We don’t live in the golden age of jazz. We’re long past the golden age of piracy . Some would have us believe that rock and roll achieved perfection in 1974. But is it possible that we’re living in a golden age of something else and just don’t realize it? What’s better now than it has ever been before?
Stay golden by reading up on this thought-provoking r/AskReddit thread on the topic .
RELATED STORIES
Toilets
“Toilets used to be (and still are in some regions) a luxury for the rich, or shared by multiple households, or just a hole in the ground; and with the threat of climate changes potential impact to infrastructure and theoretical reduction in potable water, etc i feel that we’re living in the glory ages of [pooping].”
Superhero movies
“The amount of well crafted Superhero movies (Marvel) is something unfathomable for people who grew up in the 80/90s .
To think that something so nerdy would ever appeal to a very very mainstream audience is incredible.”
Enlightenment
“I’m now smarter and more worldly than I’d ever dream possible, not thanks to my own efforts, but thanks to the world. The dark is getting darker, and light is getting lighter.
I’m one of those people whose superpower is granted by the internet. I don’t take to paper books well, but I can read off a screen forever, and there’s so much one could learn that’s perhaps beyond college-level, there’s virtually no need for universities anymore unless they can truly train you in a profession (instead of just constantly postponing that to make money off you).”
Cheap flights
“Look it up. Historically we pay so much less adjusted for inflation and have the ability to fly anywhere for so much less. Gas goes up. Demand goes up. Holiday weekends are expensive. But in the end Joe can fly (average) coast to coast for 500$ VS 10k$ in 1960.”
Computing power
“When I was a kid the Commodore 64 came out with 64 THOUSAND bytes of memory!!! You could load games at home – though good ones took multiple floppy discs.
Now you can ask your phone any question, have an instant map to any location, translate any language or sit all day watching videos at home.
Kids born now will grow up never knowing a computer that could not understand your speech and give instant access to anything.”
Astronomy
“We happen to exist for the brief moment in cosmological time where we can actually see other galaxies, and get a sense of the huge scale of the universe. Eventually, in the far future, space will be expanding too fast for the light of distant galaxies or the afterglow of the big bang to reach us.”
– u/Arc125
Misinformation
“Never before had humans had to deal with so much information thrown at them.
Everytime you put effort into discrediting a information piece as a fake, 10x the amount gets thrown at you again before you finished. No matter how much effort you put into sorting truth from fake, you will never keep up until at some point you either give up and accept information as is or withdraw from letting information reach you.”
Guitar gear
“It’s better and more affordable than it’s ever been. You can find amazing guitars for $500. There are more pedals than you can shake a stick at, and they make every sound you can imagine. If you have ever wanted to play guitar, now is the time. Not surprisingly, many people picked up guitar during lockdown and it’s having a bit of a resurgence.”
Food (for now)
“Our supermarkets are full of food from every corner of the world. ‘Out of season’ or ‘distance’ are not barriers. Preservation in fridges and canned products is incredibly easy. A middle class person today eats better than medieval kings.
This is a short golden age though. The climate crisis, geopolitical shocks, supply chain instability, the massive amount of food waste and large numbers of hungry and undernourished people in the midst of this abundance, all indicate that the food system as we know it is short-lived.”
Beer
“I remember craft beer really gaining popularity 15-20 years ago. I thought it was just a fad. Now there’s even more . Craft beer has really become a new norm of US culture, and allowed so many other interesting things to come along for the ride. A good place for food trucks to set up, dog-friendly bars, small venues for local musicians… it’s really cool how this is happening in every American city.”
Butts
“It’s not even just that yoga pants are popular. There has been significant innovation in making yoga pants more flattering by adding reinforcement and elastic in strategic places. There are people out there being paid to research making asses look good. Yoga pants today are significantly more advanced than yoga pants of just a few years ago.”
Combustion engines
“They are at their most efficient brought on by the push towards hybrids and electric, and the rising cost of fuel.
Factory delivered 4 cylinder, 2 litre engines are over 400 horsepower now. With a warranty.
And they still do 40mpg!
So I think we’re in the golden age of the combustion engine, which will be slow and drawn out, giving way to the new age of electronic, hybrid, and perhaps even hydrogen, powered vehicles.”
Board games
“I never knew how many amazing board games there were until my coworker took me to a board game cafe. There’s every kind of game you could possibly imagine—and many that you couldn’t even imagine. Simple games, intricate/complex games. Crazy games. Weird games. Stupid games. Many had extremely robust storylines which made them super engaging! Probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing board games.”
Artistic creation
“Digital art is wildly accessible to both creators and audiences.
I do 3d printing, and regularly chat with sculptors from around the world. Everywhere from within driving distance of me in North America, to people in Brazil, in Europe, etc.
Their content is incredibly easy to get out and share with other people due to a number of platforms, and for me it can be as simple as downloading the files, heating up my printer, and a few hours later I could be holding something designed on the other side of the world.”
Paleontology
“The things we know now about the prehistoric world are mind blowing. More and more is being worked out about the looks and behaviour of dinosaurs and all their fellow extinct organisms. Compared to what was happening when I was a kid we’ve moved on in leaps and bounds.
If you haven’t yet, check out Sir David and the BBC’s Prehistoric Planet. Awesome.”
Access to music
“Straight up. I was chatting with a mate from work last night, and we were swapping all these international artists over Spotify on our phones. Then in a few swipes we were checking out the yearly calendars of gigs in our area. It’s actually incredible how easy it is to discover amazing music now.”
Self education
“We remodeled our bathroom using YouTube. I wish my dad was alive so I could tell him how much more in awe of him I am now. He built his own house. He was not a tradesman. He just decided to do it, and did it. There was no YouTube then. I asked my sister how he learned all those things. She said he read books and watched a lot of This Old House.”
Juice
“My mom LOVED juice but she passed away in ’00 and when I realized I had a full OJ-sized jug of straight up Watermelon Juice in my fridge, I got sad that she missed out on even the POM craze and just really a bunch of super tasty juice from fruits that she may not have even knew existed like açai.”
Accessibility
“Disabled person here.
We live in a golden age of accessibility tools based on technological advancements. Just take the car industry as an example. The amount of aftermarket accessibility accessories that were invented in the past 10 years alone, have made driving accessible to many people with disabilities.”
Photography
“Now almost everyone has a camera, usually in their phone. And they are so simple to use it’s easy to take decent photos.
It used to be a camera was a dedicated device you had to learn how to use properly and have the film developed by someone, or yourself if you had a darkroom and knowledge. And the photos you could take was limited by the film roll. Use up a 36 exposure roll? You’ll have to stop and put in a new roll. Using ISO 200 film, but you want to take low light photos? You’ll have to stop, remove the 200 roll, and put in an ISO 400 (or higher) roll.”
