Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

Re:Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getti... by rimantas on Friday October 28, 2016 @05:38AM (#12814341)

    "Good morning," said the little prince.

    "Good morning," said the merchant.

    This was a merchant who sold pills that had been
    invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one
    pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to
    drink.

    "Why are you selling those?" asked the little prince.

    "Because they save a tremendous amount of time," said
    the merchant. "Computations have been made by experts.
    With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every
    week."

    "And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?"

    "Anything you like..."

    "As for me," said the little prince to himself, "if I
    had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should
    walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water."

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getti... by nsaslideface on Friday October 28, 2016 @11:24AM (#12816877)

"New technology usurps romanticization of older technology" is not a new and surprising concept. One could replace "pill" and "spring of fresh water" with any technological advancement which took over some earlier activity that a subset of the population found and still finds enjoyable to do. Typewriters and computers, bicycles and cars, making a fire using sticks verses using a stove to cook food even.

In my experience no one who treats that idea as novel ever seems to offer a litmus test to tell if the value of technology trumps the potential enjoyment in doing something manually. Does rimantas use stone or metal tools to cook? But the feeling of spinning the tree branch in your hands against the kindling! How greatly rimantas has lost in their fervor for convenience...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getti... by rimantas on Friday October 28, 2016 @04:08PM (#12820150)

It has nothing to do with technology and tools.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getti... by unethical_ban on Friday October 28, 2016 @09:28AM (#12815540)

IS either opinion incorrect? Why can't we agree that some people don't want to take time preparing food, and others do?

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Re:Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getti... by rimantas on Friday October 28, 2016 @04:08PM (#12820147)

It's not about the food. It's about slowing down and taking your time. When you start taking tablets to save time drinking, o soylent, to save time eating, you for sure do not slow down. Why it is important to slow down and unplug is another big topic, but that is absolutely essential.

[ Parent | on HN ]