I could be convinced that people romanticize the 50s (“Leave it to Beaver” being a common reference), but I’ve never heard anyone romanticize medieval or hunter-gatherer or even 18th century living as “the good old days”. The assertion that it’s common seems very odd. And I would disagree that children have a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy-they are just much more prone to (and better at) engaging in fantasy play than adults. While they might be convinced of the tooth fairy, they can certainly distinguish what’s real when it’s in front of them. So the idea that maybe we just need an elite that understands what’s going on (so they can save the world), while the masses can obliviously hold onto their fantasies, strikes me as really creepy.
Overall I agreed with Smith, especially about life in earlier stages of what we call history, both the MIddle Ages and the 1950s. But the exception is the Stone Age. It's time to retire the myth that all, or even most, of our hunter-gatherer/forager ancestors lived miserable lives in abject poverty and meager possessions, constantly looking for the next meal and living in tiny bands that engaged in constant violence. To be sure, that life did exist in some areas and perhaps more in the early Stone Age. But by the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic, we are discovering more evidence every year that shows many people from that time likely had less famine and hunger, less pandemic disease, less war, and lived richer lives than any agricultural peasant or industrial worker. Our current era is certainly more prosperous and safer than the Stone Age; the last few thousands years of "history" cannot be said to definitely be that way.
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I could be convinced that people romanticize the 50s (“Leave it to Beaver” being a common reference), but I’ve never heard anyone romanticize medieval or hunter-gatherer or even 18th century living as “the good old days”. The assertion that it’s common seems very odd. And I would disagree that children have a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy-they are just much more prone to (and better at) engaging in fantasy play than adults. While they might be convinced of the tooth fairy, they can certainly distinguish what’s real when it’s in front of them. So the idea that maybe we just need an elite that understands what’s going on (so they can save the world), while the masses can obliviously hold onto their fantasies, strikes me as really creepy.
Overall I agreed with Smith, especially about life in earlier stages of what we call history, both the MIddle Ages and the 1950s. But the exception is the Stone Age. It's time to retire the myth that all, or even most, of our hunter-gatherer/forager ancestors lived miserable lives in abject poverty and meager possessions, constantly looking for the next meal and living in tiny bands that engaged in constant violence. To be sure, that life did exist in some areas and perhaps more in the early Stone Age. But by the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic, we are discovering more evidence every year that shows many people from that time likely had less famine and hunger, less pandemic disease, less war, and lived richer lives than any agricultural peasant or industrial worker. Our current era is certainly more prosperous and safer than the Stone Age; the last few thousands years of "history" cannot be said to definitely be that way.
Do a interview with Dr. Stanton Hom
Not good. Bore-o-rama.