I suspect this is why my attention span decreased significantly after extensively interacting with these websites for several years. I find a reduced ability to read books (of any kind), among other tasks over a longer time span. Longform pieces, such as books in particular, do at least force us to invest in the long term for a reward at the end, rather than near-instant gratification.

I find it almost impossible to finish a book now. Of course, my life is much busier than when I was younger, but I think it is not just that. We are losing our ability to pay attention to anything longer than the news cycle.

For example - Whatever happened in Vegas? So many unanswered questions about the worst shooting in American history, and it disappears from the news and public consciousness after what, 9 days? It's sad.

I call it the "Orgasmic Blob" theory. You just sit around in some VR world while robots do everything

While I love sci-fi as much as the average HN user, this is not going to happen. At least unless you are fortunate enough to be part of the .01% that will be in control of the resources by that time.

This is First World narcissism. We can't figure out how to feed everyone, but one day, when we finally make it, we can all blob around and livestream our lives while the robots take care of the drudgery. Hell, maybe someone on HN right now is working on Twitch for human behavior right now. The future's so bright I gotta wear shades.