Why do people think the past = trash?

Hey everyone.

This has been on my mind lately. It seems that American society and culture tells us that if something isn't brand new, it isn't good, and that new things are automatically better than old things.

Why is this? Why do people not treasure the past, learn from it, cherish it? Instead, people treat old things like yesterday's trash to be discarded.

It's not only video games, but also art, music, fashion, sports, etc. It permeates all of modern culture. It seems that the mainstream masses just want whatever is hot at the moment and then they discard it quickly, only to be on to the next thing.

We live in sort of this sick society that just discards things very quickly, when they are deemed "not worthy" or "not cool" anymore. It's disturbing to me.

I'm not sure what the point of writing this. I guess I hope that someone reads this and takes it to heart and starts to cherish the old things while they last. Someday they may not be there and it's important to appreciate things while we have the chance.

Even on this website, people think I'm crazy that I still play all old games. I honestly enjoy old things and think there's a lot we can learn from them. I also think they are still just as good today as they ever were.

Am I just crazy, or do I have a point or a decent idea somewhere in there?

The reason why people are like this simple: They're idiots.

Or more seriously: A century of brainwashing by marketing (in the widest sense). At some point you start to believe what you are told over and over again. For some people this point comes earlier, for others later, but it will come.

Gorath, It's really sad to see people like this. I look at so many things that have just been tossed aside by the masses. So much knowledge is being lost to history.

I just had a brief discussion with a 67 year old audio engineer on another forum. I stated this same issue and he said that people just aren't interested in these older things.

He offered to teach his services to several local colleges for FREE and they still turned him down. He was a professional engineer and surely learned a lot of tricks that are probably all but forgotten and lost today.

I think back to older days and I wonder just how much knowledge has been lost because it has been discarded like trash. It really is a sad situation.

I do my part by trying to resurrect the past. I collect vinyl LPs from the 50s thru 90s, I buy old games and collect old boxed copies of games as well as GOG versions. I try to immerse myself in things that aren't the "latest/greatest" and find joy in many things that others just seem to discard.

I guess it's very true - one man's trash is another man's treasure. It just seems like the ones who consider it treasure are in a very small minority anymore...

(Sorry for the rambling. )

I'm amazed when I hear people calling movies from the 90s as ancient. Jesus.

They forget the one best thing about things that are considered old. That they stood the test of time. I like the saying that time washes away all the filth and nonsense, and the quality stuff remains.

And about always wanting the newest and greatest, it's mostly about, as Gorath said, marketing bullshit and brainwashing. They create demand where there is none, they create social status out of owning new stuff to make sure people actually force this upon themselves, and then they supply that artificial need. And it's shocking how easy they pull it off.

Personally, I'm also a bit guilty of this, with regards to things I really like. When there's some movie/game/book/device/whatever that I'm slightly interested, I keep researching it, and through this process I tend to hype myself up. I'm trying to control it, but it's hard. It's nice to feel excited for things.

But, at least I don't disregard old things. I almost always treat them with greater respect.

Fluent said:

I do my part by trying to resurrect the past. I collect vinyl LPs from the 50s thru 90s

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Oh dear. I so hated vinyl records back then even though the only alternative were tapes (yes, I like those way better). And, well, I still hate vinyl records. A lot. My, I still remember the day I received my first CD. Finally! The end of vinyl was near! As soon as I had the money, I bought CDs of most of my records (and later digitized those who weren't lucky enough to get the CD treatment).

Generally, I don't actively try and keep the old ways alive, but I don't do the opposite, either. There are things from the past I like better than modern stuff and there are modern things I like better than old stuff. *shrugs*

Well here is a video from the late Gorge Carlin's words on Advertising.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtK_YsVInw8&list=RDAtK_YsVInw8#t=9

He is the only comedian I miss the most over the last few years.

Now to be serious I once went to a local Circuit City before the company went out of business to pick up two older movies for Easter.

I was looking for Ben-Hur and the 10 Commandments. So to my great disappointment the store didn't have a single copy on its shelves.

Now despite being in the paper the young salesman I asked for help had no idea what to do, and he just gave me a blank stare. He had no idea what the movies were about.

I adore vinyl LPs. It's the whole ritual that I enjoy. Thoroughly cleaning the LP so it's nice and fresh, lighting some incense, putting the LP on your turntable, sitting back in your chair and listening to the beautiful sounds. It's like a spiritual thing for me.

Interestingly enough, vinyl has made a strong comeback. That's cool, and I hope it continues that way.

But even in that realm, you have people who have completely abandoned vinyl and listen only to mp3 rips of the albums. I guess that's not a bad thing, just different. I would hope that people could do both and learn something about the experiences they have with the new AND the old.

I guess I'm just a bit sensitive to how others perceive older things. Older games are considered worse than new ones. Everyone is always saying the latest game is "so much better than" 'x' game. It's like a neverending thing.

I don't know, really. I just enjoy relics of the past. It seems not many people are like this, but there are some. It makes me happy to see people giving old games, music, books, etc., a chance and enjoying them.

I like old stuff..older wines are better always and whiskies too! And there is something special about the feel and smell of an old book! In general I'm still so old fashioned that i prefer my books to be just iike they've always been: on paper. I'm not used to ebooks at all. E-readers and alike are just uncomfortable in bed!

However I welcomed cds, mp3s and other forms of digital music with open arms for similar reasons as Jaz. Its much easier to change playlist on a pc or in a mp3 player than it is physically to change the cd or not to mention a vinyl.

That being said I value my mother's jazz vinyl collection everytime when i visit home. First of all the sound quality is just suberb and then there is that special feeling when you draw the vinyl from it's case and place it on the player… You even have time to draw breath, sit on a comfortable chair, take a sip of fine whisky and close your eyes before soothing jazz fills the room…

And what about films? I have no love for vhs. those videos broke often while in a player and the image quality was quite below cinema level. So in my opinion DVD was a godsent. Blue ray is nice too, but the difference ain't that huge and i don' t feel like rebuying many classics just because of a small difference in quality.

However I enjoy collecting dvds and blue rays and just simply downloading a film online does not feel the same to me… I want to see and feel my film collection , so i'm not still on board with downloading or renting films online.

As for videogames.. ]I don't care about the physical products anymore, because games require me to stay online and force me to download all kinds of patches, so physical element does not bring any extra value to me. I've given up basicly And the older physical versions of games don't even run on newer pcs, so gog like service is a god sent.

It's so nice to see that people still care about old things, like me!! I still have books I bought 50 years ago, also vinyl, tapes, VHS, etc. Sadly I had to throw out a lot of old games which were on 'floppies' since I no-longer have a floppy drive of either size. Older items were often better made and certainly lasted a LOT longer than much of the mass produced crud we get today.

I care for old things and languages. I buy a lot of very old (sometimes expensive) historic books, because I'm a member the local history club (German: Heimatverein & Plattdeutscher Kreis) of my hometown. I study these topics as a hobby.
My hometown was founded 775 A.D. by Charles the Great.

Hidden, that's awesome. You definitely seem similar to myself. I noticed that when I always see you praising those old, dusty RPG gems

I guess some new things are great, I can't deny that. But I think there is something special about using old things. They have a sort of history that you can't replace with something brand new.

I also think old knowledge is very valuable. Learning how older RPGs work, older books, older music, etc. It's like a tour through history. There is a lot to learn there.

Glad to see some people still appreciate old things here. You people rock

I am very mixed in what I care about - I am not one who worships old things because they are old, nor do I think new is always better.

Technology can become outmoded and replaced, which is very often good - like tape. All tape storage is complete shit, and SHOULD be replaced. VHS, cassette, 8-track, whatever ... incredibly flawed technically. Listening to music made when tape storage was the only choice reveals those limitations.

For music LPs are interesting, because they offer a positive in that they can provide a full analog representation, but a negative in that the means of playback is destructive to a small extent.

But ultimately the thing I appreciate in this regard is content. Music I love and have in my collection ranges from a century ago up through stuff released two weeks ago. I love the music from the early era when people had no idea about the context of a recording, and also from the early LP era when they had no idea what THAT meant ... and how within a decade they were releasing fully realized works for an album (1959 was a great year for that), and how pop music caught up to that concept a decade later. Not everything needs to be consumed as an album, but some things I prefer that way ...

Books I get what a lot of people say about it just being a different experience, but I have been reading on some type of digital device for more than 20 years at this point so it is second nature to me.

So I really don't know ...

But it is funny with my kids - I have build an appreciation of content (they regularly consume old and new media) but they love the physical media of books, albums and CDs, whereas most of their peers (they're 18 and almost 17) are pure digital.

Dez said:

However I welcomed cds, mp3s and other forms of digital music with open arms for similar reasons as Jaz. Its much easier to change playlist on a pc or in a mp3 player than it is physically to change the cd or not to mention a vinyl.

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My main reason for hating vinyl records was that they easily scratched, and some even jumped! I still think with horror of the days when I had bought a new LP, been extra careful to get it home in one piece on the bus, took it out of its cover and paper slip, checked for scratches, dusted it, put it on the turntable ... and the first track jumped! Ack. I hated that so much that I actually became afraid of buying vinyl records. First thing I did back then was tape them and never touch the vinyl again (unless the tape got trashed, then I re-recorded the LP).
In all those years I had exactly one CD that jumped. But it's pretty much the same here - when I buy a physical CD instead of a digital download, the first thing I do is digi-rip it. Then I put the CD in a trunk and forget all about it.
My attic is filled with trunks, by the way, as I own several thousand CDs.

As for games, well, I love my games vintage ... mainly because my most active gaming years were the early 90s to early 00s. After that, games became too glossed over IMO (and my reflexes dwindled ).

Well, there is a fine balance, some people care too much for old stuff so they prevent development, while other people are too eager to replace old stuff so they might create something which is worse instead.

One thing is for sure a lot of old stuff has much better quality than new stuff made today. Price is of course one parameter another is that a lot of big companies want you to buy new stuff... and if things have too good quality that won't happen. This is bad for the environment as well as for the further development as quality go worse instead of better in a lot of areas, I just hope people stop accepting this and don't buy the new crap.

The worst one for me is fashion. I can't help but snicker when someone makes fun of something people used to wear, not realizing their kids will make fun of what they are wearing right now.

The past = trash
I think that. But why I think that? From technical aspect?

VHS won the war against utterly superior beta = trash.
Music industry destroyed minidisc = trash.
Consumers got scammed into thinking CDs can last for decades = trash.
Motorola's CPU lost the war against Intel's inferior architecture = trash.


But did present stop to be trash? It did not!

Games industry scams people into buying consoles = trash.
Games industry scams people into free2play = trash.
Games industry scams people into thinking cow clickers and gambling slot machines are games = trash.
Games industry lies that games are not pirated on consoles = trash.
Games industry lies that piracy are torrents and ignores clouds = trash.
etc.


Sorry people, but it's all trash. Past and present.
I just hope the future won't be trash.

Jaz said:

My main reason for hating vinyl records was that they easily scratched, and some even jumped! I still think with horror of the days when I had bought a new LP, been extra careful to get it home in one piece on the bus, took it out of its cover and paper slip, checked for scratches, dusted it, put it on the turntable … and the first track jumped! Ack. I hated that so much that I actually became afraid of buying vinyl records. First thing I did back then was tape them and never touch the vinyl again (unless the tape got trashed, then I re-recorded the LP).
In all those years I had exactly one CD that jumped. But it's pretty much the same here - when I buy a physical CD instead of a digital download, the first thing I do is digi-rip it. Then I put the CD in a trunk and forget all about it.
My attic is filled with trunks, by the way, as I own several thousand CDs.

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That's strange. I own over 800 records currently and haven't had one single skip since I upgraded to a restored Technics turntable! I think that makes all the difference. Even new turntables pale in comparison to vintage units that were taken good care of.

New is certainly not always better.

Just to start off with a philosophical POV.
There is a deliberate dumbing down of society, not only American. This is a global psychological disease. There is a great disregard off elderly people and statesman.
Statesman not as politicians, but as a grandfatherly figures.
The younger generations sure miss a grandfatherly and grandmotherly figures in their lives. They miss out on their love and care. But I mean true love and care. Which is almost non existent in all families now days.
So, not meaning let the kids do whatever they want and have whatever they want.
Teaching and caring for kids is almost none. Family unity is broken(a long time ago)
We now live in a most sophisticated slave society most people don't even notice it (if you can't see that I am sorry), but that is a fact. Everything is over stimulated from the get go. We became the most violent and most consumerist society known to us. Just to add there where a lot of other civilizations before us, but that is perhaps another story. But that is the point. We don't know where we came from and what we really are.
To get back in track…one of the reasons and I believe one of main reasons why the younger generations disregards the older and treat them like they are nothing is because the young themselves are nothing. It is a mirror image that they project on others, what they are inside. Nothing. They don't know better. Nobody really told them.
So they turn away from the past and the old because there is a promise, a false and very fraudulent promise, that the life is only in the future. Even the "scientist" and other clergy says that you will have a better life tomorrow. Why tomorrow when you can have a life today? But some don't even have a today. Empty dolls walking the Earth. Not knowing anything about themselves or their parents and history.

Interesting- brake down history and you get something like HIS STORY. I want to have my story so that becomes MYSTERY, or my STAR - my /ster/aster/stern in German. So my story is our story, which is a mystery.
Hope I did not confuse a lot whit this.

So, from now on forward it is easy to know why is the past=trash.
We are not even allowed to know the past. We are told a version of it.
We have to take this in consideration and act on it and wake the F up.

So, yeah new is not always good, mainly new=trash.
Well as for games…don't know. There are very good old games.
For example my first cousin who is 26 YO still plays HOMM 3.
In 2009 I played for the first time Divine Divinity my gamer friends all laughed about it. Saying "look at those awful graphics." Anyway, I enjoyed that game like no other. And returned to some oldies to experience those games from the past.
And just another example. Recently I gave my friend some 70's movies (some Mel Brooks films) he almost thew me out of his house. Saying NO WAY he will watch a 70's movie. But they are good comedies I said. But still NO.

The past is important and without there is no future, no us.
At the same time we must not let the past control our today.

Sorry for the long post.

Couchpotato said:

He is the only comedian I miss the most over the last few years.

.

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But, but…Bill Hicks…he was great also. IMO
But yeah Carlin a heavy weight mastermind!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEkR4-XUdn8

Black Rune said:

But, but…Bill Hicks…he was great also. IMO
But yeah Carlin a heavy weight mastermind!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEkR4-XUdn8

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Dito. Carlin is amazing. I have his HBO shows on my ipod and just listen to them now and then, and find myself laughing in public, trying not to look like a mental patient laughing by myself.