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Comment by sixstringbudha | Hacker News Reader

> I offered 10 people the opportunity to live like people lived in the 1970's

Do I also get a dozen brothers and sisters? Eat food, drink water and breath air without having to constantly worry about being them polluted or toxic?

> would only have a black-and-white TV with 4 stations and a gramophone record player..

Sure. I would rather have a gramaphone record player or cassete player (which is more like 70s i think) that played ABBA or BoneyM than a 4k lcd tv that plays Lady gaga or Justine beiber or what ever crap that is "trending" today.

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> Eat food, drink water and breath air without having to constantly worry about being them polluted or toxic?

Sorry but you have a very rosy view of the 1970s. Would you drink this water [0]? Or fill your car with leaded Gas [1]? Use asbestos in your building [2]? DDT on your fresh food? [3] Air quality around the world is vastly superior to the 70s (people are still suffering because of it [4]).

> than a 4k lcd tv that plays Lady gaga or Justine beiber or what ever crap that is "trending" today.

It's your choice. Your 4k TV today can still play Abba or boney M, and many other bands you couldn't afford. A record cost $3 in 1970, which adjusted for inflation is about $19. For the same (adjusted) cost as an album a month in 1970 you can have access to basically every artist from the 70s (Spotify) along with most TV shows (nrtflix/) and still have enough change for a beer to go with it. Nobody is forcing you to leave your TV tuned into listen to Bieber. There was also a deluge of crap in the 1970s that you just weren't exposed to. There is also plenty of great music being produced now that can easily be found.

[0] https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3769068219/... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraethyllead [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestosis [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT [4] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2076728-people-today-ar...

> Sorry but you have a very rosy view of the 1970s.

Who said pollution did not exist back in 1970. Just that it was more feasible to get stuff that you know that is not polluted. From local produce or farmed yourself.

> Air quality around the world is vastly superior to the 70s (people are still suffering because of it?

Oh yea? Can you provide some citations. By what factor have the number of automobiles multiplied?

> Your 4k TV today can still play Abba or boney M.

You are missing the point. The point is that the technology to consume art is irrelavant if the art produced is low quality in itself. I mean, where is M-tv today?

>There is also plenty of great music being produced now that can easily be found.

Oh yea? Again, where is M-Tv then? It's been ages since a new song have really captured my attention.

> From local produce or farmed yourself.

There are plenty of ways to get locally farmed meat and vegetables. The fact that battery farmed chickens and industrially grown tomatoes are now easily accessible all year around in your local Walmart/Asda doesn't change the fact that I can go to my greengrocer and get fresh fruit and veg from 30 miles away.

> Can you provide some citations.

Yes, I did for everything I said in the previous post at the bottom. I even numbered them.

>art is irrelavant if the art produced is low quality...

> where is M-tv today

You don't have to judge by the lowest common denominator.

Just because the most popular music right now doesn't capture your imagination doesn't mean that 1) all popular music is bad, or 2) the older forms which you enjoy have been taken from you.

> I can go to my greengrocer and get fresh fruit and veg from 30 miles away.

And you think that is free of toxins?

>Yes, I did for everything I said in the previous post at the bottom. I even numbered them.

No. You said air pollution around the world is vastly superior now. The link you provided said "People are dying from pollution sustain during the 70s". If you don't see the difference, then I wish you a good day and let us drop this conversation.

The 70s had a fair amount of pollution and crime above what we experience now. I'm guessing the OP didn't graduate with decades of student loans though. Or a five year loan for that car of theirs.

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