Comment by unleashhale

5 hours ago

Just like how the car gave us back so many more hours to spend actually living instead of working. And the washing machine. And the computer. And the Internet.

27 comments

unleashhale

Reply
eru  5 hours ago

The washing machine and dishwasher definitely did.

I don't own a car, so I can't comment on that.

  • adrian_b  3 hours ago

    There are 4 differences between my home and that of my grandparents from one century ago, which indeed have reduced significantly the time spent with household chores:

    1. Washing machine

    2. Vacuum cleaner

    3. Microwave oven

    4. Electric refrigerator (but they had a cold underground cellar, while I no longer have such luxuries)

    There are also various modern tools that are not used in the normal day-to-day life, but only when incidents happen, which require repairs, for example an electric drill or reciprocating saw, or a soldering iron, or an electric sewing machine (but my grandparents had a mechanical Singer sewing machine, which did the same job, only with more effort) and sometimes, but not often, I prepare some kind of food for which an electric mixer accelerates enough the preparation to compensate for the time spent with assembling, disassembling and washing the mixer.

    While other modern inventions, like computers, are very important to me, none of them has reduced the amount of work that must be done in my home (I never felt the need for an automatic dishwasher, because I never let them accumulate, I wash them instantly after use, even while cooking, because I eat only food that I cook myself from raw ingredients).

arjie  5 hours ago

All of these things have been marvelous. The washing machine in particular is such a marvel that almost all Amish use one.

  • left-struck  5 hours ago

    While our time working at home has definitely gone down, our time at work hasn’t though. The point is our employers just expect more, and the benefits of whatever new efficiency is gained, if any, are not passed onto those at the bottom or middle.

    • arjie  4 hours ago

      Without a doubt, I cannot imagine the world would have been made better if my mother was not an eye surgeon even if it meant my father, a different kind of surgeon, made half of what he would otherwise. Besides the obvious fulfillment of self my mother had, there is the reality that many eyes were operated on that would not otherwise have been. That is a story repeated across almost every profession (not all, certainly women make worse bouncers).

      Twice the labour force is just far too much of a power amplifier. Many things that would otherwise lie undone simply get done. Not 2x perhaps because housework etc needs to be done one way or the other but I suspect some large fraction of growth is just better labor participation and labor allocation.

    • hakimg  4 hours ago

      Hours spent at work have also gone down over the decades and leisure time has gone up. Even if that stat wasn't true and we all spent the same amount of time working more productively then that would still be good for society at large.

      This attitude of unwillingness to do anything except for direct personal gain isn't good for the world and isn't good for yourself.

      1 reply →

    • jaggederest  4 hours ago

      This is the fault of the distribution of the benefits, not of the technologies themselves, at least in so far as they don't actively accelerate the shift of value from labor to capital. Washing machines reduce drudgery no matter who owns them.

  • BoredomIsFun  4 hours ago

    > that almost all Amish use one.

    There are small pedal powered ones. I am sure you can rig a horse driven washing machine...

seanmcdirmid  4 hours ago

Increased productivity is nothing to sneeze at even if you work the same amount of hours. The real problem with AI is that the productivity benefits are focused with the owners and not the workers.

tonyedgecombe  4 hours ago

I’m not sure about the car. I seem to remember reading that commute time has been remarkably consistent even going back to Roman times. All the car allowed us to do is build homes further away from our workplace.

qsera  5 hours ago

>actually living...

Watching TV...Or consuming social media..

  • eru  4 hours ago

    Who am I to judge what other people decide to do with their freetime. It's not like lurking on HN is morally superior.