From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Tue Dec 26 2000 - 21:45:08 MST
Emlyn wrote:
>
> Good points Harvey. I just have to quibble with this one...
>
> > 5. Free Time: We also work less time and have a lot of free time.
> > That is a major difference.
>
> Everything I've read says that we work more than ever, that the trend over
> time has been for the amount of hours people spend working to increase,
> rather relentlessly. We may possibly this century be beginning to turn that
> around... although with the 35 hour week fading from memory for most of us
> (yes, it used to exist here), I doubt it.
A lot depends on what you call "work". If I only cared about software
enough to put in 35 hours a week I wouldn't care very software. If your
work is what you are really interested in then you don't count the
number of hours this way. If it isn't then make it so for the sake of
your sanity.
>
> Hunter gatherers apparently spent about 2 hours a day in work-like (staying
> alive related) activity, and from there it's gone downhill (I'll go dig for
> an attribution).
Obviously you have never spent any real time attempting to live off the
land. Even with modern weapons and tools for hunting the above is way
shy of reality. And check out how long it would take you to clean and
dress a kill, properly build a fire in the wild and properly cook it
(you don't want to play with the bugs you could get otherwise) and how
long to dispose of the rest either for later or in such a way not to
have other predators checking out your tender flesh. It is a little
better fishing. If you have gear or know how to make it and are
fortunate enough to be close to a place to fish. Don't wrestle any
grizzlies for the local salmon or trout though. The time to gather wild
food, except in a few extremely liberal climes, of sufficient variety
and prepare it is even worse. And we didn't talk about the time to find
pottable water, lug it about, maybe do various things to clean it up a
bit and so on. Nor about the time to find a way to keep yourself clean
or to find and maintain shelter.
- samantha
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