[paddleon]

> I don’t think it’s any more true or insightful in the modern era

hmm, based on what evidence?

Or, if you prefer, based on what appeal to authority? Did you actually quote that authority properly or did you just wing it? Can you properly quote many authorities?

If you don't have good answers to those, then perhaps you have just proved the your opponents point?

Maybe there is a reason people need more compute in their key fob than what our parents/grandparents needed to pilot their ship to the moon?

[sallveburrpi]

“Our sires’ age was worse than our grandsires’. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.”

Horace, Book III of Odes, circa 20 BCE

“Youth were never more sawcie, yea never more savagely saucie . . . the ancient are scorned, the honourable are contemned, the magistrate is not dreaded.”

The Wise-Man’s Forecast against the Evill Time, Thomas Barnes 1624

Some more here https://historyhustle.com/2500-years-of-people-complaining-a...

Either things have gotten continually worse for the last 3000 years or it’s just a tired trope from old men.

[handoflixue]

The onus of evidence is generally on the one making the initial claim: what evidence do you have that the modern world is actually getting worse?

But if you want evidence that we're improving, I'd point out that 20 years ago, the mainstream US position was that gay people were evil, 60 years ago they thought black people shouldn't be allowed to vote, and 100 years ago they thought women were also inferior and shouldn't be allowed to vote.

We can keep going back to when people thought "slavery" and "the divine right of kings" were solid ideas.

So... if people were so much smarter in the past, why did they believe all these obviously-dumb ideas?