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I always feel so disconnected to my fellow humans when I hear people longing for "simpler times" where they are just out in nature with no technology or modern

I always feel so disconnected to my fellow humans when I hear people longing for "simpler times" where they are just out in nature with no technology or modern tools. I would be miserable living simply like that. I don't like spending too much time in nature, I get hot and sweaty and itchy and bothered by bugs. I am always wishing to be building something with electronics, or playing a game, or watching a show or movie. I also want freedom from work, but I wouldn't use that freedom to "live simply" or get away from technology.

pmlnr 18d ago
> I don't like spending too much time in nature, I get hot and sweaty and itchy and bothered by bugs To me, it sounds like you haven't been in nature at enough places to find the one that talks and belongs to you. Travel more.
- cortesoft 17d ago
  I am 43 years old and have been to many countries and locales. I have enjoyed nature plenty of times. I like short hikes, and pretty views, and seeing different types of nature. I just like to go home to a nice air conditioned room, with a warm shower and clean bed afterwards, and I only want to spend a smaller fraction of my time out in nature.
Fr0styMatt88 18d ago
I get the nature thing, but people just don’t ‘play the tape until the end’. It’s all nice until you get a minor cut and die from a simple infection.
- andix 18d ago
  The "cut and die" part is happening rather quickly, and you're done with it. But you might be hungry for weeks and have to watch your crops grow. Probably really boring and uncomfortable.
skor 18d ago
your experience is not applicable to others, thanks for your feedback and we appreciate it. Lots of people understand that nature is a part of life just like you are and live accordingly.
- cortesoft 17d ago
  I 100% agree with this, and I fully support people who want to live their lives however they want to. I have no delusions that my preferences are universal. I just want others to accept the same about me and my preferences.
pbkompasz 18d ago
> Not sure from the page but I rode one coal powered steam train in Poland for “fun” and i wish i never did. It was an open carriage trip in koszalin and the pollution it did was such that coal particles rained on everyone. It was awful and I don’t get the nostalgia of riding such an obsolete vehicle. I was so outraged about it I told my wife the experience was like trying to experience a big pre industrial city without sewage system and finding it nostalgic. From a post earlier today
- card_zero 18d ago
  From somebody else's post, to be clear. So the point is ... the coal-smoke environments of the industrial revolution, which replaced natural environments, were also awful, being full of grime and cinders instead of sweat and insects. For this reason we progressed even further. You might observe that we're never satisfied, but that doesn't mean that all situations are equivalent and activity is futile.
- fittingopposite 18d ago
  The title says hunter gatherers. That's totally different from life 150 years ago. It's even different from the medieval or agrarian iron age times.
  - senfiaj 17d ago
    >> The title says hunter gatherers. Right, and also adds "with space age tools".
- m4rtink 17d ago
  Aww, you don't get it - steam trains are so cool! :) Just don't get the embers into your eyes and it will be fine. :)
andix 18d ago
It's actually not that hard to return to this lifestyle. Maybe easier than ever before. Just buy an old farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere and do your thing. There are many regions in the world where farmland is really cheap and nobody will bother you.
Razengan 18d ago
Try traveling to countries and cities where you can live with all modern comforts in your hotel/Airbnb room and still be close to nature. Green mountains, fresh air, and still get 5G and order food or taxi to wherever you are.
dismalaf 18d ago
> I get hot and sweaty and itchy and bothered by bugs Maybe go somewhere colder, or in a different season.
- cortesoft 17d ago
  I live in Southern California, where the temperature is amazing all year round. It doesn’t matter, I still get sweaty and sticky when I am out in nature. We don’t even have many bugs here, it is nothing like when I visit family in Wisconsin or New York, so I don’t know of many places I can go that it will be better.
nkrisc 18d ago
Have you spent lots of time out in the wilderness before? Those you describe aren’t pleasant, but you learn to accept and deal with. I’m sure the are all kinds of unpleasantness in a “civilized” lifestyle that you no longer even notice because you’re just so used to accommodating them: traffic noise, pollution, artificial light, etc. I once spent a week hiking and camping in a rain forest. The first day I was trying to keep dry and comfortable as much as possible, and I was miserable. The second day I realized I’m just not going to be dry, and I accepted it, and being wet didn’t bother me again the rest of the week. At the end of the day you hang you socks and clothes up near the fire and dry your boots. Being hot and sweaty and dealing with bugs are irritating, but it’s just part of being outdoors and if you spend significant time outside doing stuff you stop noticing it and just accept it as a part of life. Don’t let a little discomfort stop you from enjoying nature. You might even start to notice the discomforts of modern life that you’ve accepted as a part of life.
- TacticalCoder 18d ago
  > in a “civilized” lifestyle that you no longer even notice because you’re just so used to accommodating them: traffic noise, pollution, artificial light, etc. But I don't have any of those for there's a whole spectrum between "go one week hiking" and "live in a city".
  - nkrisc 17d ago
    Ah, you must live in Paradise! Really though, I'm sure there are some drawbacks in your living arrangement that you have adapted to. Nothing is perfect.
- deleted 18d ago
  [deleted]
- fittingopposite 18d ago
  Love it and totally agree. The comfort we think we need is nothing else than hedonic adaptation.
  - 17d ago
uncivilized 18d ago
Good thing your ancestors did not think like that!
- DarmokTanagra 18d ago
  I'm sure they did. Buddhist's view everyday existence within samsara (the cycle of rebirth) as inherently marked by dissatisfaction, pain, and impermanence. Those kinds of beliefs reflect the lived reality of our ancestors.
TacticalCoder 18d ago
The amazing thing technology brought me is that I can now have optic fiber in my house in the middle of nowhere. I'm literally typing this while hearing the sound of waves and if I look above my laptop's screen, I see the reflections of the (near full apparently) moon on the sea. It's a bit of a remote place (closest village is a 10 minutes drive and closest highway is a 45+ minutes drive) so I've got to fix many things around the house myself. My new toy, a 3D printer, is helping me with that: today the wife asked for me to fix the parasol (she wanted to enjoy being outside, without getting sunburned), which I did by 3D printing a few parts. I'm in the middle of nowhere but I'm hardly a luddite. This afternoon we walked to the beach and my daughter caught two crabs and played with them for half an hour before releasing them: you can have both actual nature and technology: those aren't mutually exclusive. P.S: my SO needs a lifelong treatment (nothing life-threatening as long as she gets her medication) so the "no tech" / "no modernity" stops right there for me.
- fittingopposite 18d ago
  That sounds nice. Which parts of the globe do you recommend for such a lifestyle? I assume your not a digital nomad but rather deeply embedded in your environment? Would love to learn more about this lifestyle. Want online resources you can recommend?

pmlnr 18d ago

> I don't like spending too much time in nature, I get hot and sweaty and itchy and bothered by bugs To me, it sounds like you haven't been in nature at enough places to find the one that talks and belongs to you. Travel more.

cortesoft 17d ago
I am 43 years old and have been to many countries and locales. I have enjoyed nature plenty of times. I like short hikes, and pretty views, and seeing different types of nature. I just like to go home to a nice air conditioned room, with a warm shower and clean bed afterwards, and I only want to spend a smaller fraction of my time out in nature.

Fr0styMatt88 18d ago

I get the nature thing, but people just don’t ‘play the tape until the end’. It’s all nice until you get a minor cut and die from a simple infection.

andix 18d ago
The "cut and die" part is happening rather quickly, and you're done with it. But you might be hungry for weeks and have to watch your crops grow. Probably really boring and uncomfortable.

skor 18d ago

your experience is not applicable to others, thanks for your feedback and we appreciate it. Lots of people understand that nature is a part of life just like you are and live accordingly.

cortesoft 17d ago
I 100% agree with this, and I fully support people who want to live their lives however they want to. I have no delusions that my preferences are universal. I just want others to accept the same about me and my preferences.

pbkompasz 18d ago

> Not sure from the page but I rode one coal powered steam train in Poland for “fun” and i wish i never did. It was an open carriage trip in koszalin and the pollution it did was such that coal particles rained on everyone. It was awful and I don’t get the nostalgia of riding such an obsolete vehicle. I was so outraged about it I told my wife the experience was like trying to experience a big pre industrial city without sewage system and finding it nostalgic. From a post earlier today

card_zero 18d ago
From somebody else's post, to be clear. So the point is ... the coal-smoke environments of the industrial revolution, which replaced natural environments, were also awful, being full of grime and cinders instead of sweat and insects. For this reason we progressed even further. You might observe that we're never satisfied, but that doesn't mean that all situations are equivalent and activity is futile.
fittingopposite 18d ago
The title says hunter gatherers. That's totally different from life 150 years ago. It's even different from the medieval or agrarian iron age times.
- senfiaj 17d ago
  >> The title says hunter gatherers. Right, and also adds "with space age tools".
m4rtink 17d ago
Aww, you don't get it - steam trains are so cool! :) Just don't get the embers into your eyes and it will be fine. :)

andix 18d ago

It's actually not that hard to return to this lifestyle. Maybe easier than ever before. Just buy an old farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere and do your thing. There are many regions in the world where farmland is really cheap and nobody will bother you.

Razengan 18d ago

Try traveling to countries and cities where you can live with all modern comforts in your hotel/Airbnb room and still be close to nature. Green mountains, fresh air, and still get 5G and order food or taxi to wherever you are.

dismalaf 18d ago

> I get hot and sweaty and itchy and bothered by bugs Maybe go somewhere colder, or in a different season.

cortesoft 17d ago
I live in Southern California, where the temperature is amazing all year round. It doesn’t matter, I still get sweaty and sticky when I am out in nature. We don’t even have many bugs here, it is nothing like when I visit family in Wisconsin or New York, so I don’t know of many places I can go that it will be better.

nkrisc 18d ago

Have you spent lots of time out in the wilderness before? Those you describe aren’t pleasant, but you learn to accept and deal with. I’m sure the are all kinds of unpleasantness in a “civilized” lifestyle that you no longer even notice because you’re just so used to accommodating them: traffic noise, pollution, artificial light, etc. I once spent a week hiking and camping in a rain forest. The first day I was trying to keep dry and comfortable as much as possible, and I was miserable. The second day I realized I’m just not going to be dry, and I accepted it, and being wet didn’t bother me again the rest of the week. At the end of the day you hang you socks and clothes up near the fire and dry your boots. Being hot and sweaty and dealing with bugs are irritating, but it’s just part of being outdoors and if you spend significant time outside doing stuff you stop noticing it and just accept it as a part of life. Don’t let a little discomfort stop you from enjoying nature. You might even start to notice the discomforts of modern life that you’ve accepted as a part of life.

TacticalCoder 18d ago
> in a “civilized” lifestyle that you no longer even notice because you’re just so used to accommodating them: traffic noise, pollution, artificial light, etc. But I don't have any of those for there's a whole spectrum between "go one week hiking" and "live in a city".
- nkrisc 17d ago
  Ah, you must live in Paradise! Really though, I'm sure there are some drawbacks in your living arrangement that you have adapted to. Nothing is perfect.
deleted 18d ago
[deleted]
fittingopposite 18d ago
Love it and totally agree. The comfort we think we need is nothing else than hedonic adaptation.
- 17d ago

uncivilized 18d ago

Good thing your ancestors did not think like that!

DarmokTanagra 18d ago
I'm sure they did. Buddhist's view everyday existence within samsara (the cycle of rebirth) as inherently marked by dissatisfaction, pain, and impermanence. Those kinds of beliefs reflect the lived reality of our ancestors.

TacticalCoder 18d ago

The amazing thing technology brought me is that I can now have optic fiber in my house in the middle of nowhere. I'm literally typing this while hearing the sound of waves and if I look above my laptop's screen, I see the reflections of the (near full apparently) moon on the sea. It's a bit of a remote place (closest village is a 10 minutes drive and closest highway is a 45+ minutes drive) so I've got to fix many things around the house myself. My new toy, a 3D printer, is helping me with that: today the wife asked for me to fix the parasol (she wanted to enjoy being outside, without getting sunburned), which I did by 3D printing a few parts. I'm in the middle of nowhere but I'm hardly a luddite. This afternoon we walked to the beach and my daughter caught two crabs and played with them for half an hour before releasing them: you can have both actual nature and technology: those aren't mutually exclusive. P.S: my SO needs a lifelong treatment (nothing life-threatening as long as she gets her medication) so the "no tech" / "no modernity" stops right there for me.

fittingopposite 18d ago
That sounds nice. Which parts of the globe do you recommend for such a lifestyle? I assume your not a digital nomad but rather deeply embedded in your environment? Would love to learn more about this lifestyle. Want online resources you can recommend?