False, the scaling of drama is sufficient due to mass media spreading drama across entire empires, linguistic spheres, and the whole world. In fact the effective drama supply for any individual increases.
Take a school shooting as a prototypical event of near-maximal drama. In 1999, when the Columbine shooting happened, the population of the American empire was about 280 million. In 2018, when the Parkland shooting happened, the population is nearing 330 million, but still covered by one school shooting.
Drama is generated by humans, so it seems appropriate to assume that the number of events above any arbitrary drama threshold grows linearly with human population. But drama, unlike oil or corn, is not diminished by being consumed, so all of this increased drama is available to everyone.
Consider the peasant of several hundred years in the past. The dramas available to them were mostly those generated within their small community, a little bit of what was going on with the local kingdom & royalty, and maybe a few rumours from abroad. (Tons of fake news too, they believed in Prester John and shit.) Nowadays I can read in detail about the ruler of Israel insulting the ruler of Japan by serving chocolates in a shoe, and view images of the offending dessert. I can follow the story of a man across an ocean from me, arrested and persecuted for teaching his pug dog blasphemous tricks.
5 comments
1 LightUmbra 2018-05-10
I unironically think large Taylor is part of the issue. If you get rid of her, our subscriber rate will decrease.
1 Oh_hamburgers_ 2018-05-10
Malthus didn't take it far enough, Kaczynski is where it's at.
Remember the 14 words:
1 IqtaKadabra 2018-05-10
I don't think you know who Malthus is
1 Oh_hamburgers_ 2018-05-10
Malthus only commented on population, Uncle Ted saw the real threat.
1 none_to_remain 2018-05-10
False, the scaling of drama is sufficient due to mass media spreading drama across entire empires, linguistic spheres, and the whole world. In fact the effective drama supply for any individual increases.
Take a school shooting as a prototypical event of near-maximal drama. In 1999, when the Columbine shooting happened, the population of the American empire was about 280 million. In 2018, when the Parkland shooting happened, the population is nearing 330 million, but still covered by one school shooting.
Drama is generated by humans, so it seems appropriate to assume that the number of events above any arbitrary drama threshold grows linearly with human population. But drama, unlike oil or corn, is not diminished by being consumed, so all of this increased drama is available to everyone.
Consider the peasant of several hundred years in the past. The dramas available to them were mostly those generated within their small community, a little bit of what was going on with the local kingdom & royalty, and maybe a few rumours from abroad. (Tons of fake news too, they believed in Prester John and shit.) Nowadays I can read in detail about the ruler of Israel insulting the ruler of Japan by serving chocolates in a shoe, and view images of the offending dessert. I can follow the story of a man across an ocean from me, arrested and persecuted for teaching his pug dog blasphemous tricks.