I guess this is a milestone day, as my car clicked over to 100,000 kilometers travelled.
62,137 miles
It doesn't quite have the same feel to it in miles, does it? The Metric system is so, so much better than the Imperial system. Everything is a base ten, and all measurements, distances and weights are related, it is incredibly easy to learn for children. And it gives lots of satisfaction opportunities for round number bias.
I go through phases where I think that I should get a new car, but then I slap myself and acknowledge that for now at least, I don't need one. Cars used to last a lot longer than they do today, but it isn't just the quality that has dropped, it is also the technology that has advanced. It isn't just about combustion, electric and hybrid, but also all of the other gadgets and connectivity that goes with it. Each new model has incremental gains and benefits, making a car much more like a smartphone than a way to get from A to B.
A to B is all I need.
As well as some safety and some comfort when it is 30 below freezing.
-22 in Fahrenheit.
Though, at some point, I do want to get a full-electric vehicle, rather than the hybrid between. Because, I don't think a hybrid would change my behaviors much, but an electric will mean I would have to make some shifts, including getting a charging point installed. A friend of mine went full electric recently (from hybrid) and also put solar panels on his roof. This isn't overly useful in the depths of winter, but most of the year, his driving energy will be free.
I just checked and for the last twelve months, my fuel costs have been close to 2000€, which is significant, considering I don't actually drive that much a lot of the time. But, 2000€ is far less than the cost of putting on panels, and it probably wouldn't cover putting in a decent charging point for a car. But, I guess that in the future, that is the way it is all going anyway, so at some point there will be some bullet-biting.
Not yet.
Car aside, the main reason for this post is just the nice round number, which I have been looking forward to seeing for a few weeks already and I was worried that I would miss it - which I nearly did. It is funny because I was out and when I got into the car to come home, I saw that it was only a couple kilometers away, but a few minutes later, it had slipped my mind once again and I just saw it by chance as I was driving. With no one around me, I slowed a bit and grabbed a quick snap for proof.
Satisfying round numbers.
While it seems like we are somehow hardwired to look for uniformity, I wonder if it was the case for our ancient ancestors. Were there obsessive compulsive and depressive cavemen? Were there neurotics? It is hard to imagine them being as messed up mentally and emotionally as we are now, but I don't think we have significantly changed physically in tens of thousands of years. Changes yes, but at the mental level, where do all these syndromes and disorders come from?
Modernity?
Maybe they always existed and we are just labelling them now.
But, the label isn't the thing, so regardless of whether we have a name for something, it doesn't make it a reality. I think a lot of people forget this when they label themselves in order to differentiate themselves. Saying I am something, doesn't mean I am actually that thing at all. And if my behaviors don't align with the label, all I am doing is telling myself a lie, and living under the cover of a fantasy.
That might be for another article though.
Taraz
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