βοΈ i wrote an essay on a phenomenon i term β¨ personal isolationismβ¨
it's the first part of an ongoing series i'm writing about the loneliness epidemic and what we can do about it in our own lives. here are a couple highlights! π§΅
i never realised how much basic computer things i picked up by fucking around and finding out in my younger years, until i tried teaching people programming
one of my favourite little "literally everything we take as fixed is actually just a cultural perspective" is that in japan houses are generally treated as consumable assets which depreciate rapidly over time, existing to be used and then destroyed and rebuilt anew
Me: That does not always happen.
Ruriko: Wat.
Me: Also sometimes the issues become apparent after the first century.
Ruriko: Wat.
Me: Like I told you we like reusing homes here for a while.
Ruriko: The home is from *before the war*?!?
Me: Itβs after the Civil War! β¦ Probably.
sometimes programming is like "haha yes i have created worlds!!" and sometimes it's like "it's been 2 hours and now i can pull this private github repo"
this generalises to software generally too - since i've been plugged in so long, UI designs are generally intuitive for me; they often feel designed with my familiarity in mind
the reverse is true in meatspace too! i don't know how to interact with the UI of the fresh fish seller at the supermarket; can i ask them to descale the fish for me? filet it? and which bits am i gonna be charged for?
so i buy pre-prepared fish
this became obvious when i try to teach my mom various phone software
me: "click the menu button"
"what menu button?"
me: "the three lines in the corner"
"oh the hamburger thing?"
me: "now that you mention it, why is it a hamburger thing...?"
community bonds have been systematically weakened as society shifts and becomes more and more insular and we become less and less connected to our fellow man