It kind of reads like the author hasn’t actually tried living on microwave-only cooking, just visited it as a charming art installation.
I’m skeptical a 1900–present alternate timeline converges on “mostly microwave” for very mundane reasons. Microwave cooking punishes vibes-based seasoning; in normal cooking you can course-correct using browning, smell, sizzling sounds, or by poking the food. In a microwave, the feedback loop is basically “looks damp” → “still damp” → “suddenly lava.”
You’re also required to think about rotational symmetry before dinner. The “many potato problem” is not a thing in pan-world. And rearranging food mid-cook involves oven mitts, steam burns, and a small ritual with the double-glass-bowl setup (you want a reservoir of water to not touch the food).
It kind of reads like the author hasn’t actually tried living on microwave-only cooking, just visited it as a charming art installation.
I’m skeptical a 1900–present alternate timeline converges on “mostly microwave” for very mundane reasons. Microwave cooking punishes vibes-based seasoning; in normal cooking you can course-correct using browning, smell, sizzling sounds, or by poking the food. In a microwave, the feedback loop is basically “looks damp” → “still damp” → “suddenly lava.”
You’re also required to think about rotational symmetry before dinner. The “many potato problem” is not a thing in pan-world. And rearranging food mid-cook involves oven mitts, steam burns, and a small ritual with the double-glass-bowl setup (you want a reservoir of water to not touch the food).