Great analogy. Its the same reason why I grab stuff off of supermarkets and walk out. If they really cared about it, they'll invest in better technology to stop me. Suckers.
This is one more data point for my theory that New Yorkers have, oddly, become the most insular population in the U.S.
There is a wide world outside of New York and class-signaling. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere on Earth where loud, ambient noise is preferred over quiet. In the early 20th century, New Yorkers themselves had similar complaints about automobiles, regardless of class.
For those of us who grew up in rural areas, we find it odd that quiet is a “rich people” thing. No, it’s a universal thing. No one wants to sleep or work next to endless motorcycle revs, honks, and sirens. On a personal level, I don’t like hearing it in the background of New York podcasts either.
Finally, and this should be obvious, New York is a city for the rich. It is an enormous privilege to be from or to live there, and those of us who could never afford it can only dream of hearing such daily noise.
It doesn’t adjust correctly much of the time. For example, full screen video controls will effectively disappear, rendering them unususable, in many circumstances (particularly against white backgrounds).
2040 feels far too soon for this thought experiment, at least in the U.S. ICEs will remain the primary vehicle for most families until charging networks are built out. 40-50 years is more realistic.
The charging network could be built out in 5 years... if there was money in it.
(No, don't ask me how that would work. I don't know. I just think that private enterprise could do it quite quickly, if they saw a way to turn a profit doing so.)
And the median car is 13 years old and getting older. If the market share is only 23% today, then in 2040 the fleet will still be overwhelmingly ICE-powered, unless the government starts pulling levers that accelerate the transition, like quadrupling the fuel taxes.
I think most people understand this, but in reality many homeless do have a choice in their living situation. This idea that they can’t possibly have chosen their life reduces the homeless to human-like primates with no agency. Often they have a sense of personal dignity and are capable of making their own decisions, despite how destitute we see their situation.
My experience is from São Paulo and Seattle but entertaining this notion that it's a thought-out choice full of intention is wild. Most homeless people just want some shade of stability and would leave that situation any day any time if given resources.
They are not primates with 0 agency but most societies don't really give them a lot of options.
Chrome hasn't been the best browser for most of its market share lead.
Internet Explorer 6 was never the best browser despite leading market share more than any browser in history.
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