[HN Gopher] A Slower Urgency
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       A Slower Urgency
        
       Author : ingve
       Score  : 53 points
       Date   : 2023-10-26 10:16 UTC (12 hours ago)
        
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       | uoaei wrote:
       | I think about this a lot in our rush into techno-utopianism.
       | 
       | "Car-centric lifestyle but electrified" has turned out to be
       | worse in the short and medium terms because of battery
       | mining/recycling, tire wear and microplastics, etc. Electric cars
       | incur a huge upfront environmental cost for those reasons and
       | only balance diesel cars in CO2e costs after about 8 years, which
       | is longer than most Americans own a car before they sell it. So
       | those who sell and upgrade before then actually _increased_ their
       | emissions by switching to electric. This is just an illustrative
       | example of the rush into feel-good, inconsiderate virtue
       | signalling that accompanies many behaviors of individuals who
       | want to feel like they 're doing good rather than to know they're
       | doing good.
       | 
       | Generally increasing our consumption rates and entrenching our
       | consumption patterns is what has been accelerating us toward
       | tipping points this whole time. I'm not a stark technology cynic
       | but have learned a healthy ambivalence: tech doesn't make things
       | better or worse, just different. But without acknowledging the
       | cultural components of our use of technology, especially the
       | pursuit of comfort and convenience at seemingly any cost, we risk
       | diving headfirst into short-term conveniences and egocentric
       | validation of our habitual patterns at the expense of making room
       | for future generations to enjoy the same. Technologies amplify
       | our effects on our environments for good or for bad.
        
       | skmurphy wrote:
       | The times are urgent; let us slow down." This is good advice.
       | Faster skims the surface, slowing down allows you to work more
       | smoothly and at a deeper level. You see it reflected in other
       | aphorisms:
       | 
       | "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Navy Seals dictum
       | 
       | "5. Go Deep: the deeper you go the more likely you will discover
       | something of value." Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
       | 
       | "When in doubt, choose to go deeper rather than faster. Accept
       | the idea that reflection and understanding your own nature,
       | including the dark side, is the key to effective action." Peter
       | Block in "The Answer to How is Yes."
       | 
       | There is a tendency to try to go faster, but sometimes, you must
       | look below the surface and revisit your expectations and mental
       | models. I also believe that in many instances committing to a
       | low-intensity long-duration effort to effect a change or
       | improvement is more likely to succeed and more effective when it
       | does.
        
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       (page generated 2023-10-26 23:01 UTC)