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Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#61

Post by jacquesm »

rdouble wrote: post #59
jacquesm wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't even think you can make it last beyond a single generation, try this when you're 60+, when you are in need of a stable environment due to medical issues and so on. It's great in theory when you're healthy, in your early 20's to early 30's, when you are independent and have no dependents, when you are living in a climate that is favorable, and when you're living in a city. If any of those circumstances are not…

Many retired people get rid of all their stuff and do the RV nomad thing. In the future when nobody has enough money to buy a house or a bunch of stuff in the first place we'll probably be seeing more nomadic seniors.

An RV is a mobile home, it has all the trappings of a home except for size, and for some of those RVs the size was bigger than my smallest apartment. It's just exchanging one set of stuff for a more mobile set of stuff, but not exactly minimalist.

Those couples that I've met that did the 'RV thing' after their pension typically saw it as a way to do all the traveling that they had missed out on while in their working years, a way to reward a lifetime of hard work.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#62

Post by paulgb »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #35
paulgb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is compared to the bookshelves, CD stacks, filing cabinets, and shoeboxes full of photographs that it replaces. And that's not to mention the number of single-purpose devices each of these replaces: the smartphone is an alarm clock, watch, point-and-shoot camera, GPS, and MP3 player. The reading devices replace a printer (if you have access to a Kinkos when you really need a hard copy). The laptop replaces a TV, D…

Physically yes but not in any other sense. From the sounds of things he's not reduced the number of books and albums he owns, just changed the storage medium. It also mentions that he has a backpack full of "designer clothes" which suggests that he's just as hung up on the nature of the things he does have. What's changed here is the medium but what would really be interesting is if there were a significant cultural…

> he still seems to be as much a consumer as he ever was

I'm not debating that, but is it necessarily a bad thing? I don't interpreting your comment to say that it is, but it raises the question. The wonder of the internet and "consumer culture" is that we now have access to the creative output of millions of people we otherwise wouldn't. As long as I can choose my level of participation, I like having it there.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#63

Post by lzw »

rdouble wrote: post #56

In the past I've lived sort of like this and found it quite lonely and alienating. What the article doesn't mention is that nobody really wants to hang out with the weird guy with no stuff and no apartment. If you're single, only really strange and desperate people want to date you. I also found that the act of finding another place to stay quickly became tedious. In the past, nomads were out being nomadic with the r…

Everybody wants to hang out with a traveller. They all have questions. People who would never dream of doing what we do, are happy to tell us their dreams about doing what we do, believe it or not. Everyone seems to find the idea romantic even if they could never do it. Back when I was traveling by myself I found it easier to meet women on the road than at home. I guess maybe you would think these women were "really strange and desperate" because many of them were also solo travelers.

I do like the term "settled society", as there is a strong temptation to see people who don't do this as having settled for something adequate.

Travelling only changes your location, it doesn't change who you are. Who I am is someone who has trouble meeting people, but found that travel provided more opportunity for social interaction and people more willing to be open with me.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#64

Post by yummyfajitas »

gaius wrote: post #45
yummyfajitas wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By this logic, the entire economy is a "perpetual motion machine" - the only difference between the entire economy and your hypothetical is that the real economy has more moving parts.

Well, you can try this if you like. Find another programmer, and you write code for him, and he writes code for you, and neither of you sell any services to third parties, and see how long that remains viable. There's "value" being created, you're both learning new stuff (for example). But without someone to sell to, there's no money in this system, and therefore no way to get goods and services you need that can't b…

I'm disputing your reasoning, not your conclusion. I fully agree that your conclusion is correct.

To survive, a person needs more than just wine and a B&B. That doesn't mean that a closed economy is a perpetual motion machine (and therefore can't exist), as the world economy proves.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#65

Post by rdouble »

lzw wrote: post #63
rdouble wrote: post #56

In the past I've lived sort of like this and found it quite lonely and alienating. What the article doesn't mention is that nobody really wants to hang out with the weird guy with no stuff and no apartment. If you're single, only really strange and desperate people want to date you. I also found that the act of finding another place to stay quickly became tedious. In the past, nomads were out being nomadic with the r…

Everybody wants to hang out with a traveller. They all have questions. People who would never dream of doing what we do, are happy to tell us their dreams about doing what we do, believe it or not. Everyone seems to find the idea romantic even if they could never do it. Back when I was traveling by myself I found it easier to meet women on the road than at home. I guess maybe you would think these women were "really…

People do want to hang out with a traveller - for an evening.

There's also a difference between being a "traveller" and just being a guy with no home and no stuff. The article seemed to be more about the latter.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#67

Post by RexRollman »

I recently started down this trail to simplify my life and draw down my personal property. I got rid of my DVDs because I simply wasn't watching them. I ripped every one of my CDs in FLAC format and then gave them away to friends. And these days, instead of a netbook and a desktop, I have only a single laptop running Arch Linux.

The one thing I cannot move on from is my book collection. I love books and I have two bookshelves with 285 graphic novels and novels (according to my LibraryThing account). And I am starting to make use of sites like Project Guttenburg to read public domains works (using FBReader).

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#68

Post by sumeetjain »

thesethings wrote: post #57
jacquesm wrote: post #20

Try that while raising a couple of children.

Actually, I've read some very moving accounts by people who are nomadic with kids.

Do you have any links to articles/books? This is precisely the kind of information I'm looking for.

Re: Meet the minimalists living out of a hard drive

#70

Post by kellysutton »

derwiki wrote: post #60
kellysutton wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely agree with this and think it's fascinating. I feel the same attachment to my digital possessions as I do my few physical ones. The difference, however, is how much physical space each option consumes. I should also point out that I needed the iPad for my job, as I develop apps from time to time.

Do you feel like you have less to worry about though? One of the advantages of this minimalism seems to be being able to walk into your room and not being overwhelmed with everything you own. So, even if you own as much music, books, etc.. out of sight, out of mind?

I originally started the project because I was away at an internship and had left all of my stuff with friends back in LA. When I returned for the fall term, I couldn't remember what was in the boxes I had left. (I had about 10 or 11 boxes of stuff in total.) If I couldn't remember what it was, I figured it wasn't worth keeping around. I got rid of a bunch of trinkets and things I wasn't really using anymore. I've been happier ever since.
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