What is modernity other than life as we know it?

Narrow definition: life since 1839.

My cousins definition: the newer, the righter. Capitalism? Saved BILLIONS OF PEOPLES.

My definition of choice: [link]

Modernity is what came before post-modernism

Post-Modern is another one of those terms that makes me twitch, because my hamster brain goes "How you can have something that is post what's happening now?"

I always have trouble accepting that the outside edge of a record moves faster than the inside. My brain has surprisingly primitive areas, and it isn't always content to wave its hand and say "Meh, mystic arts."

My definition of choice: [link]

I tried to read that and, to my shame, didn't understand half the terms. I hate running into subjects that make me feel stupid.

I was all in favor of post modernism, until I discovered that post-structuralism (and sometime strict structuralism) and phenomenology are often enough to make clear statements (which is exactly the difference, so I've heard, between Lacan and Derrida). And Occam's razor and all, I'd take that. The tendency to go and say "but nooooo, these days reality iz soooo complicated you can't really say that it's true in my snow flakey individual case", is often the case of the Snow Flake which didn't read enough, IME.

I tried to read that and, to my shame, didn't understand half the terms. I hate running into subjects that make me feel stupid.

If you can, try read the first few pages out of "We Have Never Been Modern". It's clear and pretty simple writing.

I can also scan them for you, if you'd like. Hell, I encourage everybody to go and read it.

The Cartoon History of the Modern World had a very useful page that gave a rundown of what constituted Modern: education for the masses, democracy, capitalism, et al. When is Post-Modernism supposed to have become a major influence, and what does it entail? Is it the breakdown of the influences that defined Modernism?

That looks interesting, Shir. I'm glad to have the recommendation of something to read on the subject.

How women from other countries refer to "that time of the month"

I think that this is interesting. My BFF works with Native Americans, and their euphemism is "on the moon", which I like.

I'm not an enormous fan of post-modernism, as in the school of philosophy, but I think there's much value in the concept that we're living in an entirely new stage of modernity that may or may not turn out to be something other. Post-modernity is different from post-modernism (although I've nothing against it being called 'late modernism' or similar). Bauman's 'Liquid Modernity' does some fantastic analysis of our current age of rapid change.

I'm bored with living in the modern era. Can we skip ahead to the singularity already?

(ION, I seem to be letting my preschooler play with my iPhone. He's totally into the bubble wrap game.)