fri Dec 18
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/29/09
In 1893, he brought home his crew, intact, on the last voyage of the 'Harry' (a name, once as widely known as that of the 'Mary Celeste' and whispered with a shudder).
Fifteen years later, he perished, along with two of his sons and the rest of the survivors of the wreck of the 'Carnedd Llewelyn', marooned on Desolation Island, off Tierra del Fuego.
There is a line in a book, that mentions my mother's grandmother:
"...... Mrs. Evans, wife of the Captain, mother of the deck-boy, sister of the first-mate ......"
It's never just your apocalypse. #apocalypse
10/28/09
I also have Depression and in the course of my therapy, I brought this fascination up with my therapist. He wasn't surprised, and said that apocalyptic visions are relatively common among people with Depression. Something about when your life feels incredibly complicated and fraught, a world where daily survival is in question seems much simpler and more appealing. All of your worries are boiled down to the basics and choices are easy. This makes sense to me, but then again, I'm crazy... #apocalypse
10/28/09
But life was not horrifically bad for hundreds of thousands of years--the agricultural revolution, and later the industrial revolution made life much more difficult for vast numbers of people so that small numbers could live fat and happy.
That trend has continued into today, so that a minority of the world's population, mostly in the west, can live fat and happy, while teenagers in third world countries work in sweatshops to make our clothes and shoes.
But before that; before kingdoms and nation states, most of us lived relatively egalitarian lives at the top of the food chain, maybe not as comfortable as we are today, but certainly more comfortable than a lot of people were for the last ten thousand years or so.
We've forgotten how to live with that kind of grace, except in small pockets of the world, but there's no reason we can't figure it out again.
Sure, we're wired for conflict, but we're wired for peace, too. It's just a matter of which impulses our culture rewards. #apocalypse
10/28/09
Not that the modern world isn't cool. I like our medicine and computers and stuff. I'm just saying, our past was not one of abject misery. There's more than a few reasons that most people on the planet did not make the leaps our various cultures did. #apocalypse
10/29/09
Even up until the 20th century, the child mortality rate was 50% or so. Could you imagine half of your kids dieing? And that being perfectly normal?
The agricultural and industrial revolutions led to an enormous improvement in the standard of living for the vast majority of mankind. #apocalypse
10/29/09
Sure, things are pretty good now, in the developed worldbut before the 20th century, and still in other parts of the world, the agricultural and industrial revolutions were/are mainly characterized (for most people) by slavery, mass warfare, colonialism, crime, overpopulation, terrorism, and so on. All problems that were greatly diminished in hunter-gatherer societies.
I'd rather have the problems of a hunter-gatherer than those of a feudal serf. And honestly, I'd rather suffer through the pain of my children dying a little more often than see them put to work as slaves and soldiers and sweatshop labourers, with no hope of freedom as they grow up. But that's my preference.
The point is, that while I'm sure life before agriculture was far from perfect, it certainly wasn't as bad as many people think it was. Certainly no worse than many people still have it today.
Human history has not been a tale of steady improvement from a dismal past to a shining future. #apocalypse
10/29/09
Sure, things are pretty good now, in the developed worldbut before the 20th century, and still in other parts of the world, the agricultural and industrial revolutions were/are mainly characterized (for most people) by slavery, mass warfare, colonialism, crime, overpopulation, terrorism, and so on. All problems that were greatly diminished in hunter-gatherer societies.
I'd rather have the problems of a hunter-gatherer than those of a feudal serf. And honestly, I'd rather suffer through the pain of my children dying a little more often than see them put to work as slaves and soldiers and sweatshop labourers, with no hope of freedom as they grow up. But that's my preference.
The point is, that while I'm sure life before agriculture was far from perfect, it certainly wasn't as bad as many people think it was. Certainly no worse than many people still have it today.
Human history has not been a tale of steady improvement from a dismal past to a shining future. #apocalypse
10/28/09
Randall #apocalypse
10/28/09
10/28/09
Much truth in what you have written. #apocalypse
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
And I feel it is for the same reason. Life, for we spoiled western types, is too friggin' easy. We have all grown up with stocked pantries and modern medicine and over-protective parents. We have never had to be cunning, hard-working or do what we had to do to survive. And I think a secret desire for a more basic sort of life fuels this release through fiction, the question of what you would do or how you would react when it came time to really do it.
After all, there is no room for such modern notions as depression and anxiety when you are living on your wits and struggling for your next meal. These are the mind-tricks played by modern brains with too much leisure time... #apocalypse
10/28/09
Great essay. #apocalypse
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
@Annalee Newitz:
We agree. #apocalypse
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
Second Variety, you do not want to face an American Shorthair. #apocalypse
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/29/09