I miss scarcity


This is not a complaint. Or, if it is a complaint, it's half-aimed at me. Mostly this is a reflection.

In the old days, I got to know music really well -- in great detail, sonically, musically, reading all the credits, the liner notes, etc. A friend would have an album I didn't, so I'd go to his house to listen. We'd talk about the music. We'd talk about how album sides hung together or didn't. We were thrilled by double albums.

Now, a torrent of information is everywhere. I listen alone, often to a single song, often not listening to anything over and over again.

You will tell me, "That's your choice." I'd half agree. It's like agreeing that "It's my choice not to live off the electrical grid." 

As I read and teach about AI, I am learning that our tools often prioritize speed and information glut. It seems, initially, like a cornucopia but it becomes a wash of "content." I must admit, I'm losing my talent for managing all this content, and I'm losing my love for it. And it's making me into a different person, somewhat, and I am not so sure I want to be that person. End of reflection.

Wizard Conjuring Cosmic Chaos Art Print featuring the drawing Let There be Content by Benjamin Schwartz

hilde45

Scarcity can be hard to find.  My closing thought for the year.  Happy New Year to all!  

Scarcity can be hard to find indeed, but we can create an environment where it sill exist ... (less phone play,less TV,less computer, more walk in Nature and more paper books reading)..

Scarcity can be born again ...We can recreate it ...angel

We can become ourselves  the humanity which is missing in this world...

Scarcity can be hard to find

"...are we actually talking about preferring one state of consciousness over another?"

Interesting question. I’m wondering mostly about the domination of one form of attention over another, without sufficient awareness of the change.

@soix  Happy New Year to you, too!

Scarcity can be hard to find indeed, but we can create an environment where it sill exist 

Agreed. Very good piece on this, here. Gift article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/opinion/tech-free-college-spaces.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BFA.--Kt.v3z0TYyh7kPG&smid=url-share 

@hilde45 ,

Very interesting, thank you for sharing.

An interesting idea I think would be 'offline' Summer camps.