Economic Logic: off topic

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Reflections about 10.10.10

Today is October 10, 2010, which is the binary equivalent of 42. I was looking forward to this day, as 42 is the "Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything." Alas, my day was not fruitful in this respect, maybe we have to wait for another century for The Ultimate Answer. And then, the context could be very different, as human life may have few similarities with today's. Just think how life today compares to that of 1910, and how we now ridicule some aspects of everyday life then. If you still follow my train of thought here, what would people a century from now find ridiculous about our lives nowadays? Here are a few candidates, and only the far future will tell whether I am right.

We drive cars ourselves. How inefficient and, especially, dangerous.
We can pollute mostly for free.
Water is essential, yet cheap.
Nationalism.
The amount of garbage we generate, in particular paper and plastic.
Major projects are funded and conducted at the national level: space exploration, fundamental research.
Smoking tobacco.
Transportation centered on individual fuel engines.
How religious people are.
Circumcision.
We tolerate a huge dispersion in standards of living across the Earth.
Life-time insurance contracts between people of the same gender are illegal is many places.
Private and exclusive health care provision.
Immigration laws.
Patents and copyright.
Intelligent design.
We kill sociopaths.
We pay to put drug users in jail instead of taxing them.
We need new flu immunization every year.
TV and celebrity oriented leisure.
That abortion needs to be an option.
The catholic church can get away with child molestation on a grand scale.
We use toilet paper and flush with water.
We devote lots of resources to lawns.
We prefer pumping expensive carbon into the atmosphere rather than using free solar energy.
We expect physicians to know everything on the spot without looking it up.
The USA is a country, while Europe is not one.
Government officials are poorly paid and are expected to outdo themselves for the common good.
The right to privacy is somewhat enforceable.
Lawyers are powerful.
Prostitution often involves sex.
One needs to dress well to be respected (artists excepted).
Few babies with birth defects are born.
Farmers receive substantial subsidies, sometimes in areas not suitable for farming.
Many people know how to spell.
Rogue states.
Invasive surgery.
The belief that one needs to exercise to lose weight.
The waste of time in commuting.
Chemotherapy.
We eat animals.
How bad our lives are.

Is Europe a third world country?

Following up on last week's rant, why would an American arriving for the first time in Europe think he arrived in a third world country?

Cars are tiny, many people use bicycles or walk.
Food portions are small and rationed.
People live on top of each other.
Lots of idle people in the streets.
Many places do not accept plastic money, including hotels.
Ethnic hatred going far back in time.
No shyness about being naked.
Many monarchies.
And... passports are checked when you leave.

Is the US a third world country?

Of course it is not. But for a European who sets foot on the continent for the first time, several observations would lead to this conclusion:

Urban ghettos, homeless people, trailer parks are certainly not a showcase of an advanced and rich civilization.
High criminality and violence.
Rampant corruption, which is even legal. Politicians can be bought openly, and few people see a problem with that.
Crumbling infrastructure. Roads are full of potholes, in particular urban highways.
Telephone and electricity are still supplied through overhead cables that are high in maintenance.
Cellphones cannot be used to pay in stores.
Credit cards do not have chips.
No sidewalks in many places.
A quarter of all homes still use septic tanks.
Idle police officers watching every construction site on roads.