The modern world is not just bustling. It is very complex. It is also an endless illusion. It is hard to believe that humans existed in caves thousands of years ago. With each problem, we have formulated solutions. And to meet our comfort expectations, we have tweaked our solutions (does that make it the solution to a solution?).
One of the best examples for this could be juice. Something that is so common has found its way into this article solely because it too is a solution for a solution. When we had water, we realized that we required something sweet to put further stress on our bodies to adapt to our rapid comfort movement.
When we had water to cool us off, we thought that juice would make the heat more bearable. And then down the line we created soft drinks (solution³) where we put gas into juice and market it off as the perfect summer partner. Even more interesting in this line is the use of sparkling water. A liquid that is meant to cool us off, now comes in different shapes and brands, all to satiate our greed and create more complex hierarchies.
We had doors that helped us enter buildings but now we have revolving doors. It’s hilarious how quickly solutions turn into comfort problems. They say necessity is the mother of all inventions but really the greed for comfort is the mother of all inventions.
If you are still not convinced, then let us begin with the escalator. Cavemen scaled mountains with ease, but we struggled to find stationary stairs worthy of our presence. So, we created an escalator which moves the stair for us. Ironically it has now posed a new comfort problem. Escalators require us to stand so with this pace, I think we will be having sitcalators (escalators where you can sit instead) in the near future!
A century ago, people used typewriters but now people buy laptops and mechanical keyboards which do the exact same thing as trusty old typewriters. And they do not even need Wi-Fi. Crazy right?
With these examples, humanity must really worry and relax at the same time. At this rate, we will have more problems than solutions but likewise we might also have more solutions than current affairs journals can publish. So, for now all I can say is that I am not waiting for supersonic jet packs but rather I am wondering whether any solution can stand the test of time and remain a solution or will it follow the unfortunate cycle?
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Credits for “Made to Mend- The Illusion of the Human Way”
Cover Image Credits: https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/what-makes-the-human-mind-unique/
Inside Image Credits: https://www.assaabloy.com/ae/en/solutions/products/automatic-doors/revolving-doors
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