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Where I'm at, well meaning authority figures, who tend to be greater than 10 years older than me, like to talk about the benefits of withdrawing from technology
by Verdex_3 8y ago
Where I'm at, well meaning authority figures, who tend to be greater than 10 years older than me, like to talk about the benefits of withdrawing from technology for a period of time. A technology "cleanse" if you will.
I'm not just interested in electronics and programming languages. I'm also interested in mathematics and the history of science and technology. Science and technology not just in this century but in the previous ones. The evolution of writing systems is fascinating. Check out the Hebrew or Phoenician alphabets. You can almost see them being scratched into clay by some sort of knife. Or look at the cursive writing of the founding fathers of the United States and then look at the writing instruments of the day.
They ask me to stop using technology. Just take a break. And I immediately wonder if they want me to stop reading. Stop writing.
Mathematics also has a fascinating development. And it also has quite the impact in how I think and analyze problems. Am I supposed to stop thinking all together when I go on my technology cleanse? Isn't the objection to technology that it stops you from thinking.
Similarly, people fear automation because it's a new form of technology, but they also ignore all of the exotic technology that they regard as baseline. The absolute primitive limit was once cutting edge. And no doubt was feared in its own day.
Yes, new technologies can be used to cause you personal pain. But that's also the case for old technologies. You shouldn't seek to stop progress, but rather stop those who are making progress from externalizing their failures such that they are paid for by those who will not share in the successes.
- mnctvanj 8y agoTech can be a fine thing, yet there is also something to say about spending more time walking on trails in the woods (for example). Maybe the well-meaning elders are talking more about restoring a balance of activity and time-spent. As I age I see the importance of that more and more.
- crooked-v 8y agoOn that walk you're still recklessly indulging in the technology of shoes and clothing.
- michrassena 8y agoI've noticed this as well. People often refer to smart phones, or electronic technology in general with the blanket term "technology." They don't seem to have an equivalent term for the rest of the technology that permeates modern life like the water in the metaphorical goldfish bowl. In other words, technology which has been taken for granted and seen as essential. It's not so different from when I see a post on Reddit or even HN stating that its author is currently taking a break from social media, mostly in reference to Facebook or Twitter, but which is what these forums are as well. On the whole, it's not too different from various back-to-nature philosophies that have been in vogue at one time or another. There must be an exception, but I don't recall anyone roughing it to the point of giving up clothes and campfires while still having money in the bank. What is the source of the notion that there is something corrupting or corrosive about new technology which is not perceived in established technologies? Is it merely the speed of societal change is being outpaced, and people want a way to take a breather and catch up?
- gowld 8y agoYou are misunderstanding ambiguous words. "Take a break from technology" means to take a break from interacting with technology, especially video screens and information technology, not take a break from using technology as tools. Also "news fasts" are commonly recommended. Information diet is analogous to food diet. Taking an occasional fast and making more conscious choices about consumption is healthy.