I think we're in a deep sigh right now. We've had several decades of frenetic "progress" and technological advance. The world is economically slumping at the moment, and we're all just catching our breath. Last year I had a million awesome ideas. Right now I'm desperately trying to find a job better than minimum wage coffee haggling, but my brain is mush and I've bought into the idea that life is short and difficult.

The other thing that's happened is that we've left our bodies behind in many ways. Our children are riding the ether in school and at home, and even if they get outside and ride a bike or play basketball on the school team, they spend the rest of their hours doing what I'm doing right this second - conversing with the electric body of someone I may never meet, but nonetheless someone who is real and feels real to me. Our idea field hasn't quite caught up to the electric body but it will, and then all of us regular folk (as opposed to all those visionaries flying off into blackholes and stuff) will figure it all out.