RE: https://mastodon.art/@bmccosar/117348160872419149
I think this is a challenge worth contemplating. And I wonder if when electricity first became widespread, people also contemplated what they lost by losing gaslight. Not a joke. Everyone looks much more beautiful lit by fire.
I probably would not have learned to sew kimono without the internet. My path to ceramics would definitely have been longer and less instantly informative.
But I would have had to form relationships with people who knew more - face to face. That is a loss.
#WritersCoffeeClub 28 Sep
Could you work without the internet? What would change?
I'm from 1968. I grew up without computers until 1980, without internet until 1993, and without a PC style computer in my house until 1997.
What would change without it:
1.) Slower research. I did have my own encyclopedias, but the library was still the standard.
2.) Aggravating paper submissions (SASE = self-addressed stamped envelope, if you wanted your copies back.)
[Oh, and we'd live in a better world.]
@Remittancegirl When electricity became more common, Victorians missed out on inhaling toxic fumes from indoor gas lamps which used to burn low-grade kinds of gas ("town gas" or "coal gas") highly loaded with methane, and hydrogen sulfide. Add to that poor ventilation, and it makes sense that hallucinogenic, neurological, and respiratory illnesses were commonplace.