What are some things that you appreciate about the modern-day world?
My answer:
All this technology: Radios, Television, Pocket computers that you can just pull knowledge from that also perfroms the functions of various other gadgets which are also made possible by modern technology. And of course, THE INTERNET!
Standardization:
USB-C is awesome! :D
The world just uses AC power.
Metric system
Countries all around the world agreeing to a certain set of rules: Such as in Aviation, the world agreed to use Aviation English and standard phraseology, emergency frequency is 121.5, 3-Letter codes that is unique to every commercial airport in the world.
Treaties:
My favorite thing is the Kyoto Protocol [Edit: Montreal Protocol, mixed that one up]. We stopped the ozone from getting fucked. Now we need to do the same with climate change... π
Co-operation:
I was at a traffic light and it's just amazing how (almost) everyone just follows the lights, and not just try to run red lights. Yay! (okay i know its just called "obeying the law" but still, I find this interesting)
International Space Station... (at least until a certain country withdrew... π)
Once made a dessert lasagna. Cream cheese/ricotta cheesecake with vanilla and honey for the cheese layer. Forest berry preserve for the sauce, and I crumbled walnut, pecans, and raisins for the meaty bits. Fantastic concept, but I used Lasagna noodles just like in a normal lasagna and frankly they were the weak link. Just flavorless noodles running through an otherwise excellent treat.
If I ever go back to try it again, I'll press my own noodles with spices and a touch of honey. That will be the ticket.
100 years ago people barely had reliable access to salt and pepper.
That's a bit of a stretch.
IDK where you live but here in Europe there are at least 500 yo recipes with spices from all over the world.
And no, not exclusively for the rich.
Trade routes were always important.
What they had was also certainly more healthy 100 years ago than the ultra processed garbage of today.
The information superhighway as we called this thing way back when. Wikipedia, the Internet Archive, Gutenberg, free MOOCs, shadow libraries and what not are a godsend.
Fuck yeah. Even if we lost everything else back to the cotton gin, life expectancies, survival rates, and quality of life would still be dramatically better if we retained vaccines, antibiotics, and dental care (including the pain management part).
Modern medicine, as incomplete as it is, is a godsend we don't appreciate often enough. And that includes opioids, despite the current hysteria.
Free public education and healthcare are awesome, too. It really shows how much we as a society have grown and left behind the dark ages where those were for the rich only.
Don't worry. In the US the current administration/regime is trying to remove all that. the CDC is already communications dark and the US has withdrawn from WHO.
GPS and navigation in general. I cannot live without it.
Messaging apps. Those who've been in a long distance... You know, not having to use sh!t like SMS or pay stupid amounts of money for roaming is a godsend.
High refresh rate screens. Doesn't matter what it is, every screen should be at least 90Hz. Preferably 120Hz. Especially on smartphones. 60Hz is completely unacceptable if you're paying any more than 100~150$ for a phone.
Iβm in the NICU right now. Mother and child would probably be dead without modern medicine. Instead everyone knew what to do and everyone made it out safe and sound.
Honestly its just how cheap computer hardware has gotten. It might seem crazy but the fact that I can basically do everything I could ever need to do on a computer on a cheap windows laptop is nothing short of amazing.
The Internet. Every single truth,
There might be an issue there.
Right about modern medicine.
But just my luck.
I never get sick, only problem is dental.
And while all the rest of the medical world is scanners, computers, robot surgery,etc...
I still get the horror drill treatment and if necessary the pliers and some violent yanking.
Where's the laser drill or a simple shot that will make the bad tooth fall out?
On top of that, dental torture is the only thing they ask a lot of money for.
The rest is practically free.
Pictures of animals. Back when I was little, we had animal books with pictures of animals but of it wasn't in the books, you're out of luck. Now I can look at baby goats doing all sorts of silly things! Albino opossum? Dozens of them! Squirrels in hats? Everywhere!
Silicone caulk, lithium batteries, sharkbite fittings, laminate flooring, etc. I remember watching my father struggling with diy house projects and a lot of that is clearly easier now because of various advances.