Brutkey

myrmepropagandist
@futurebird@sauropods.win

"The Fall of Modern Literature"

I encountered this phrase in the context of someone complaining about fan fiction. But, you can find this sort of notion about many of the arts: it could be "the decline of hip hop" or maybe "the decline of TV series" or just "the terrible state of the modern teen"

Or if you find those absurd what about "the decline in manufacturing quality" ?

Ah. Maybe that one has a point?

These pro-nostalgia arguments may vary in validity but they face common hurdles.

myrmepropagandist
@futurebird@sauropods.win

1. When comparing works of the past with what is made today nearly always there has been an increase in both volume and diversity. Today we have MORE music, more books, more art, most of it isn't very good.

2. We tend to compare what survived from the past, the most enduring and best work with the average work of today. (Architecture and furniture do this often.)

3. Related to #2 what is popular now, may not be what ends up defining the era when we look back.

4. Leave them kids alone.

myrmepropagandist
@futurebird@sauropods.win

There is some interaction between these common place and comforting falsies:

* More history keeps happening the closer you get to the present.

* The Decline of ...."

These are based in similar statistical issues. It's all sampling errors.