No Exit: Technology and Happiness.

there's an old joke that goes something like this:

A successful exec goes on vacation in the carribean. He charters a boat to go fishing and notices that the boat captain is an amazing fisherman. The guy knows each fish by name, everything there is to know about running a boat and all the good places to go fishing.

So the exec asks the captain "what do you do all day?"

The captain replies "well, I go fishing for about an hour or two, then I come back, sell my fish. The rest of the day, I play with my kids, see my wife, hang out with my friends at the bar and drink a few beers."

The exec goes "no no, you could be doing so much more! If you could fish all day for the next year you could easily put away money for another boat. Keep working hard for the next ten years and you could be the owner of your very own fishing fleet! With your skills, you'll be rich and successful!"

The captain replies "and then what would I do?"

And the exec goes "well, then you could retire, play with your kids, see your wife, hang out with your friends at the bar and drink a few beers."

GJ
http://www.60in3.com

It might not bring lasting happiness, but it does bring cures for many diseases, astronomy, telephones, beer, computers, modern textiles, water treatment, cinema, air travel, liberation from superstition, year-round strawberries, refrigerators, television, recorded music, glass, barbecues...

And lots of these things cause many people to be happy. Nothing brings lasting happiness, because happiness is transitory.

Ok, yes, it doesn't bring lasting happiness. What does? Don't say "love", or "family", or "truth"- these are just pseudo-philosophical opinions that are fueled by our disneyesque culture! Technology may not bring "lasting happiness", but it is constantly stiving towards methods of bringing people out of unhappiness, and that in itself could be a good enough reason to stop biting the hand that feeds you.