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I think what you’re describing could be because the pace of life was slower, there was less competition for everything, the consequences of making mistakes less severe, the general economic situation easier, and it was worth a lot more to learn and know something. There was also more quality work to be found in software, relatively speaking.

I ponder about this as well but I wonder if it's not simply that these things felt more magical just because well... I was a kid back then, I can't expect to get the same level of wonder from a videogame nowadays.

actually no, what you are describing is abundance... you get easily bored when you have too many options