The Science Thread

In Sweden, we dance around a Maypole during summer solstice. I did not. I and my girlfriend went to an old fortess where celebrations went on. We watched them dance and fire a cannon. It was a nice celebration.

 

Did anyone else see the story about some anti-oil activists spray-painting some of the Stonehenge stones? I thought it was ... idiotic, to say the least. Not funny, you guys.

Was anyone playing the 1812 Overture?

 

it was more symbolic than damage-causing. The "paint" was cornflour, and will wash away with the rain.

 

Young people are not happy anymore.

It seemed an inescapable part of being human – the happiness curve over a lifetime is U-shaped – happiness in youngsters – less happiness in middle-age – then rising happiness in older age. Over 600 studies confirmed these findings –

Young People Are Now So Unhappy That They've Changed A Fundamental Pattern Of Life

It was even seen in the great apes.

But something has changed, since about 2014-2017. Now, young adults are the least happy, especially the girls.

Why are our young people having so many “bad mental health days?” And this pattern is not restricted to the US – it has been seen in 43 different countries.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. The dopamine hits from social media are playing havoc with young heads.

 

Yeah, I think it's the online stuff. They spend most of their lives in insular fantasy worlds where everyone agrees with them. It must be a real shock to enter the real world.

This chart made the news rounds a few months back. It's a survey of 800 managers, directors, executives involved in hiring (https://www.intelligent.com/nearly-...cent-college-grads-in-favor-of-older-workers/)



The art/skill of interacting with people in real life is being lost. Maybe that will work in my favour, as I was never any good at that to begin with

...Can you imagine bringing mom to a job interview? Good lord.

 

I think kids now are pampered more than ever before, and not disciplined much if at all. That sets them up for failure. They expect to always be pampered. They need to start learning early in life that things are hard, and people won't always pamper you.

 

I also think the entire society is getting sick. As they say, it's impossible to be healthy in a sick society. As I've said since I first got here, we're in a decadent phase and headed downhill.

 

I think the anxiety of working out which of the existential threats will finally do us in might have something to do with it.

 

Sad to hear. I think if people, especially in the west, could realize how good they have it, compared to the world, they would perhaps be a little bit more happy? Or at least more appreciative?

I agree with others that media is a big culprit that sets unreasonable standards.

 

They're told the West is the source of all evil and the home of endless oppression.

 

It's true that there are many horrible workers out there, but the same could be said of many customers and bosses. Bad behaviour isn't exclusive just because you're working at the coalface, obviously. It can be found anywhere.

Struggling with eye contact isn't necessarily a minus. It depends on the job and on the person. Some people are shy, or neurologically different, or on the autism spectrum, and none of these things can be helped. Lack of eye contact doesn't make someone a bad person or a terrible employee, and I wish that particular myth would just go away.

Having said that, the others are obviously not a good indication.

I was working away once when my boss was interviewing someone for a "multimedia design" role. When one of the candidates showed up, he was wearing torn jeans and a t-shirt ... not bad indicators as such for the role, we weren't expecting a suit and tie ... but he smelled. Actually, that's too mild -- he reeked. Like Limburger cheese in mid-summer. I think I had to hold my breath while he was passing by.

My then-boss, who was (and is) a very stylish Italian doctor who dresses well and always wear Prada ... well, I don't know how she made it through the interview. And he smelled even more when he left. Ugh!

Moral of the story: always, ALWAYS take a shower before an interview. I know that sounds obvious, but I guess some people need practical advice.

Speaking of which, about 10 years ago I was on a train on the way home in mid-summer. A few stations before my exit, a woman and a man entered, and before anyone could say anything, she said, and I quote: "I apologize for my husband's B.O." And she was right. That man's stink was almost palpable. If it was food, I could've cut it with a knife and served it up.

I wanted to be polite so I didn't say anything, but I wanted to say: "TMI, lady, TMI! Take your husband home and give him a bath! And then, another bath!"

But you can't say things like that, I suppose.

True, but I don't think it's fair to blame social media alone. The long lockdown has isolated people from each other, and they've been seeing the same faces day in, day out, for years. I think that's been a factor; some people nowadays, especially the young, seem to feel that they can say and do as they like, simply because their friends and family tolerate their "little ways". (Of course, just because friends and family tolerate them doesn't mean the rest of the world has to).

And this is why I find websites like Not Always Right so refreshing. It started out in 2007 as simply a collection of things that bad customers do (as in, "The Customer Is NOT Always Right", which is how the site got its name). Over time, it expanded into bad things that bosses/coworkers do, bad things that happen in schools/colleges, bad things that neighbours do, bad things that happen on dates, etc.

It's not always bad things, by the way. There are some heartwarming and awesome stories too. But when you look at customers, it's mostly bad stories -- with, just occasionally, either awesome stories, or stories about awesome bosses that get bad customers to shut up and go away.

(Incidentally, I had a bad customer earlier today. I was busy working away when the phone rang. The lady on the phone was grumpy, and I tried to help her as much as I could, but honestly, I could almost instantly tell that I wouldn't be able to help because her request was something I wasn't allowed to do.

So, I said "I'm sorry, but I can't do that for you. Let me see who can."

BIG mistake! She immediately lashed out, calling me an incompetent idiot and a few other, less printable names.

OK, lady. You start with the name-calling, I get even LESS willing to help you. Anyway, I eventually found the right person for her, she thanked me and hung up.

End of story, right? Wrong. Because later, I found out that she called my boss and complained about how I wouldn't help her, and how rude I was, blah, blah, blah. My boss reached out to me, and obviously I was flabbergasted, but he believed me, and everything ended well - I hope.

Still, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I've slaved my guts out for almost 5 years in this company, worked my fingers to the bone, and when some entitled @&%!@ complains to the boss, suddenly I'm the bad guy. It's not nice, and it's no way to treat someone who's just trying to help you. I understand she might be stressed or whatever, but that's no excuse for name-calling. You can call me Old Mr. Picky if you like, but I'd rather help people who don't abuse me.

Anyway, I'm sorry this post is too long, and I'm sorry for the rant. I just had to get it out there. Better than bottling it up).

 

I never did that. I didn't mention it at all, and Madman just said media.

 

When we were growing up, we all had chores. Do kids still do chores? I remember reading somewhere about how good taking on responsibility is for their overall well-being.

 

Because the cost of a house is nearly impossible, minimum wage hasn't risen in accordance with cost of living, political instability is rampant and thus erodes hope of a good future, there's plenty of reactionary policies which are threatening their well-being, the planet is warming up without any sign of cooling, we live in a state of constant surveillance by our peers and strangers via social media which makes everyone constantly compare themselves to others and creates a sense of inadequacy, actual retirement is looking to be increasingly impossible, society has emphasized a hustle-and-grind culture that has led to tremendous burnout on one hand and a sense of failure and uselessness on the other, there's a general design trend architecture which seems to favor being sterile rather than emphasizing creativity and joy, and most hobbies ranging from things such as watching sports to playing video games have been wholly bought out by people who are content to put out a mediocre product in exchange for record setting products and have no intention of putting half of the heart into what they own as you do when you try to enjoy it.

Or, you know, kids and phones. That seems like an easier answer.

 

I've heard that a man could support an entire family and own a house on an industry floor salary back in the day.

Here in Sweden this is still the case, mostly. If you work a standard job, you will likely be able to afford the standard living expenses.

But sure, housing prices have gone nuts.

 

There's been a fundamental shift—people are now being taught that they're victims, and to blame their problems on other people and demand that those people (or Society) fix things for them. Complaint culture. I suppose that's always been a thing in certain places and cultures, but not in general across the West. It's a destructive attitude, and if taken to heart (especially from an early age) causes great psychological damage and mass division.

 

Agreed and honestly as a Pagan, it felt disrespectful and insulting. Because Stonehenge is sacred to me, personally. And I am sure many others. Just Stop Oil wouldn't do that to a mosque or a church.