[relaxing]

It sounds like you’re really invested in the idea that life was tough in the old days. I’m certainly not going to disabuse you of that notion.

[eesmith]

I said life during 1800s high tech was more demanding on people than now, but I also said that life in the Middle Ages was less demanding on us than now.

Which makes it decidedly difficult to see a simple correlation between technology and ease of life, no matter how many "orders of magnitude" technology has changed.