54 min
Object Permanence Isn't It Obvious
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- Comedy
In our last episode, K Sera discusses how our society's relationship to material/things are changing (not necessarily good nor bad).
Micah talks about the implications it has from our current market forces, and Phil discusses the generational differences.
Show notes: N/A
K Sera's after thoughts:
We keep buying stuff. So much stuff! We buy all these trendy things, like nespresso makers, fidget spinners, Hydro Flasks and cube storage shelves. They’re stylish. They’re affordable. They’re easy to transport. They’re useful. But by year 2 or 3, they end up on Marketplace or in landfills, either because we’ve moved on to the next trendy thing, or the product is too worn, too old-news, or no longer functional. Why bother trying to repair something when the cost of a new replacement is cheaper? Looking at you, inkjet printers!
And let’s not even get into the time to develop the skills you need to fix the things that need repair. Ha.
The majority of people have stopped investing in quality because they can’t afford the up-front cost. The things we’ve been manufacturing for the last two decades and change have been designed to last less than five years. Is this a bad thing? Yeah, for the environment, definitely. But the convenience of not having a 200-year-old solid oak bedroom set to lug along with you when you have to move every five years because the rent is too high, or you have to change jobs because that’s the only way to effectively get raises these days… I mean, the individual trade off is certainly there.
Adjacent to this concept is “doom spending,” where people purchase themselves further into poverty because there is this anticipation of impending doom. Why invest in a doomed future? What retirement? What house? Can we even afford childcare? May as well spend money on what will bring immediate happiness, because there’s no point in saving. Or at least, that’s the mentality.
Really, I guess, what I’m circling around is the fact that the quality and durability of our manufactured goods is a reflection of how we feel about our futures. … which might be five years from ending up in a landfill. :\
Phill's after thoughts:
At one point in this episode Micah says that the value of this podcast produced was the time (and beverages) shared together. After 127 episodes I can attest that I do miss our recording sessions (this episode was originally recorded towards the end of 2022). Due to starting graduate school I had to postpone (and inevitable stop) the podcast. In the end, I agree with both Micah and K Sera that the experiences from little moments (of simple and fun discussions) ultimately mean much more to me than some simple trinket or bauble.
I want to take some time to say thank you for listening to our podcast. Some of our topics and conversations may have been "non-value added" but they were enjoyable to us regardless! We hope you have enjoyed them too. Thank you for listening to us!
In our last episode, K Sera discusses how our society's relationship to material/things are changing (not necessarily good nor bad).
Micah talks about the implications it has from our current market forces, and Phil discusses the generational differences.
Show notes: N/A
K Sera's after thoughts:
We keep buying stuff. So much stuff! We buy all these trendy things, like nespresso makers, fidget spinners, Hydro Flasks and cube storage shelves. They’re stylish. They’re affordable. They’re easy to transport. They’re useful. But by year 2 or 3, they end up on Marketplace or in landfills, either because we’ve moved on to the next trendy thing, or the product is too worn, too old-news, or no longer functional. Why bother trying to repair something when the cost of a new replacement is cheaper? Looking at you, inkjet printers!
And let’s not even get into the time to develop the skills you need to fix the things that need repair. Ha.
The majority of people have stopped investing in quality because they can’t afford the up-front cost. The things we’ve been manufacturing for the last two decades and change have been designed to last less than five years. Is this a bad thing? Yeah, for the environment, definitely. But the convenience of not having a 200-year-old solid oak bedroom set to lug along with you when you have to move every five years because the rent is too high, or you have to change jobs because that’s the only way to effectively get raises these days… I mean, the individual trade off is certainly there.
Adjacent to this concept is “doom spending,” where people purchase themselves further into poverty because there is this anticipation of impending doom. Why invest in a doomed future? What retirement? What house? Can we even afford childcare? May as well spend money on what will bring immediate happiness, because there’s no point in saving. Or at least, that’s the mentality.
Really, I guess, what I’m circling around is the fact that the quality and durability of our manufactured goods is a reflection of how we feel about our futures. … which might be five years from ending up in a landfill. :\
Phill's after thoughts:
At one point in this episode Micah says that the value of this podcast produced was the time (and beverages) shared together. After 127 episodes I can attest that I do miss our recording sessions (this episode was originally recorded towards the end of 2022). Due to starting graduate school I had to postpone (and inevitable stop) the podcast. In the end, I agree with both Micah and K Sera that the experiences from little moments (of simple and fun discussions) ultimately mean much more to me than some simple trinket or bauble.
I want to take some time to say thank you for listening to our podcast. Some of our topics and conversations may have been "non-value added" but they were enjoyable to us regardless! We hope you have enjoyed them too. Thank you for listening to us!
54 min