The aliases don't force you to follow each one through; eyes can do no jumping if you like in either case.
But if you can't infer from the column name which table they will come from, I find having the option to check far more preferable to that of having no way of knowing.
> As an SF writer, it's pretty interesting, though, to think of the weird shapes a society would take when your astronauts are outliving entire civilizations.
Spin, a novel by Robert Charles Wilson, touches on this from a planetary perspective. Quite the interesting read, though I won't say more here for fear of spoilers.
I'm not sure "relatively new" is accurate, though of course it depends on the timescale. They seemed as widespread as other common sugary cereals (Coco Pops, Frosties, Ricicles et al) during the 90s. However, if we're looking back further, it could well be the case that they were comparatively late arrivals.
May I suggest that you try TheStoryGraph? I've found it fills that need for me nicely and, as a bonus, offers an import service for Goodreads data - no need to start over.
The recommendation engine hasn't steered me wrong yet, and the roadmap/developer interaction and feedback are very good indeed.
Different perspectives, perhaps. I'm sure it is a basic life skill if cars are necessary. For me and people around me, they aren't, and so it isn't. Any places without taxis have their replacements, or - much more likely - aren't suited for car travel at all. Swimming and cooking are skills of far greater necessity. It's strange to me to see driving compared to them.
Woodworking and the wiring of houses are also basic life skills, I imagine. I'll try to learn them when I get there. But so far, I've never wanted for the need to drive a car.
I'm one of the no-license London populace, and travel more frequently than most. I don't find that it has limited me at all. On the occasions when I absolutely need a car instead of the existing options, taxis are available.
But if you can't infer from the column name which table they will come from, I find having the option to check far more preferable to that of having no way of knowing.