By Daniel Rigney
The luddite, as you may know, is one who resists or opposes new technologies. The original Luddites were named for the legendary and possibly fabricated Ned Ludd, an early 19th century English weaver reputed to have smashed knitting machines in defiance of the coming of industrial automation.
If he were alive today, I suppose Ned would now have to smash downloadable knitting software, if that’s possible.
In our post-industrial age, “luddite” has come to be a term of opprobrium. Today we’re supposed to drop the older thing for the newer thing. If we prefer the older to the newer, or the newer to the newest, we risk being derided as knuckle-dragging cave dwellers, especially by the young and the technically upright.
You may be a little luddish yourself if you happen to prefer, let’s say, old-fashioned Windows 12 to Windows 13, or Apple to Appler, or if you've ever injured a new technology in a fit of displeasure. If you have, you may be advised that you need to “own your luddism” and get help, or tech support.
I say mute that advice. Like what you like. Battery life is too short.
Today there are few full-on luddites left. A notable exception is Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, whose manifesto demanded a return to a pre-industrial way of life. His disciples are known by their bumper stickers, which read “I’d rather be fishing.”
More common today than the full-on luddite is the Selective Luddite, or SL. [Disclosure: I am one.]
The Selective Luddite refuses to be swept along by every new technological breeze or hurricane, and will adopt only those new devices and media services that meet genuinely felt needs, irrespective of what others, the “pull-aheads” or “people with a future,” might be doing.
Thus, the Selective Luddite might happily use e-mail but eschew texting because of, u no.
The SL may own a cellphone, yet refuse to carry it around for fear that someone might call with an onerous request.
The SL might love searching the Internet machine for particles of arcane information, but show little interest in video games or salacious YouTube clips of gerbils in heat.
The SL might enjoy Twitter, and use it mainly as a free magazine rack, but remain AWOL on Facebook no matter how often they e-mail those annoying commands to return to the ranks.
The SL might blog but refuse to Skype, or vice versa, all the while remaining strategically oblivious to Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, 4score, or TwaddleDink. (Please don’t tell me you don’t have an account on TwaddleDink.)
In short, the Selective Luddite will be the master of his or her technological domain, and not its servant. The tech-selective lifestyle will free up time for other, less hip (or even hipless) pursuits, such as watching the tele-vision, reading a paperbook, or indulging in some other antisocial medium such as sleep.
As the pace of technochange accelerates and the range of e-options grows beyond human control, it will soon be mathematically impossible (outside of NSA’s Utah office) for anyone to be fully engaged with every new information technology. We can't run on an accelerating treadmill forever. At some point, out of sheer necessity, we'll all be SLs in our selection or rejection of new hardware, software, and neuralwear.
Until then, don’t let anyone tell you that resistance is feudal.
Danagram
For more in this vein, see “Reducing Our Digital Footprints.”
The luddite, as you may know, is one who resists or opposes new technologies. The original Luddites were named for the legendary and possibly fabricated Ned Ludd, an early 19th century English weaver reputed to have smashed knitting machines in defiance of the coming of industrial automation.
If he were alive today, I suppose Ned would now have to smash downloadable knitting software, if that’s possible.
In our post-industrial age, “luddite” has come to be a term of opprobrium. Today we’re supposed to drop the older thing for the newer thing. If we prefer the older to the newer, or the newer to the newest, we risk being derided as knuckle-dragging cave dwellers, especially by the young and the technically upright.
You may be a little luddish yourself if you happen to prefer, let’s say, old-fashioned Windows 12 to Windows 13, or Apple to Appler, or if you've ever injured a new technology in a fit of displeasure. If you have, you may be advised that you need to “own your luddism” and get help, or tech support.
I say mute that advice. Like what you like. Battery life is too short.
Today there are few full-on luddites left. A notable exception is Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, whose manifesto demanded a return to a pre-industrial way of life. His disciples are known by their bumper stickers, which read “I’d rather be fishing.”
More common today than the full-on luddite is the Selective Luddite, or SL. [Disclosure: I am one.]
The Selective Luddite refuses to be swept along by every new technological breeze or hurricane, and will adopt only those new devices and media services that meet genuinely felt needs, irrespective of what others, the “pull-aheads” or “people with a future,” might be doing.
Thus, the Selective Luddite might happily use e-mail but eschew texting because of, u no.
The SL may own a cellphone, yet refuse to carry it around for fear that someone might call with an onerous request.
The SL might love searching the Internet machine for particles of arcane information, but show little interest in video games or salacious YouTube clips of gerbils in heat.
The SL might enjoy Twitter, and use it mainly as a free magazine rack, but remain AWOL on Facebook no matter how often they e-mail those annoying commands to return to the ranks.
The SL might blog but refuse to Skype, or vice versa, all the while remaining strategically oblivious to Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, 4score, or TwaddleDink. (Please don’t tell me you don’t have an account on TwaddleDink.)
In short, the Selective Luddite will be the master of his or her technological domain, and not its servant. The tech-selective lifestyle will free up time for other, less hip (or even hipless) pursuits, such as watching the tele-vision, reading a paperbook, or indulging in some other antisocial medium such as sleep.
As the pace of technochange accelerates and the range of e-options grows beyond human control, it will soon be mathematically impossible (outside of NSA’s Utah office) for anyone to be fully engaged with every new information technology. We can't run on an accelerating treadmill forever. At some point, out of sheer necessity, we'll all be SLs in our selection or rejection of new hardware, software, and neuralwear.
Until then, don’t let anyone tell you that resistance is feudal.
Danagram
For more in this vein, see “Reducing Our Digital Footprints.”
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