The Paradox of Progress and Why We’re Chasing an Illusion
Lost in an Ever-Creeping Future
An anthropological inflection point
If we let our phones fall to the ground, would we see the forest for the trees? Would we understand this intricate web that we’re each a part of? Would we see where it is that we’ve drifted? How far we’ve come?
One of the strangest features of time is that it never stops. “The world spins madly on,” as The Weepies once said. Because it never pauses, though, it can be hard to have true perspective. We’re mired enough in our day to day lives that the thuds of an ineffable future pounding at our doorstep are easily missed beneath the oddities and intricacies embedded within each passing moment.
Sometimes the power of a story depends upon its details. They can breathe life and veracity into the most outrageous fictions. But when even the realities we’re living through are outrageous, it’s precisely those details that we turn toward: the sun on our skin, the hug of a loved one, the exchange of a meme, or the smell of popcorn. They keep us from sinking into existential despair.
The problems we’re facing are unprecedented. To face such a constant overflow of demanding threats each time we examine the infinite information machines in our…
