Stats for nerds
3recommend
6mentions
5people
2022–2026years
50% recommend50% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > I feel like something has been lost.
I think you're right. A lot of people have written about this, but one of my favourites who has stuck with me in recent years is Byung-Chul Han with "The Disappearance of Rituals: A Topology of the Present"
It covers other topics as well, but describes the value of physical experiences and serendipitous encounters that occurred before the digital era as we know it today. Having everything at hand is an incredible trade-off, and it isn't entirely clear what the downsides are because you can literally never know beyond "I'm missing out on countless experiences". What could they have been?
We gain a sort of efficiency, which at one point almost seemed imperative... But here we are, wishing we could ride our bikes to the bookstore again, just to look at printed copies of weeks or months-old data in inconvenient paper bindings.
It seems to be more than nostalgia to me; it's the desire to be out in the world, engaged, excited, and exploring. Maybe even with friends! We had to do that once, but now, not so much. And the journey to what we're seeking follows the same track, roughly the same distance, and a similar result, every single time. Efficiency isn't always very fun.
Of course, inefficiency is sometimes not fun at all too. I suppose we need to find the right blend, for the right reasons, and be cognizant of these trade offs as we go about our days and our lives.
- Off-topic: have you enjoyed "The Disappearance of Rituals"?
I went on a binge of Byung-Chul Han last year, reading "The Crisis of Narration", "In The Swarm", "Psychopolitics", and "The Burnout Society". Really enjoyed all of them, and given how dense it can be I set myself to read them at least twice which I'm just finishing, was on the lookout for what else to read from him and was thinking about "The Disappearance of Rituals" as the next one.
- I'd suggest Byung Chul Han.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byung-Chul_Han
Checkout The Burnout Society, The Disappearance of Rituals, and The Palliative Society.
It's difficult to know if the language stems from a "lost in translation" problem, but I enjoy the writing tremendously, especially for its mind-expanding quality. It's like a gateway drug.
The writing is aphoristic - like reading an anti-David Foster Wallace - phenomenological minimalist vs. metafiction maximalist but with similar insights and mind-changing impact.
It took me several hours to read a 12 page chapter because of the need for lookup, learning, references, and reflection.
I'd also read Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Szasz
Similar to Han, but a generation earlier, his work was influenced by Foucault.
Finally, I'd have a look at Kazimierz Dabrowski.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz_D%C4%85browski
To me, Dabrowski's positive disintegration plays a significant role in helping to frame the discussion here since "dropping out" can be easily mapped onto one of Dabrowski's levels in the positive disintegration framework.
Regardless, the tension between the individual and society plays a significant role in the work of these three authors.
- The Burnout Society - Byung-Chul Han
The Disappearance of Rituals - Byung-Chul Han
Outlive - Peter Attia (This felt like a complete waste of attention)
An Emotional Education - School of Life/Alain de Botton
The Story of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Hayao Miyazaki
Plants from Test Tubes - Lydiane Kyte; John Kleyn; Holly Scoggins; Mark Bridgen
Some biography I've forgotten
- Reminds me of The Disappearance of Rituals by Byung-Chul Han. It's difficult to succinctly state the premise of the book, but in a way, I think its about structuring time and attention vertically on top of itself instead of horizontally across moments and subjects
- If you have a literate disposition this website is worth a look. I am currently reading Byung-Chul Han's The Disappearance of Rituals, which for me is reminiscent of Jacques Ellul.
