[Synthetase]

Human wants are a bottomless pit. Even if we automate every single industry, people will still want something else. There is always an angle.

[enjo]

Hell you don't even need an angle, every few years you'll see the same angle come back around.

Look at imgur, which is really a better version of the original photobucket, tinypic, whatever came before that.

I have no doubt we'll see instagram #2 in a couple of years.

[rhizome]

The Red Queen Syndrome says that as problems are solved, further problems reveal themselves.

[AznHisoka]

So this explains why even though we've had so much technical innovation in past 40 years, work hours have not decreased dramatically? Humans are such assholes

[xal]

They haven't changed for the most productive people. They have certainly been reduced for unskilled labor.

[ImprovedSilence]

ha! This is the most brilliant and inspirational thing I have ever read on Hacker News. I'm printing your gem of a quote out and plastering it above my computer!

[eli_gottlieb]

But the returns of utility and money on satisfying those wants diminish.

[notJim]

Relevant xkcd: http://www.xkcd.com/1095/