the theme park metaphor works until you realize waking up is just another ride. every generation thinks they're the ones who finally see through the machine – and then the machine learns to sell "authenticity" back to them. the interesting question isn't whether we're waking up in 2026, it's whether the park has already anticipated that we would and built a "waking up" experience into the loop.
This is a great point Julián, and one I consider in the full essay. Are we really waking up from the trance state that is hyperconsumerism? Or are we just sleepwalking into the next layer?
having journaled on this five minutes ago, it feels very very true!
Thanks for reading!
the theme park metaphor works until you realize waking up is just another ride. every generation thinks they're the ones who finally see through the machine – and then the machine learns to sell "authenticity" back to them. the interesting question isn't whether we're waking up in 2026, it's whether the park has already anticipated that we would and built a "waking up" experience into the loop.
This is a great point Julián, and one I consider in the full essay. Are we really waking up from the trance state that is hyperconsumerism? Or are we just sleepwalking into the next layer?