As a freelance writer I’ll usually avoid topics that fall into the “well d’uh” category.
Turns out I’ve been limiting my career path…
Capitalism turns people into addicts? No shit… that’s entirely the point of capitalism. It’s literally the defining characteristic.
Shit…I have an article in my hard drive right now about how our disposable approach to consumer electronics robs our generation of a sense of historical provenance.
I’ve never even considered publishing it because to me it falls into the “no shit… everyone already knows that” category.
Has never gone through the proper final edit. But my central thesis came when I was watching Antiques Roadshow and my brain tried to reconcile a pocket watch carried by a civil war soldier; engraved and handed down through generations until it lands in a museum in 2021 (when I began working on the article).
While in comparison, a modern smartwatch, that literally no one cares about once the company stops supporting it with software updates.
Certainly there are modern objects that will find a home in the museums of tomorrow (the first iPhone, for example). But as a writer (who went to university initially for archaeology) interested in artifacts from daily life, our generation’s place in the museums of the future is effectively erased because we have nothing to preserve that anyone would honestly give a damn about.
By creating a world dominated by disposable things, companies have effectively taken control of our very legacy. If the only item worthy off being studied is one of corporate significance (the first iPhone, the first smartwatch, etc…), then we lose our personal connection to that legacy.
It’s obviously more complicated than all that, and delves into how we study the techniques of individual potters and painters, for example. If I ever get it publication ready it would be a miracle.
I can’t get over “d’uh”. Where on earth did you get the idea an apostrophe is needed? I’ve seen all sorts of weird spelling and punctuation but this is a first for me.
As a freelance writer I’ll usually avoid topics that fall into the “well d’uh” category.
Turns out I’ve been limiting my career path…
Capitalism turns people into addicts? No shit… that’s entirely the point of capitalism. It’s literally the defining characteristic.
Shit…I have an article in my hard drive right now about how our disposable approach to consumer electronics robs our generation of a sense of historical provenance.
I’ve never even considered publishing it because to me it falls into the “no shit… everyone already knows that” category.
let me have it doc, you’ve found your audience
Has never gone through the proper final edit. But my central thesis came when I was watching Antiques Roadshow and my brain tried to reconcile a pocket watch carried by a civil war soldier; engraved and handed down through generations until it lands in a museum in 2021 (when I began working on the article).
While in comparison, a modern smartwatch, that literally no one cares about once the company stops supporting it with software updates.
Certainly there are modern objects that will find a home in the museums of tomorrow (the first iPhone, for example). But as a writer (who went to university initially for archaeology) interested in artifacts from daily life, our generation’s place in the museums of the future is effectively erased because we have nothing to preserve that anyone would honestly give a damn about.
By creating a world dominated by disposable things, companies have effectively taken control of our very legacy. If the only item worthy off being studied is one of corporate significance (the first iPhone, the first smartwatch, etc…), then we lose our personal connection to that legacy.
It’s obviously more complicated than all that, and delves into how we study the techniques of individual potters and painters, for example. If I ever get it publication ready it would be a miracle.
I can’t get over “d’uh”. Where on earth did you get the idea an apostrophe is needed? I’ve seen all sorts of weird spelling and punctuation but this is a first for me.