This is what I think was so original about The Handmaid's Tale--a possible iteration of our own culture and technology that moved backwards-sideways instead of forward. (Disclaimer: we read this years ago in school, and I haven't had a chance to see the recent adaptation.)
Only early plup SF Gernsback etc had that view
Notable exception: Cloud Atlas (pub. 2004), which admits that "Tortuous advances won over generations can be lost by a single stroke of a myopic president’s pen or a vainglorious general’s sword."
> a rise in post-rationalism and nonlinear chaotic events
I think we used to call this the Singularity.
> Things like the "5G causes coronavirus"
To what degree is that a comprehensively accurate representation of the ideas floating around in the conspiracy world?
And if you feel the urge to click on the downward pointing diamond to the left of my comment rather than replying, please pause for a moment and consider that action in the context of your comment, as well as the grandparent comment "But we're now faced with a rise in post-rationalism...".
"Don't solicit upvotes, comments, or submissions. Users should vote and comment when they run across something they find interesting—not for promotion."
As an aside, of the two of us, you are by far the worse violator of HN guidelines, at least as it relates to conversations between you and I. I am able (and willing) to demonstrate this with numerous examples from prior conversations. If you'd be interested in considering these ideas, I'd be happy to lay some out for you. As well, I would be happy to share some techniques that I have found to be very effective in improving my behavior in this general area, let me know if you are interested in hearing some of those ideas.
Another interesting (and I believe important) cultural phenomenon on display in this exchange, is an initial ~projection of supreme confidence in one's beliefs (my perception):
> Facts you say? The world is all ears!
I estimate that this person believes that they deal (think) only in highly skilled thinking & facts, and that anyone with any concerns about 5G deals only in poor thinking & baseless conspiracy theories. And once again, when such a person is challenged, they will rarely respond rationally, using facts, but rather resort to silence (typically accompanied with a downvote), or blatantly obvious diversionary tactics (reframing & redirecting the topic, dishonesty, insults, a wide variety of logical fallacies, etc).
It seems this phenomenon is very hard to see, even when it is pointed out. But if one can manage to find a way to coerce one's mind into actually seeing it, it can be seen everywhere, and in turn gives one a much broader, higher resolution, nuanced view on reality. But, such things are obviously not for everyone. But to know for sure, I recommend one at least give it a try.
Have you been in touch with @dang yet? I am of the opinion that your sort of behavior does not belong on HN.
Charlie Stross has also written about this kind of thing; it gets harder and harder to write near-future SF as the present is in flux. Especially to write post-apocalyptic SF.
SF in general tends to rely on the "whig view of history": technological development and social progress moving forwards. This remains true even in apocalyptic scenarios, which are always tied to the worries of the present at the time of writing.
But we're now faced with a rise in post-rationalism and nonlinear chaotic events. Things like the "5G causes coronavirus" nonsense remind me of what Carl Sagan called the "demon-haunted world".