Beautiful as usual, Mr. Nerd. I only pray that we can break free of the algorithmic sense of a "trend" and cling onto something that lasts. I hope the revolution becomes the permanent solution.
Will it leave us adrift again? An alternative is not necessarily an opposition. When my son was born I quit social media, and now I feel I have more purpose and fulfillment than ever before. Finding purpose doesn't have to be technological, and many of us are better off because of it.
I meant on a collective level - I completely agree you can find meaning on an individual level, with technology or without - but the social movement will end up back where we started.
I think it's interesting, and hints at a paradox in establishing a singular collective “quantum", if you will, of meaning for a plurality of individuals and groups.
To me, this seems to have historically been, ironically enough, the role of religious institutions (which I think lends itself to the inclusion of the revivalists in this revolution); establishing duty to a higher power as a collective meaning, which is now heavily questioned in the current paradigm.
But as has been seen with religion, the more you try to distill a singular common meeting, the less it resonates with certain individuals or small groups within that collective, and things splinter.
If this paradox holds, it might be interesting to explore the phenomenon in the frame of the expansion and contraction of various concepts of “meaning" over time. I wonder how closely it would align with the rise and fall of “empires”…
Beautifully written and quietly moving. I love the way you transitioned seamlessly from what began as a list that seemed like it was going to be the start of an essay, then instead morphed into a poem. As a poet, and someone who finds myself in a few of the categories you listed, I resonate with this.
I like the idea of turning back to the old ways, per se. Every device should have one and only one goal, cameras for capturing the moments, and phones for reaching out.
Yet, as I see, especially, GenZ is interested in the very concept, they are also turning the “revolution” into “trend.”
We are pushed to buy flip phones, not use our old phones.
Buy bags to secure all of our “analog” stuff.
Purchase a new MP3 player instead of digging the ones we used in elementary school.
Buying new CDs to tear the newly sealed plastic, yet not use hand-me-downs for the authenticity.
2026 is the new 2016, the new revolution says
While the very platform they’re trying to escape was founded on 2016, TikTok.
Imo, that's a tangential movement. It's not averse to technology like the those described here, but is instead averse to structures that incentivize development of technology that comes at the expense of the world, to the benefit of a few. Which also motivates some of the above groups as well, I suspect, just to a different effect.
Sorry, I think the concept makes more sense in my own language (portugue-br) and something got lost in translation, what I meant is "we can't go offline cause the revolution will be solarpunk" but it was like a question cause is common to "rebuke" thoughts with questions in my circle. But I loved your chain of thoughts XD
Oh! I can see that now! Thank you for taking the time to explain. Solarpunk is a completely foreign concept in my own circles, so the habit of describing and explaining is strong.
I think they are undeniably united by the same goals of high agency, high techno-pessimism, and they are adjacent to many of these other groups whether you like them or not. I don't think they're "monsters." I think they have very different worldviews from you or I, but it is a worldview that partially overlaps with these other demographics.
sent from my iphone
But the revolution will post on substack to send great content straight to the inboxes of free and paid subscribers
I don't think I'm "the revolution" haha
maybe I am? maybe it's all of us
I saw the best minds of my generation
Beautiful as usual, Mr. Nerd. I only pray that we can break free of the algorithmic sense of a "trend" and cling onto something that lasts. I hope the revolution becomes the permanent solution.
Will it leave us adrift again? An alternative is not necessarily an opposition. When my son was born I quit social media, and now I feel I have more purpose and fulfillment than ever before. Finding purpose doesn't have to be technological, and many of us are better off because of it.
I meant on a collective level - I completely agree you can find meaning on an individual level, with technology or without - but the social movement will end up back where we started.
I think it's interesting, and hints at a paradox in establishing a singular collective “quantum", if you will, of meaning for a plurality of individuals and groups.
To me, this seems to have historically been, ironically enough, the role of religious institutions (which I think lends itself to the inclusion of the revivalists in this revolution); establishing duty to a higher power as a collective meaning, which is now heavily questioned in the current paradigm.
But as has been seen with religion, the more you try to distill a singular common meeting, the less it resonates with certain individuals or small groups within that collective, and things splinter.
If this paradox holds, it might be interesting to explore the phenomenon in the frame of the expansion and contraction of various concepts of “meaning" over time. I wonder how closely it would align with the rise and fall of “empires”…
oh u cooked w this one
I heard that flute while reading this!
Beautifully written and quietly moving. I love the way you transitioned seamlessly from what began as a list that seemed like it was going to be the start of an essay, then instead morphed into a poem. As a poet, and someone who finds myself in a few of the categories you listed, I resonate with this.
I like the idea of turning back to the old ways, per se. Every device should have one and only one goal, cameras for capturing the moments, and phones for reaching out.
Yet, as I see, especially, GenZ is interested in the very concept, they are also turning the “revolution” into “trend.”
We are pushed to buy flip phones, not use our old phones.
Buy bags to secure all of our “analog” stuff.
Purchase a new MP3 player instead of digging the ones we used in elementary school.
Buying new CDs to tear the newly sealed plastic, yet not use hand-me-downs for the authenticity.
2026 is the new 2016, the new revolution says
While the very platform they’re trying to escape was founded on 2016, TikTok.
I'm in
But how will we end up in solarpunk without technology?
Imo, that's a tangential movement. It's not averse to technology like the those described here, but is instead averse to structures that incentivize development of technology that comes at the expense of the world, to the benefit of a few. Which also motivates some of the above groups as well, I suspect, just to a different effect.
solarpunk, and frutiger aero, is techno-optimist
Sorry, I think the concept makes more sense in my own language (portugue-br) and something got lost in translation, what I meant is "we can't go offline cause the revolution will be solarpunk" but it was like a question cause is common to "rebuke" thoughts with questions in my circle. But I loved your chain of thoughts XD
Oh! I can see that now! Thank you for taking the time to explain. Solarpunk is a completely foreign concept in my own circles, so the habit of describing and explaining is strong.
I was with you until you lumped in MAHA. I will fight against those monsters with every analog weapon I have at my disposal.
I think they are undeniably united by the same goals of high agency, high techno-pessimism, and they are adjacent to many of these other groups whether you like them or not. I don't think they're "monsters." I think they have very different worldviews from you or I, but it is a worldview that partially overlaps with these other demographics.
I understand why you included them, but anti-vax sentiment is a bridge too far.