Some more Leunigs for you

The last one is probably my favourite, a glimpse of hope for those who move away from how our world tells us we must be, whilst overlooking all the problems humanity faces in keeping with an unjust system

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All from the appreciation Tumblr

Will working for the Rat Race become obsolete?

Or will a new emergent, more powerful, even richer class continue to thrive?

I sound like a paranoid whack-a-doo, but please, allow me to clarify, this wave of paranoia swept over me months ago when in class we had to watch this:

And then were assigned to research computerisation levels of certain jobs. I will leave it up to the intrepid reader to wonder what level of automation their job in 20 years will have, it's a concept I find, frankly-terrifying.

The reality is that the Industrial Revolution replaced jobs and displaced many workers. The infinite possibility of technological application is inescapable, no matter your job. A very large portion of society (and that most dreaded of terms "the economy) rely on "low-skilled" work such as Bartending or working as a Barista. (Please do not take this as a value judgement, merely a point of comparison).

The thing I've got a problem with is, with every new technology that comes along and promises to give us "more time" and "freedom", freedom from chopping vegetables now that the Zoodler is here is not freedom from the most mundane never-ending task of all: The 9-5 rat race, working for the man, that almighty symbol of occupation which has become to be revered and worshipped more than anything else.

How shall work remain a moral currency with the increasing automation of jobs and an increasing population, how are people going to be able to deal with this change?

If there is one thing that firms can be relied on to do, it is to cut costs, and the most replaceable part of a workplace is: the worker.

A Utopian dream that will be less hours, less drudgery, less soul-sucking work for those unlucky enough to despise their jobs: is further away than ever. As we increase replacement of human workers so businesses can broaden their bottom line, what about the human cost? Will the entire concept of the rat race become obsolete? Or will it mean even MORE working hours, higher competition for less meaningful work, as automatons take away much needed employment? The persistent myth is out there that with more machines it is less work for us, and I hold the opposite to be true, with more machines, it will be more work for us, in a few technological generations time, such as the grandiose promises of the Industrial Revolution, we will be working harder than ever before.

I would love to hear some thoughts on this

Thank you to CGP Grey for such an astute to the point video

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Late Bloomer (for the sky watchers)

I don't even really know if its self-righteous to claim the title of 'late bloomer' as I am still very young

(Single-handedly the most reassuring Wiki entry here)

There are days this collective emphasis on 'having it' and 'knowing what to do with your life' is maddening. Some of us just wake up each day and have no clue. Rather than a complacency thing, I see it as almost the opposite, almost paralysed with too much choice. Potential! The one word always thrown back at you when you're struggling

There are days where I feel myself breaking beneath all my 'potential' selves. The weight of this unrealised future gain is holding me back in the present, and a few other Idlers I have met in my travels. It becomes a trap rather than a release of pent up creativity. Comparison is the thief of joy, and the idealised future you could have is one that makes you feel like a loser in the now....

I don't want to be a sheep maaaaaaann!

But it is getting to that point in life where I have to pick something(s) and stick to them, otherwise they will pick me.

 As the saying goes "Let go or be dragged" some words to live by, I need to let go of this juvenile idea that I will be 'everything' I have planned.

BUT!

This post is for the "late bloomers" or as older generations always like to look down and say, the wasted youth.Why do older people always forget what its like to be young?

The future is equally thrilling and terrifying

We are simultaneously faceless yet working towards that golden mask of unrealised 'time' and 'gains' from 'merit' and 'hard work'. The championing of Liberalism frightens me. In order to believe that people worked hard to be at the top, that they 'deserve' to be there, means by default, the people at the bottom deserve to be there too, it is a dangerously simplistic dichotomy to say the least

In the end, this whole idea of ourselves enduring constantly and forever is a myth, we will most likely, just like the billions before us, be forgotten. And rather than that being a pessimist view, I find it comforting. Even if you're working or not has been turned into a moral currency, you're a good person if you work and contribute, and simply bad if you simply don't. 

I am currently going through a bigger than realised at first stage of Funemployment, no one has what I have to offer, but I must believe that one day someone out there will look at my life summed up on paper, and be interested, mustn't I? 

What a curious way to run the world

So it goes.

All pics from Tumblr, Pinterest, general searches.

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