Amish Technology

[ysabetwordsmith]

Here's a cool article about the Amish adoption of technology. They all follow one basic rule: if a new thing is more trouble than it's worth, they won't use it.  Different Amish communities draw that line in different places.  

I actually use that rule myself, again with a different threshold.  I've had people call me Amish, meaning it as an insult, for not using things they think I should be using that I don't use because they're worthless or troublesome for me.  I say, "No, but that is where I got the idea."  It's a great rule.  It saves so many headaches.  I'm neophilic in many ways.  But I've seen society make a lot of stupid mistakes, and its safety precautions are abysmal.  This contributes to my caution about adopting new things myself.  I look for the drawbacks.

Most people don't.  Their default is to accept new technology.  They often don't consider the costs.

Comments

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I honestly feel like spending so much time with extremely new technology and software makes me more aware than the average person of how much stuff really is more trouble than it's worth. <<

It almost certainly does. Bleeding-edge technology can be awesome, but it also tends to be clunky, fragile, expensive, and sometimes dangerous.

I like playing with new things. But I am usually disappointed with their applicability to my life. I'll poke at them if they're available. The chance of them surviving my proximity and passing my standards is, alas, very small.

It's kind of like watching a lion play with a mouse.