I don't disagree with that, but I want to point out that this is one facet of hedonic adaptation. People will always complain about of what they don't have. For instance, most inmates in inhumane prisons would love to have the life you describe if they could enjoy some degree of freedom as a result.

This is where it gets psychologically complex. I’ve often thought that while happiness often comes from having a clear, defined place in a system, freedom is the terrifying opposite—it’s the absence of those boundaries.

My feelings toward 404 are deeply conflicted. It was a cage, yet for a long time, I desperately wanted to go back. As I explore in Part 2, the most tragic part wasn't the strength of the cage, but its fragility. It vanished almost overnight, and when the 'cage' that gave us our identity and social standing disappeared, many of us lost our sense of meaning entirely.

We were free, but we were also 'lost' in a world that no longer had a place for us.

> most inmates in inhumane prisons would love to have the life you describe if they could enjoy some degree of freedom as a result.

On the other hand, people (generally) get sent to prison for committing a crime, not for being incredibly smart or talented.

“inhumane prisons” is as redundant as “ink pen”